Recharging our Batteries and Tikis!

Day Four was an open day, on which we had originally thought we might try to go visit a local Beach or something of the sort. However, everyone was feeling a little bit lazy so we ended up sleeping in and hanging at the hotel until early afternoon. At that point, we went back to Universal's CityWalk for dinner at Johnny Rocket's, a diner-themed restaurant, and then went to catch a movie at the theater there. We saw the new Spider-Man movie "Across the Spider-Verse" (all loved it!) and then headed back to the hotel and packed up all of our belongings in preparation for checking out the next day.

The next day, we relocated hotels to our Disneyland Good Neighbor hotel, the Courtyard by Marriott Anaheim Resort Convention Center. We arrived at the hotel well before check-in time and left our luggage with the front desk. On the advice of one of the attendants there, we made our way to a local Beach called "Seal Beach".

Once again we were not expecting how cold it was for southern California! The wind was intense, and the waves were really high for playing it. We still spent a couple of hours there, while NJ and I played in the sand and waves and the rest of the family people-watched and enjoyed some sunshine.

Around 3:00 p.m. we headed back to our hotel and checked into our room and got settled in. We had dinner reservations that night Italian restaurant in Downtown Disney, so we walked there from our hotel and learned that the Google estimate for how long that walk takes was a little lower than what reality was. After dinner, we explored Downtown Disney and did a little bit of shopping, checking out the Lego store of course!

I want to bring this set home...

We then made our way over to Trader Sam's for our reservation there. Trader Sam's was an absolute blast! The girls loved their first experience in a bar (shhh, I know my eldest is legal drinking age where she goes to school). 

We were able to get some snacks and drinks and acquired souvenir Tiki cups. (As a side story, Friday before this there was a special release of the Tiki mug to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Tiki Room opening in Disneyland. The First edition Jose mug had been available for purchase on the mobile app, but I was not able to find it or purchase it that way because I forgot about it until Saturday. We asked our waitress if there was any left over and she confirmed that they did have a couple more in the back. We bought one for me and one for our best friend to cheer him up because we know he collects tiki mugs as well. SCORE!)

The drink that came with my mug...mug not shown

More Disney ahead!

Being VIPs

Day three was our day at Universal Studios Hollywood.

In doing research on how best to get to ride and see everything, I found out that a VIP package was actually not much more than 2 days of tickets for our family. I added on the Early Access tickets to get into the park an hour early for access to just Super Nintendo World. This was not part of the VIP package, however we still got to check in to the park through the VIP doors. This meant we skipped the lines and the crowds, were given our passes, and then allowed into the park through a special entrance. It was all very bougie and we're already off to a great start to the day.

From there we had to walk to literally the opposite end of the park to get to Super Nintendo World, but we strolled leisurely, followed the crowds, and were there within less than 10 minutes. In this special access hour the crowds are reduced because of the limited tickets so we were able to get to all of the games and all of the attractions within this area. We skipped the ride because we knew we were getting on that later, so we took our time exploring everything else. This little land is extremely immersive, and a lot of fun!

Once 8:00 hit, the main gates were open and the crowd started to increase and so we made our way back to the VIP lounge. Free refreshments for waiting for us before our tour started. We wandered through the Wizarding World which was still delightfully empty explored some of the scenery and the kids were able to play with the wands that they had from our trip to Universal Studios in Orlando a couple of Summers ago. We also stopped for a very unique Father's Day picture:

When we got back to the lounge, we enjoyed a delightful spread of food and drinks in a comfy atmosphere while we waited for our tour guide to arrive. Bianka-with-a-K picked us up along with two other families forming a group of 10. We got free sunscreen, water and ponchos that would come in handy later!

From there she escorted us to every ride in the park, skipping the line on each What I especially loved was that she gave an explanation of the intensity (or not) of the ride or experience so that we knew what to expect and could decide to ride or not. Those that chose to skip something were given a spot to meet back up with the group. We got through pretty much every ride in the park, including the Bowser's Challenge ride in Super Nintendo World all before lunch!

Lunch was VIP access to a special restaurant that you can't even get into as a regular park attendee. It was an all-you-can-eat-style buffet with selections that everyone enjoyed. The desserts were a little disappointing but otherwise, we ate our fill and had a great time. We were visited by Dracula and Doc from Back to the Future during our meal.

After lunch, we were taken on the Back Lot tour which also was an extra special treat as VIPs. The regular tour takes you around all of the Backlot filming Studio areas on a tram, but you are not allowed to stop. On the VIP tour we are able to stop the trams and get off and walk around the sets. We got a tour of inside a filming Studio building, as well as some additional VIP special treatment.

Back to the Future set

Captain America set

Yes, the actual Bates Motel

Once the tour ended, Bianka took us to one other ride and then left us for the day. Our VIP passes then acted as unlimited Express passes for the rest of the day, and we were able to get on several other rides repeating our experiences from earlier in the day. Our first stop was to go back to Super Nintendo World and ride Bowser's Challenge again. We went back to the Wizarding World for dinner at The Three Broomsticks inside Hogwarts Castle. The decor was lovely but the food was horrible.

We hung around the park a little bit longer to explore and get a bite to eat. Loved the view of Hollywood from the middle of the escalators:

We did not stay past sunset, as people were starting to feel a little bit of heat stroke or something else to make us not want to hang out much longer. We really enjoyed this park and definitely felt the VIP access was totally worth it!

Beaches and Tikis

Being so, so touristy

Day 2 started off with a trip for supplies: We had packed in a bit of a rush and realized somebody forgot a toothbrush and the hotel-supplied ones were terrible. We also couldn't pack enough sunscreen on our carry-ons to pass TSA regulations, so we had the Lyft driver drop us off at the CVS we spotted next to the Chinese Theater. We got our supplies, and then from there, we hopped on the Big Bus again to repeat the same tour as the previous day. The audio was slightly different so we weren't bored, and did learn new things.

This time we hopped off the bus at a different spot to see the "Guitar Center". This store had a mock courtyard like the Chinese Theater, but with handprints of Rock and Roll celebrities, called The Rock Walk. We spent some time checking out the familiar names there, and the kids even went inside to gawk at the guitars for a bit.


From there we walked to the Jim Henson Company. This was not open but we were able to take a look around from the outside and take a few pictures.

From here we walked back and through some of the scariest and dirtiest streets I've ever been on (Sunset Blvd) to the Hollywood Boulevard area again. We were just a couple minutes early for Madame Tussauds to open so we hung around and waited for that to open and we were one of the first guests inside. Everyone loved this experience, and we had a blast posing with all the "celebrities".

After this we grabbed some lunch (I honestly can't remember where) and made our way back to the meeting point for our celebrity homes tour. This was exactly the silly tourist trap you would expect it to be. We were driven around the hills of Beverly Hills and neighboring areas, while the driver pointed out homes miles away that celebrities either lived in, owned, or rented. We did not see a single celebrity anywhere along the way. There were some really beautiful places, I have to admit that I enjoyed the scenery of the landscape more than the actual homes. It was a cute way to kill a couple of hours.

After this, we got a Lyft to Universal CityWalk. The plan was to shop and explore and make sure we picked up the PowerUp Bands needed to play the games at Super Nintendo World the next day. Found the shop and got our bands fairly easily, and then decided on dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. The food was great and the service was even better...I truly enjoyed this meal. After a bit more exploring of CityWalk, and scoping out the entrance to Universal Studios, we took a Lyft back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation because we had an early start the next day.

The next day, we were VIPs!

Hollywood Exploring and Tar

 Our day of travel was a bit of an adventure that turned out fine in the end. The closest airport to us that Southwest Airlines serves is Philadelphia, but it takes over an hour from our house to drive there. Parking is also outrageous. Luckily for us, we have some incredibly generous friends who live just 20 minutes from the airport. They put us up the night before our flight, and let us park our car at their place for the trip.

We took our first Lyft as a family from R&R's place to the airport at 4am. That was adventure one - we all are just a little uncomfortable with taxi/Lyft/Uber rides. The driver we had was also *INSANE*, and drove way too fast for our liking. We lived, and made it to the airport in plenty of time (again because Nexus saved us! The TSA line was literally out the door - and we walked past the whole thing to be 2nd in line at the TSA Pre-check line). The first flight went uneventfully and we landed in Chicago with a couple of hours to kill. We had some food and boarded the next plane. Just before take-off, the pilot announced an issue with the "winglet". We had just the right seats to watch the airport staff evaluate the issue. We had a short delay of a couple of hours while a new plane was found, we changed gates and planes, and were finally off to Long Beach.

That hole isn't supposed to be there...

This little issue actually solved the problem of how we were going to kill time after landing and before our hotel check-in time. Long Beach airport is super cute, and we easily found our way to the "Ride app" waiting area. It was crowded so it was a bit of a challenge finding our Lyft, but we were successful and soon on our way for the hour ride across LA.

We got to the hotel and waited about 45 minutes for our room to be ready. The Tilt Hotel Hollywood looks a bit sketch from the outside, but the rooms were a pleasant delight. The "family suite" was 2 connected rooms, so we had 2 bathrooms, and 3 beds, in a very clean, spacious and quiet hotel. The free breakfast was pathetic (cold cereal, no milk, pre-packaged breakfast sandwiches, watery juice, and coffee) but we had a Starbucks and a good pizza place right across the street.

We got pizzas for the first night to bring back to the rooms and settled in. 

- 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - 

The next day was the first of two days of tickets on Big Bus Tours. We had received a text late the night before announcing that their "Blue Route" was not going to be serviced for the weekend due to some kind of celebrations going on which resulted in street closures. This nixed our plans to go see Santa Monica Pier. We took a Lyft to the tour's headquarters (which wasn't open yet) and enjoyed the quiet streets while we waited. 

Part of our ticket with BBT included a celebrity homes tour, which we originally had scheduled for this day. However, with the beach plans canceled, the Chinese Theater tour and the La Brea Tar Pits on the schedule we asked (and got) our homes tour moved to the next day. We walked the half block down the street, looking at Hollywood stars along the way, to the Chinese Theater. We were about 20 minutes early for the tour, so looked at the many hand and foot prints in the concrete, and read the plaque outside dedicated to Marilyn Monroe, before heading inside for the tour. The tour was delightful, about 45 minutes long, and included a short film so we actually got to sit and watch a "movie" here! Picture dump of the costumes and architecture inside:

Avengers!!

Real - for real from the Ming Dynasty!

Family Selfie time!

Have I ever mentioned I like Star Wars a bit?

Courtyard shot

Chandelier inside the theater

 - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - - 𐫰 - 

Next we got on the HOHO bus right outside the Theater, and took a tour through the city. It was chilly up top in the wind, and we were not expecting to be so cold in California! But we learned a lot and saw a bunch of infamous spots.

About half-way through the tour we "hopped off" at the La Brea Tar pits and museum. We ate lunch at a fantastic burger joint across the street called The Counter, then went and walked around the grounds and museum. I learned so much and was just absolutely fascinated with the fact that these pits are STILL bubbling fossils up to be discovered on a daily basis. (They are also still trapping live animals!) I also learned that we used to have lions, camels and elephants living on this continent (well, their pre-historic versions at any rate) and I feel like my public education failed me in not telling me this before.

The scientific name for Saber-toothed cat cracks me up

The "kids" chasing butterflies

An active dig in progress!

After the museum, we hiked around more of the grounds and local area, and stumbled accidentally on a famous art installation used by Instagram influencers for photo shoots all the time. NJ was in heaven! Since it was our wedding anniversary, hubby and I got our picture taken for the heck of it, too. 😂

Once finished exploring, we "hopped on" the bus to continue the tour around Hollywood, including a better view of the famous Hollywood sign, before returning to our starting location. 

We shopped, ate dinner, and then decided to get tickets to the "Ripley's Believe It or Not" museum and Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum in a combo deal.  We did the Ripley's museum right away (which I apparently took ZERO pictures of! LOL! I'll have to steal some from the kids later...) and when we finished up there, caught a Lyft back to our hotel for the night.

Being so, so touristy!