4th of July vacation - part 2

We had lots planned for Friday and Saturday.  The first was another hike.  The kids weren't too excited about this especially since we had just gone on one the day before.  I had heard that you could hike up to the Hollywood sign.  I knew that you couldn't touch it or anything, but I was curious to see how close you could get.  Ryan and Mandy did some research and found a trail that seemed doable.  By doable I mean, for six kids as well as four adults.  It couldn't be too steep or rocky.  We looked and looked at the trail on Google and Ryan mapped it out to be 1.5 miles one way.  We figured that it had to be mostly down hill on the way down, right? Our intention was to leave early so that we could beat the heat and/or crowds, but we didn't get there until about 10:00 am.  Here we are driving up the street to find the place to park.  It seemed so far away, but the street went uphill as we approached the area to park.  It wasn't an official lot or anything, just  a dirt turn out.  But it was full, so we parked in the neighborhood at the base of the mountain. 

Here we are at the start of the hike.  Can you see the Hollywood sign in the distance? The first part of the hike was all dirt.  It was actually a fire road, so it was wide. There are stables near the base of the mountain and you go horseback riding.  Well, that led to horse poop and Claire's first (of many) breakdowns.  She claimed that she couldn't go any farther because the trail was too stinky.  We assured her that it wouldn't be that way the whole time. 

About halfway up the mountain, the dirt becomes a paved road.  There is a radio tower at the top of the mountain, so cars need access.  I won't lie, it was hot, and it seemed to be never ending steepness.  We took lots of water and snack breaks.  We eventually broke into two groups, with Many and the older kids and Ryan, Danny and I with the smaller ones.

Oh, and lets not forget that we had to push Grant (the 29 lb toddler) up the hill in the stroller.  Claire was crying and whining a lot and I didn't want to come this far and not make it to the top, so I let her get on the front of the stroller.  She also complained about this because Grant was kicking her back.  Danny and I took turns pushing and in parts Ryan used the leash to pull.  In the distance on the back side of the mountain is Burbank. 

Yeah, the top!!  Here is Danny pushing the final few feet.  We thought we would be there around every corner.  It seemed like the longest 1.5 miles ever.  You actually climb higher than the sign. This fence prevents you from going near it.

This is the view from behind the fence. I'm sure it is an amazing view on a clear day.  It was quite foggy/smoggy/hazy this day.

I kept trying to get all of the letters in one shot, but I couldn't do it.

We were all quite hot and thirsty at the top.  We all had a granola bar and water and started the trek down.

The way down was very fast for Mandy, Isabel, Andrew and Landon.  There they are way below us.  Andrew and Landon wanted to run all the way down.

And here we are meandering down with everyone else.  You can see the sign and the tower from here.  The road ends right at the gate to the tower.

There wasn't anywhere to eat our lunch, so we sat on the curb and inhaled sandwiches, fruit and chips.  We were all so proud of the kids for doing the hike.  It was a great experience and a lot of fun and also free!

The next stop was the Los Angeles temple.  I had never been there before and I thought the kids would like to see it.  We took a scenic drive through Hollywood and Beverly Hills to get there.  Our first stop was the visitor's center.  There were several of these darling sculptures in the front.  I didn't even have to ask Claire to pose for this picture.

Love this shot!  We walked around in the visitor's center.  They had a great interactive area for kids, so great in fact, that my kids were fighting over some of the electronic devices.  This coupled by the fact that we looked like we had been camping for a week, I'm sure the workers were wondering who we were.

Posing outside under a beautiful tree.

I think the background almost looks fake in these two pictures.

As a side note, Ryan, Mandy, Danny and I were able to go back on Saturday night and do a session at the temple.  It was a great experience.  Maybe it was because we also got to go to dinner afterwards kid free....just maybe.

And THEN we went for ice cream.  We went to a place in Westwood where you can make your own ice cream sandwich for only $1.75.  You get to pick your cookie and ice cream flavor.  There was a long line and by this point Grant was past done.   He was totally melting down in line. We had to eat in the parking lot so that we could put Grant in the car.  The other kids didn't seem to mind though.  We were right next to UCLA, so we drove past it on the way home.

Whew!  If that wasn't enough, we got up and went to the beach on Saturday morning. It was a foggy morning in Malibu, but that didn't stop the kids from getting right in the water and digging holes.  The nice thing was that it wasn't too cold.  Unlike Santa Cruz, where when it is foggy it is also windy.

Do you see the seal in this picture?  It is near the bottom right of the picture.  We were sitting there and the seal just came gliding up in the water, kind of like it was body surfing.  The kids were thrilled.

Ryan taught the kids the game pickle, which proved to be quite fun for them.  Although these pictures show Ryan running and diving, the kids all got turns.

Grant was not happy that we wanted him to stay by us and not wander down the beach.

Then, just as we were trying to leave, Isabel and Claire decided to go back in the water.  We got lunch on the way home and some of the kids took a nap. 

We had such a great trip!  We love living near our cousins.  Andrew stayed down there with Landon for the week, so he should have some fun adventures to talk about when he gets back.