california dreamin part deux

I can't believe another week has come & gone.
It's hard to imagine that this time last week we were in sunny California.

Our trip to L.A. was a lot of fun.
It was really nice to see family, and for the first time ever, it went absolutely smoothly staying with relatives.
No drama whatsoever.
Usually by the second or third day we are all ready to get home, but this time was an exception.
Not only were my brother-in-law and wife great hosts, they also happen to have a gorgeous home in the Hollywood hills.
So it was a real bonus being so close to all the action.
Action being the Oscars last week.
Holy hoopla.
And holy traffic.
I may never complain about Toronto traffic again.
But aside from the gridlock and seemingly endless time we spent in our rental car, we really enjoyed L.A.
We managed to do some hiking and got to hang out in some nice parks.
It was so nice to see green leaves and green grass again.
We also spent a day in Santa Monica and went to the pier and saw the ocean.
We didn't have any celebrity sightings but it was fun riding the ferris wheel and walking around all of the shops.
Speaking of, stopped here en route.
Definitely worth the stop.
Especially the almond croissant at Farmshop.
Yum.



We couldn't go to California without a day trip to Disney.



Though as much fun as Lulu had there, she couldn't wait to get home to Davey her "dog cousin."




And as much as she enjoyed a few of the rides when I asked her what her favourite part of the day was, her response was "the shuttle bus from the parking lot to the park, I thought that was really fun".
Go figure.
Could have just skipped the park and taken public transit for a thrill instead.
Clearly our next activity should be to ride the TTC for a day.

Oh and no trip to the states would be complete without a pit stop at American Girl.
Lulu was in H.E.A.V.E.N.
I have to admit, I kind of was too in an osmosis kind of way..
Big daddy not-so-much.

We also managed to do some fun things for Big daddy & I as well.
We went to a very hip neighbourhood- Silverlake- to check out a few stores I've been wanting to see.
Had delicious lunches and went to the farmers market which was great.
Big daddy & I also got to have a dinner date on our own which was a treat.
Too bad it wasn't two days later though, we might have spotted Christina Aguilera getting sloshed at the table beside us.
We went to Mozza- Mario Batali's L.A. restaurant and it was excellent.
Needless to say it was good people watching and more importantly our meal was delicious.
We also went for sushi one night and as we left had to walk through a sea of paparazzi waiting outside.
L.A. is one crazy town.
I'm just glad we didn't run into Charlie Sheen a.k.a. Mr. Train Wreck.
What a mess.

We really had a fantastic time, and the absolute highlight was getting to spend time with family.
I've never seen Lulu happier than when she is with her extended family.
It really was so nice to see.
And what a bonus that we have brothers that live in such fun cities.
Next stop San Francisco or maybe Taipei?....