California trip ~~ Part 7~~ Thursday July 2

I thought I'd finish out the last two days of our California trip.  It's been a long time since I posted about the trip, but the Fall and holidays were crazy busy with so many other things going on. 

After our 15 hours at Disney the day before, we decided to just hang low and relax.  We were exhausted, but still had so much we wanted to see.  

We started the day with a road trip.  We headed out on the Pacific Coast Highway.  It was such a beautiful drive.  We stopped for breakfast at a little diner, and it was so quiet and quaint.  

We continued on our sightseeing trip and saw the Queen Mary, so we stopped to take some photos of it and to just stretch our legs. 

We decided to go and see the Hollywood sign.  Ashton and I both wanted to see it, so we were off to LA. 

   

This was the closest we could get and I couldn't get anywhere that there weren't wires in our way.

After seeing the sign and wanting to get out of the LA area (it was packed because Michael Jackson had died not too long before) we were on a mission to find an In and Out Burger.  I had heard it was SO good.  

Well, we found it!  

O...M...G... these were really the best burgers I've ever had from a fast food restaurant!  They were so beautiful, I just had to take a picture. 

 

We just couldn't believe how fresh everything was.  I love that they don't have microwaves, freezers, heat lamps, and everything is fresh and of good quality ingredients.  When we first saw the limited menu, we were shocked, but after reading how they patty their own burgers, make the buns from scratch, cut the tomatoes, lettuce, etc. we understood and really appreciated it.  Just looking at these photos makes me crave it!      

We ate outside and had a few feathered friends watching us. 

While we were eating, Ashton really wanted me to take a picture of this cool cellular tower that was next to the restaurant.  It was really neat because it was disguised as a tree.  I think they all should look like this.  

   

 We headed back to the hotel so we could enjoy the pool for one last night

the sprinkler pad

        

              

My little man was not happy about having to get out of the pool

Our hotel was so beautiful and amazing!

Jerry and I decided to walk to Sprinkles Cupcakes.  We had heard that they were incredible and we all wanted to try them.  They were delicious!    We had to wait in line to even get into the store.  But, they were definitely worth it!

Some of the beautiful scenery we saw on our walk 

Since it was our last night there and we were exhausted from our very busy week, we decided to just stay in that night.  My parent's room was next door and they ordered room service for all of us.  We ate and packed our bags and showered so we would have everything ready for the morning.  

The view from our room

 

     

At the end of the night, I had three exhausted kids!  

     

Comments

[Jenni Hoekstra]

Hey Steph..
Well, thanks for writing to me on my blog. I have had it for awhile, but have kinda been neglecting it sadly for hte last couple of months. But I hope to get back into it again real soon! I wonder if you ever got my comment on one of your post that I left awhile ago. Maybe I never posted it, but only previewed it! Ooops! OH well. Thanks for the welcome to the "neighborhood!" I'm getting really antzy to move out there... or at least to see a little more progress of drywall or something! Haha... But i'd love it if you stopped by. Anytime! Once we move there, I will probably be walking around the neighborhood too!! Maybe we'll just run into each other! =) The photos you take are great! Just kinda curious what kind of camera you have. I did wedding and I do family photos, so i have a professional camera, but curious what brand you have that takes such great photos!
Hope you have a great day!
Jenni

[Steph]

Hi Jenni,

I hear you on getting behind on the blog. That is easy to do when you have so much going on. I think I only posted once in December. It was just such a crazy month! I bet you are so anxious to get into your new house. I remember when we first bought this house and had gutted half of it. We lived in one room upstairs without a bathroom or kitchen. They would hook a toilet up in whichever gutted bathroom they werent working on that day. lol I just wanted it done SO badly it almost hurt at times. lol You will get there. Enjoy this whole process. :)

No, I didnt get a reply from you. You must have previewed it. lol I would remember because I rarely get comments and when I do, I get so excited! Yes, Im
crazy! lol

Thanks for the compliments on my pictures! They are very sad compared to someone who takes professional pictures! lol I have a Nikon D40, after researching for over a year, its what I ended up with. I did buy a new lens for it, and its an 18mm-200mm lense. That way I didnt have to switch between lenses when I wanted to zoom in sometimes. I feel like I have a good eye, but I need to learn how to use it better in manual mode. I really want to learn how to take pictures in a gym, or inside buildings without light, because they always look yellow or blurry. Id love to take a class, but my schedule just isnt allowing that right now. Someday I will take one though.

I will definitely stop by sometime and I hope we run into each other on our walks. :)

Steph

[Becky @ Farmgirl Paints]

Well I feel like I just went on vacation with you! I loved all of your pics. California is one of my favorite places to go. Every year I go out there with a girlfriend to visit my cousin. We hit all the sites...including Sprinkles Cupcakes. I seriously LOVE that place. The next time I go I'm getting 3 red velvet ones. I think they have approx 500 calories a piece, but I don't care:)

[Stephanie]

Hi Becky! Thanks for the comment! You are so lucky that you get there every year! That was our first trip there and we loved it! My mouth is watering thinking of the red velvet cupcakes! lol They were delicious! Have fun and have a cupcake for me on your next visit! :)