Prev/Next


Fun for the whole Family:
www.fojin.com

"No, It's a vicious lie!"






Archives:

2014-Today
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002

November 07, 2014 - 11:58 p.m.
"paramount pictures" or "beverly hills"

Hey Journal!

Well, it's the last night of our trip! I can't believe that tomorrow we're heading home. I'm always sad when our vacation comes to an end but I am definitely ready to head back and be in our own house again!

THis was the first time we left our house for a vacation since we moved in, so that was a little crazy, too. I set up our hue lights to go on and off at random times each night, and I set our nest thermostat to keep the temperature at 60 degrees. I checked in on both the nest and hue every day, too!

Anyway, this morning we woke up in our hotel in Chula Vista. We packed up and then had a little something to eat at the hotel breakfast. I just had some cereal to hold me over until we got a real breakfast. We decided that we wanted to go out and have a real breakfast this morning, so we departed the hotel around 9:00am and headed back towards Los Angeles, planning to keep an eye out for something good along the way.

We had a tour of the Paramount Pictures studios scheduled for 1:00pm, so we had a little bit of time for breakfast. I looked up some places on my phone but I wasn't sure about any of them. We decided to go to a place called "Al's Cafe in the Village."

It was a really cool place... I felt like we were back in the 1970s. It seemed like a place that would have fit perfectly in the Brady Bunch! I got Steak and Eggs, and it came with hash browns and a pancake.

After we were done eating we hit the road and continued toward LA. On the way, we drove past the Crystal Cathedral which was the site of a church TV show that my grandma used to watch every Sunday morning when I was little! I had seen it a bunch of times on TV, so it was really random driving by it. A little interesting info that I found out today.... the church went bankrupt and sold the building to the Catholic church.

At about 12:30, we arrived at the Paramount Studios and we drove down the nearby streets in search of some parking. The streets nearest the studio all had a two hour limit which wouldn't have worked for our two hour tour. We didn't want to pay to park in the lot, so we kept going and found free street parking just a little farther down the street.... probably about a 4 minute walk.

We checked in for our tour and then headed inside. It was really random becuase it seemed like, especially before the tour began, that we could have walked anywhere we wanted on the lot and nobody would have even known we were supposed to be on a tour, or where we had gone.

Our tour guide was named Conner... he was nice. We saw a lot of interesting stuff, but at the same time, Dan and I both agree it was kinda lame. I mean, it was interesting being at the studio and seeing the stages where many big movies and TV shows had been filmed but at the same time, we didn't really see anything at all. We just saw the outside of buildings. "Oh look... Inside this building they're filming Glee." Great...

However, I do have a little weird coincidence. During the tour we saw the streets where they film a lot of outdoor scenes in TV shows and movies. One of the buildings had a red awning that said "Cafe" on it. Well, tonight we were watching TV in our hotel room and a commercial came on for a clothes store. The model was sitting on top of a car and I saw that exact place with the CAFE awning in the background!! CRAZY!!

After our tour, we passed by the studios were some ABC shows are filmed. It's too bad they don't have tours of THAT. I would soooo love that.

We didn't have any other plans but we wanted to see some celebrities! Dan looked up some possible places, so we went to this supermarket near Beverly Hills. We walked around but didn't see any familiar faces.

Next we went to see the Beverly Hills sign. We took some pictures there and then drove around the area looking at all the big houses. We tried to find the addresses of famous people but it was surprisingly hard. I don't understand how these things aren't readily available online.... especially since they have tours that drive by the stars' home... how has nobody made a list that's easy to find online!?

We took a drive up Mulholland Drive and when we got to the top there was a crazy overlook! We stopped to take in the view and we also put the top up on the convertible because it was starting to get cold.

We headed for our hotel and along the way we stopped at a Target because Dan wanted to get something. I found a pair of clearance underwear. You know I can't resist Target clearance! We've been to about 5 different Targets on this trip! It's wild. Going to different Targets around the country is almost as exciting as any tour or sightseeing adventure! :P

We got to our hotel which is a Homewood Suites in Agoura Hills. It's a nice area that's not too city-ish. Actually, this is probably the best hotel we've stayed at the whole trip.

Once we got checked in, we got to our room and then went down to the hot tub! It was a nice night, but it was starting to get a little chilly.

While we were in the hot tub we decided to rank all of the hotels we stayed in, and here's how it went:
Best hotel to Worst hotel:
Homewood Suites (tonight)
DoubleTree near Disneyland (first night)
Alpine Inn (Near Disneyland, two nights)
Laguna Riviera Hotel (in Laguna Beach)
Hercor Hotel (in Chula Vista)
The Moment Hotel (in LA)

The thing about "the moment hotel" was that it was the smallest room, had no carpet, had a very weird feeling about it, and was also the most expensive of all the hotels we stayed at.

Anyway, we got to the hot tub at about 8:00 and we were in there until about 9. Before heading back to our room we took a photo next to the crazy Diarrhea warning sign and checked out the "six hole putting green." This hotel has it all! (At least that's what Andrew at the front desk told us!)

For dinner we went to a place nearby called Tavern 101. They had a really nice outdoor seating area and it was getting a little chilly, so they had heaters on and I put on a hoodie. It was a cool place, and I'm glad we went there. I got chicken breast with mashed potatoes and mac and cheese! I ordered a drink and the girl didn't believe I was actually 21! She was staring at it forever and then looking to see if the pictures matched... and then she was like "Are you really over 21??" I was like... "Yes, I am actually 31!" She couldn't believe that either.... but you know I loved it.

Anyway, by the time we left the restaurant it was FREEZING COLD OUT!! The temperature swing is so weird here... it was 93 degrees in the afternoon and somehow it got down to 55 on our way home!! It makes no sense! I can't believe how it can cool down so fast here!

When we got back to the hotel we watched some TV and now we're just getting ready for bed!

Today was our last full day!! Tomorrow we're planning to hang out at the hotel, have breakfast, and then we have to make our way to LAX by around 11:30 for our 1pm flight!

Until tomorrow...

Goodnight. :)