Alcatraz Island (California)

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Sure, you have to buy the tickets month in advance, but that didn't stop us from [finally] setting foot on Alcatraz Island just before we moved (literally, three days before the movers showed up). After much anticipation we finally got there. Yay!

The audio tour of the prison itself was alright, but the flowers and wildlife at sunset were really the absolute best. Snowy egrets, cormorants, and tons of baby seagulls. Definitely schedule in some time to walk around and enjoy the views.

Road Trip 2.0: Joshua Tree National Park

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Whereas J had always wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo, I have wanted to see Joshua Tree National Park for a long time now. Of course, in late June, Joshua Tree is about 107 degrees every day. The second you step out of your car, you step right into an oven. Hiking was limited, but there is a lovely scenic drive with lots of lookout points and tiny little trails to poke around.

Joshua Tree National Park would be a lovely place to spend a bit more time in when it's cooler!













We stayed in Palm Spring before heading to the park. It's a little dead in the summer, but still full of nice restaurants and brightly colored accommodations.

Road Trip 2.0: San Diego

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

We spent a down-day staying at our hotel in Oceanside, after all that walking around theme parks and LA. We had brunch in the quaint little harbor town, sat on the beach, and headed down to La Jolla for tacos and to watch the sea lions at sunset.





Our feet needed the rest, as the following day we were headed to the San Diego Zoo. We booked one of the specialization tours, and ended up being the only people in our group! So we had a guide to drive us around the giant zoo on golf carts. We went behind the scenes at the elephant enclosure to see their diet (some like cucumbers chopped up, some like half cucumbers). We fed giraffes! We skipped the line for the pandas and saw both of them awake and eating!

The guide gave us some good tips for how to see the rest of the zoo, and that was really useful. We took the skyfari to the top and ambled our way back down through the exhibits. Somehow, the koalas were also awake when we got there. We were pretty lucky!

Road Trip 2.0: Los Angeles

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Truth be told, we only did one day in Los Angeles: the Paramount Studios Tour (movie facades on a golf cart tour!), Hollywood Stars, Chinese Theater, La Brea Tar Pits, and The Comedy Store. Who knew the La Brea Tar Pits hosted a jazz festival on Fridays? Los Angeles was pretty busy, but the more time we spent out and about, the less time we had to spend in our atrocious hotel room!

At first we thought being seated front row at The Comedy Store was a bad thing, but it turned out there were plenty of other victims for Kevin Neelan and the openers to choose from: a single 60 year old women, a cute young couple, boisterous ladies' night, etc. etc.







For the next two days, we visited Universal Studios (95% 4D rides) and Disneyland (Fastpass for all! Just don't get stuck in the post-parade crowds).