Rachel, Jesse and Lauren on the plane ride from Detroit to Los Angeles - July 2007
On the shuttle bus to get our rental mini-van.
Lauren and Jesse "excited" to be in L.A.
Lauren and Jesse at Redondo Beach, CA
Rachel digs on Redondo Beach.
View up the beach from water's edge.
Skip supervises the sand play.
Santa Monica Pier looking back toward the amusement park.
Santa Monica Pier looking out toward the Pacific Ocean.
Ferris wheel ride at Santa Monica Pier.
Ferris Wheel ride at Santa Monica Pier
Jesse after a wipeout - Paradise Cove, Malibu
Packing up and heading to the van
View from our table at Moonshadows
Breakfast time at the hotel
Playing motorcycle cop at the Peterson Automotive Museum
Playing motorcycle cop at the Peterson Automotive Museum
Playing motorcycle cop at the Peterson Automotive Museum
The actual Greased Lightning car from the movie "Grease"
Ford GTs - same color, 40 year difference in age
We stayed in the South Bay section of the LA metro area, and after check in, we went right to the closest beach - Redondo Beach.
The kids found the waves to be "just right" - not too big or too small.
We went down to Hollywood Boulevard to do the Walk of Fame. Other than right in front of the Kodak Theater, it was a bit seedy... We walked about a block to eat at Mel's Drive-In, and posed for a photo in front of Hollywood High which is right across the street.
Since we had just been to DisneyWorld a few months earlier, we decided to try Knott's Berry Farm instead of Disneyland. Even though we were there during the July 4th holiday week the crowds were very reasonable and the Camp Snoopy area had a lot of rides for young kids.
On July 4th, we went to the beach just north of the Santa Monica Pier.
We picked up some body boards, and the kids gave them a try.
When the beach became so packed we couldn't move without stepping on someone, we headed up to the pier.
If you look below you can see how packed the beach was.
The prettiest beach we went to was in Malibu, but the waves were just a little too much for the kids to enjoy the water.
Jesse recouperating after a pounding from a big wave
Skip's friend from high school is a celebrity photographer based in LA. He took us to lunch at Moonshadows in Malibu, a celebrity hangout that is right on the water.
Skip loves a good donut, so we had to stop at this landmark donut shop while in town
We spent a morning at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Obviously many of the exhibits were strictly hands off, but they had a large kid friendly area where the kids could touch, climb, and play.
