First Day in San Diego ~ A Trip to LA

 I have never seen such beauty~

 I never knew the area was so hilly~  the water is beautiful.

 First time putting their feet in the Pacific Ocean... cold and dirty!

 Laguna Beach.... we had lunch at the Beach House... again... the food was delicious....

 After lunch we had about an hour drive to Beverly Hills area... Mark looked over as we were driving and said..."There is the Hollywood sign!"...We were so excited!  I loved 90210.... brought back memories!

 Julia Roberts and Richard Gere were not at the Beverly Wilshire...we checked....

 WE think this was William Shatner though....

 Pacific Ocean....sideways!

Day Four was a Travel Day!

 After three hard days of touring, both the babies thought sleeping in was a great idea!

 We flew from NYC to Detroit to San Diego.  Mama, Mark, KB, and Ben had seats all together, and I had a seat by myself.  As we were entering the plane, my seat was in front of a family with two very small children...and let me add they were active!  Mark giggled and told me good luck or something like that!  About ten minutes later, I noticed a family of five entering the plane... two lap babies... and a small child.  I texted Mark and told him that I hoped that sat right beside him....They did!  It was great for me to giggle.  By the end of the flight, Mark said he wished Daddy had come with us so he could have a smoke.  His nerves were shot!  Mama said they were the worst children she had ever seen.  The problem was poor parenting according to her.  The funniest to me was that she said the daddy couldn't even hold the three month old baby toward him because she would cry... he had to hold her facing outward because she didn't want to look at them.  They thought the flight would never end!

 Here is the big "helper" getting our luggage!

 This is the view from our hotel window... shooting fireworks... Beautiful place!

 Dinner at the Fish Market!  OUT OF THIS WORLD!

Day Three~ NYC!

I am typing Day Three of NYC from the air... we are on a four hour flight from Detroit to San Diego! 

We started the day at Bare Minerals... KB wanted to get her "eyes did"...

Jane was not going to let her get all the attention and needed a little work too.  Ben said her eyes were scary and she needed some help....

We headed over to FAO and let them dance on the Big Piano from BIG... too bad neither of them have seen the movie and didn't appreciate the fun they could have had on that big thing!

Sitting outside FAO eating a yogurt and watching people.  I am sure Mama is directing them on the proper etiquette of how to run in a storm because it was thundering!

 We tried to make it back to the hotel before the storm started, but we didn't.  We ran until we could find shelter in a church.  We didn't know it was St. Patrick's until we got inside and Ben decided he wanted to light a candle.  I saw the name on the wall and realized where we were.

 They each lit a candle for Pappa.  Ben loves being a pyromaniac so of course he had to relight his several times!

 Mark convinced Katie Britt to go up to the front desk at "The Plaza" and ask them how much a room was.  We wanted her picture where Eloise was!

 To end our last night in the city, we went to see "Memphis".  All of us loved it!  Other than a few words, it was perfect.  I highly recommend anyone go see it!  On the way to the play Mark and Ben were hungry.  They got a hotdog from the street vendor because Butch said they had to.... Of course as we were walking across the street in all the hustle and bustle...Mark spilled mustard down his shirt! 

Great Day!

So, So tired!

Day Two of NYC!  I love the hop on, hop off tours... I think that they are the best way to see everything that needs to be seen~ and it is fast!  This first picture is the bull down near Wall Street.  It used to be one that people could jump on and play, but after the Wall Street issues...it is now off limits! 

For lunch we had a "chain" restaurant...but it was oh so good!  KB and Ben loved sitting outside with the birds walking up... Christie... they said they knew you couldn't handle that! 

Mama doesn't want her picture on here... but... when have I ever listened to her?

Ben had a bacon sandwich! 

Our afternoon tour was of the uptown!  Our tour guide was a true New Yorker.  She was very abrupt and matter of fact.  Katie Britt and Ben were her "assistants".  They were responsible for annoucing the "next stop". 

Our final tour of the night was the "night tour"... to Brooklyn.  It was a beautiful sight going over the bridge... breathtaking... literally!

When we got back to Times Square, we decided to run to Ripley's real quick... that didn't happen... the children (and Mark) loved it in there...even Mama enjoyed it!  The children with the cockroaches... YUCK!

That is Ben's score... he beat everyone that day on the Laser Race!

You can't come to NYC without getting your picture made with an NYC cop! 

This picture was really first thing on Day Two...the baby is tired!

For supper we went to John's Pizzeria... Oh MY GOODNESS... delicious pizza and salad.  This restaurant is an old church!  So, so good!

This is Katie Britt coming through the spin tunnel at Ripleys!  Neat experience. 

We are so, so tired, but we know we have to keep going!  We haven't been in bed before midnight... we will sleep the rest of the summer away.

Our Dogs are Barking!

I have loaded these pictures backwards... The end of our day to the beginning.....

This is Katie Britt eating at Juniors.... she loved the French Onion Soup! 

 Ben and Mark chose to get something to satisfy their sweet tooth!  Ben had a triple decker icecream with chocolate syrup for supper...and Mark had red velvet cheesecake!   Mama and I ate a bite of both and had coffee!

Our last sightseeing trip for the day was to go and see the Statue of Liberty.   We rode the Staten Island Ferry over and back to get a good view of her.  Free of charge... entertainment for an hour!

Checking out the scenery!

 Before we rode the ferry to Staten Island, we visited the 911 Memorial.  As hot as it was outside, we could touch the panel with the names of those killed and it was freezing cold.  So refreshing!

 This is the Memorial Tree in the garden of the 911 Memorial.  This tree was salvaged by the workers.  It was merely a stump and was nursed back to health!  A sign that New York will survive this tragedy!

 When we discussed coming to New York with the children, the first thing they asked to do was to go see Buddy.  Well... he wasn't at the bakery today, but his sisters were there.  Mary was nice enough to come around and get her picture made with KB and Ben.

We opted for a photo shot with the cardboard Buddy!

 Here are the sisters filling orders as fast as people would yell out what they wanted.

 We made it to Carlo's Bake Shop... We stood in line for 1 1/2 hours and stayed in the bakery for probably 45 minutes.  If anyone wants to know... allow yourself about four hours round trip to go to Hoboken!

 We took this picture for Amberly!  Ben made me stop and take the picture because he said Emmie needed it!

 Riding the PATH train from NYC to Hoboken...on the way to see Carlo's Bake Shop.

 As soon as we walked outside the hotel these nice little animals were waiting for us.  Of course they wanted a tip.... notice Bugs's bag!

 And he thought if he got two pictures he would get more money!

We are now back in the room!  We stayed up until about 1:45 last night... After landing and getting our room, we went to Roxy's and had a pizza and walked around Times Square. 

My feet are killing me... I think we have done more today in this hot weather than a real tour guide would ever schedule.  It has been so exciting to watch their faces as they see something new!  I wouldn't give a million dollars for this experience.  Most of the time I feel sorry for my children because they don't get to see their daddy every day... This trip is well worth his travel since we get to use his frequent flyer miles!