Disney - Day 5

If you don't go to Disneyland, can you call it a "Disney day?" Not sure, but I did anyway!

Day 5 was Sunday, and I think with all the excitement, the kids were starting to get a wee bit tired. We didn't have anything specifically planned for the morning, so we decided to head into Hollywood.

Like I said before, we loved our Hotel in Ontario. I don't think it was crowded at all, so it was very quiet and had the most fabulous continental breakfast! I had pancakes, bacon, hashbrowns, and toast with apple juice. For free! I should point out that the servings weren't huge (because as I reread that sentence I sounded like a complete cow! haha!)...it was just the right amount to feel pleasantly full but not gorged. Maddie ate very little (which probably contributed to her "sunny" disposition that morning) and Ben ate a WHOPPING five bowls of cheerios!! Joe finally cut him off at that point because it was just getting out of hand.

It is amazing how much the area we used to live in has changed, and how little LA proper has! Everything looked exactly as I remember it. Even how to get there was an easy memory for me. I had a map, but I honestly think we could've made it without one. We parked under the Kodak theater (which is where they hold The Oscars and other important events) and headed up.

I used to love going to Hollywood when we lived here. I, as a child of the 80's, grew up watching TV! And since my husband wouldn't go to Disneyland (something about not having kids. darn it!), Hollywood was the closest I could get to movie making. Now, however, I see how pointless it is with kids!! haha! Maddie and Ben were completely unimpressed by the large buildings, the Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, even the beautiful palm trees.

About the best I was able to get out of them was that Maddie liked the hand and footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater. Here she is with her hands in Shirley Temple's. Everything I wanted to do with them seemed to create a war of wills. Poor Ben...all he wanted to do was run around. But Hollywood is NOT the place to let your kids roam free. Yikes!

We made it up to the shopping area next to the Kodak Theater. There was a large water feature (sort of like a sprinkler park but "artsy") that Maddie was thrilled with. We didn't dare let Ben at it or he would've ran through and drenched himself. After all the soaking we'd been doing at Disneyland, I didn't want another wet kid on my hands. If you click on the picture above you'll see how the rest of us are happy/smiling. But Ben is just having none of it. Did I mention they

were TIRED?!?!?!

We headed to a local store and bought some "Hollywood" momentos (Maddie's shirt says "Drama Queen"...it was VERY fitting), got in the car and headed for the nearest In N Out. YUM!!! The next part is kind of fuzzy....I'm not sure if we missed the freeway on purpose or by accident (it's been long enough I honestly don't recall), but either way we drove right over it. I got out the map and found a way back to another freeway. Unfortunately, maps aren't always accurate and husbands don't always follow them!

Joe decided that the car in front of us "looked like they knew where they were going." ...right... So we followed them. We followed them right into a residential area! Doh! Actually, it turned out ok. It was a part of Hollywood I'd never been to before (under the "Hollywood" sign). The houses were more modest, by Hollywood standards at least, and had a charm about them. Very cute! As we were trying to find a main street we ran into two things: Ames Street and a film set! We have no idea what they were shooting, but Joe got stuck behind some idiot tourists (not cool tourists like us!) and we snapped a few quick pictures. I've seen several movie sets over the years, and I think this one was probably a TV set. There weren't that many people or trailers around; no signs; no cops, just a few security guys.

Thanks to my handy new phone, I used my navigator system and we found our way back to Ontario. Once we got on a freeway we were fine...it was getting on the freeway that was the difficult part. We headed back to the hotel so the kids could catch a few zzz's before we left for dinner.

A little backstory: Joe got his first job out of college at California Steel Industries in Fontana, CA. It is right next to California Speedway and has had several major movies filmed in it (Mission Impossible 3, Terminator 2, Blade, Blade 2, etc.). Obviously not knowing anyone in the area, a fellow engineer (James) and his girlfriend, a chemist at CSI (Dee) took our poor Joey in. James and Dee remained our closest friends our entire time in California. They had old Chevy Nova's that they'd work on or race at the tracks. We used to join them for a day of racing. It was great!! At the time, James had a son, Matthew, who was just over a year.

My! How times have changed! Six months after we got married, they did. Six months before we had Maddie, they had their first son Alex (who is now 3). Then last April they had their second son, Gavin. James took over Joe's job when he left. Dee was promoted to the HEAD of the chemistry lab at CSI! And through all this...they are still the same!!! We were lucky enough to get to spend Sunday evening with all of them at their house (which we incidentally helped paint and clean when they first bought it. Crazy stuff!). Matthew is now almost 7, which is impossible for me to believe!!! He, Alex, and Gavin are the spitting images of their dad. They still have one of their Novas, but sold the other one for a more practical suburban.

The kids in particular had a WONDERFUL time. Even though they'd obviously never met their kids before, I think they were happy to hang out in a house with little people again. They were able to run and play and not be yelled at or stuck in a stroller. Their neighbors came over to hang out. Their daughter, who is 7, was also a Maddy! Our Maddie was very confused when "other" Maddie's dad was yelling down the hall at her. It was very funny. Ben loved a house full of boy toys and tried his darndest to play with everything. They ate pizza and ice cream floats and cried when it was time to leave.

Thank you James and Dee (Matthew, Alex, and Gavin)!!! WE MISS YOU GUYS!!!!

Here's Ben and Gavin. Gavin was giving Ben a hug and eating his hair :)

(L-R) Matthew, Maddy, Alex, and Maddie. You can see how disappointed Maddie is to be there.