Staycation/Karpus Family Visit

We didn't go on a big family vacation this year.  Instead, several of my family members from the Karpus side came out to California (Most for the first time) for about a week.  It was packed full and we had lots of fun.

It started for me on the Saturday before 4th of July.  For some crazy reason I let my 1/2 sister Jen talk me into picking her up in LA, which is over 6 hours from my house.  I drove down to my Aunts house in Palmdale which is about an hour from LA on Saturday.  That worked out well for me because she had my cousins two cuties and I miss them so we hung out overnight until I had to leave for the airport.

Ryan

Gaven did not want me to leave

In the morning I headed to LAX to pick Jen up.  I go there early because for the first time ever I hit no traffic in L.A.  On a side note we hit very little traffic in L.A. the whole day which made me feel like I was in a twilight zone.   I read my book until she was in baggage claim.  Then we waited for forever for her bag to come out.  They had four flights on the same carousel.  It was a little crazy.  Since we only had a few hours to see as much of L.A. as we could we headed right to our first destination: Sprinkles Cupcakes where we had cupcakes and milk and then walked down Rodeo Drive.  We saw a bridge and groom taking pictures and couldn't tell if it was for real or a photo shoot.

We then went on a hunt to find the Hollywood sign.  I read that there is a great view from the Hollywood forever Cemetery so we went there.  There was a good view, but it was weird walking around trying to get a picture of it.  The Cemetery itself was unique.  It backs up to a studio which is strange.  And it is PACKED with graves.  A lot of the stones had pictures of the people, mostly jewish in the section we were in.  We did find one famous grave before we decided to get out of there.

Then we headed to the Chinese theater.  We got out and decided to do a Star Homes tour.  It was worth it.  For two hours we saw lots of homes, and a lot of gates.  I would post pictures but I can't remember what they are of.  The guide was funny.  He also took us down Rodeo Drive and up to the Hollywood Hills where we got an even better view.  It was a great way to see the city and hear about the history.  And it was better than trying to navigate ourselves. 

When we got back, we walked around the Walk of Fame for a while.  It was a little strange too because there were soooo many people and lots of people dressed as characters as well.  We soon felt claustrophobic and got out of there.  We found a nice quiet Italian Restaurant for dinner when we realized all we had eaten was a cupcake.  Then we headed slightly north of L.A. and checked into our hotel.  We relaxed in the SPA and got to bed early so we could get up early and head back this way.

While we were in L.A., Ron & Dana and Danielle & Jeff were in Napa having fun on the wine train and wine tasting.  We planned to get up early and head to Santa Cruz.  They were meeting Justin at our house and then we would all meet at the Boardwalk.  Somehow, Jen & I beat them even after driving 6 hours in the morning.  The cool thing was that since Jen had never been to California she got to experience a little of both Northern & Southern California.  

In Santa Cruz, we met them on the warf where they had lunch (Jen & I at Pizza while waiting for them).  Then we went to The Boardwalk.  Ron & Dana took Paige to ride the kiddy rides and Justin & I got to ride some rides of our own.  Every ride was only a ticket so that was pretty lucky!  We then went to the beach for a few minutes but Paige was not too thrilled to not be able to go swimming.

The next morning we all met back at our house (Jen stayed with us and the rest of them stayed at the Motel across the street) bright and early.  We had coffee and some quick breakfast foods and headed to BART.  We had tickets to Alcatraz on the first boat around 9am.  It was close, but we literally walked onto the boat.   I had been to Alcatraz a long time ago but this was everyone else's first trip. 

Paige did pretty good first, but after a late night and an early rise the prison started to get boring.  So my part of the tour ended with me finding a nice bench to sit on while she rested a little bit.  At least I had a nice view of the city.  We caught the boat back to SF and headed to Fishermans Wharf where we had a nice crab lunch. 

While everyone was finishing up I went to a cheap souvenir store.  I bought Paige this T-Shirt and bought my Nieces & Nephews in Ohio a little snow globe for them to take back for them from us (Paige picked it out).   We then decided to hop on a 2 hour double Decker bus tour.  It was great to see so much of the city, but as we got close to the Golden Gate it was COLD up there on top of that bus.   But it was also nice not to be walking anymore.   Paige slept for most of the tour too which was great. 

After all the walking and exploring we were pretty tired.  We headed back home on BART, had Dinner in Pleasanton and went our separate ways for the night.  

The next day was 4th of July.  After being on the go for so many days in a row, it was a nice change of pace to just relax.  In the morning, I got the food prepped and ready so we wouldn't have to do much later.  While Jen & I did that, Justin & Paige "Drove" her car across the street to the Motel to meet them for swimming.  Jen & I joined them a little later with some snacks.

Then, we all went back to our house.  We set up the table & chairs in our front yard, had a BBQ and hung out.  It went from being a beautiful day to pretty cold by night time (which is normal for us, but probably not as normal for them).  We had a lot of good laughs and enjoyed our last time together before Jen headed back to Ohio and the rest of them headed to New Mexico for a wedding.

Overall, while it was a whirlwind of a visit, we had a great time.  It was nice for them to see Paige since they haven't seen her since she was about 7 months old.  Most of the trips to Ohio have just been me due to money constraints.  Plus I got some bonding time with Jen which was awesome.