We are back from vacation – my first flight in a year (since Germany) and Brodie’s first official flight ever. Surprisingly, the plane ride in both directions wasn’t too bad. Brodie fussed at take off and landing on the way out, which were right at his meal times anyway. And then, on the way back, he only fussed at take off, promptly passed out for his morning nap and handled landing like a champ. The people behind us really enjoyed seeing his smiling face as he enjoyed looking all around the plane.
We flew on JetBlue, which has a direct flight from Austin to Long Beach. I really enjoy flying into tiny airports because it’s so easy to get in and out. Thankfully, there weren’t any delays because I can see how it would get boring, but otherwise, LGB was great. We got off the plane, grabbed our stuff and walked across the street to the car rental. Enterprise had a bunch of nicer cars to choose from than most cities we’ve visited. They originally offered us a Ford Focus. I’m glad I asked what else they had. We paid the extra $5 a day for a Honda Accord. Across from us in the lot was a VW Jetta and a Volvo sedan. I was impressed they had such a selection since most places have Ford, Hyundai or Kia.
Once we got the carseat installed and all our luggage loaded, we drove up the 405 toward Westwood. There’s a ton of construction going on right at our exit (Santa Monica/Wilshire), and that was our first taste of LA traffic. Got checked in at the Hotel Palomar the first night, which was great as usual. I had a free night to use up, so we cashed that in. Since it was well past Brodie’s bedtime by the time we got there (7pm PST = 9pm CST), I was worried he’d be a total cranky pants. But he had a second wind and really enjoyed hanging out with our friend Matt. We had dinner at 16 Blvd, the restaurant in the hotel. Delicious food. Brodie passed out pretty quickly as soon as we got back upstairs to our room.
Thursday was our first full day in town, and since Brodie was still on Texas time, that meant a LOT of very early mornings. He was up around 5:30am local time, ready to play. We took him downstairs around 6:30 so we could get some complimentary coffee/tea and checked out the hotel pool. Brodie took his morning nap at 8 am, and we were out the door by 9 am. We decided to head to the Westwood Village near UCLA to grab some breakfast. We found a little cafe for brunch foods, then walked around to Trader Joe’s to pick up fruit, veggies and snacks to take with us to the apartment we rented through HomeAway. By the time we got back to the car, Brodie was ready for his “afternoon” nap. We took advantage of that time to drive around the UCLA campus, Bel Air, Rodeo Dr. and Beverly Hills before heading to the Getty Center.
Brodie woke up just in time for the Getty Center, where I could nurse him in the car. We walked through some of the art exhibits, but Brodie’s squeals of delight were distracting. We enjoyed the view and the architecture instead. The Center Garden was being renovated in prep for summer tourist season, so we didn’t get to walk down there. The breeze was so nice, and the view was pretty amazing.
We tackled more traffic to get to the apartment, which was near Venice Beach. Great location and the perfect size for us. It was a one bedroom, small living room, and decent sized kitchen. Having that kitchen was incredibly helpful for getting solid foods prepped for Brodie. We brought along our microwave steamer, and I just tossed some cauliflower we bought at Trader Joe’s into it and voila! Brodie has food to eat. Since he was pretty much hitting his bedtime at 4:30pm local, we found a little Hawaiian cafe around the corner for a quick early dinner. Got him bathed and in the pack-n-play by 6 pm. While this is way earlier than we normally end our days on vacation, I really didn’t mind. I went to bed at 8pm myself, which helped with the night wakings and the early mornings.
Friday, we spent the morning walking along Santa Monica Beach and checking out the pier before meeting up with Matt at Highland and Hollywood. That’s the big touristy spot for Grauman’s Chinese Theater and the Kodak Theater. We found Shirley Temple’s handprints, where I have a picture from the first time I’d ever visited LA as a kid. And I knew not to stop to take pictures with any of the people dressed up in character! Then, we went over to the Grove so I could go peruse the Athleta store. There are only a handful of brick-and-mortar stores open, mostly on the east and west coast. But they are conveniently set up much like Lululemon. :) I tried on a pair of yoga leggings and a cute yoga top and kept my purchases to just that. It was nice to try on the clothes first, which you obviously can’t do from looking at the catalog. While I was shopping, the boys hung out on the lawn outside, where they saw Selma Blair and her baby.
By Friday night, Brodie’s congestion was getting pretty bad. I always forget how dry California is, and he woke up feeling pretty miserable. We made the bathroom into a giant humidifier by running the hot water and letting him breathe in the steam. It’s a good thing we didn’t have any huge plans for Saturday. We just went over to In-N-Out Burger (because we HAVE to when we’re on the west coast), which was also near a Costco (nuts on a Saturday!). Then, we headed up to Santa Monica’s 3rd Street Promenade to walk around before spending the rest of the day at Rito’s. He had a Cinco de MargaRito party at his condo, and Brodie had a good time playing with the other kids. He also got to meet Devon, Matt’s wife. By the time we left the party, it was well past Brodie’s bedtime (local and Texas time). We got him down pretty easily before re-organizing all the bags, ready for our flight in the morning.
And that was our trip! We’re a little jet lagged this morning with the time change and Brodie still not sleeping through the night, but we all had a great time. Brodie has been army crawling all over the place. We really have to watch where we put him and what’s within crawling distance. He ate half an avocado on his own in a single sitting and chowed down on sweet potatoes. He had more fun mashing the cauliflower in his hands than eating it, but that’s ok. He seems to be alright with the taste and will just need some practice putting it in his mouth. He’s working on his pincher grasp (ouch) and his downward facing dog. Overall, he did so well throughout the trip, and we enjoyed a slower pace to our vacation.
Oh, and while we were out of town, I got a call from my endocrinologist’s office saying my blood work showed the meds working a bit too well. I can cut my medicine in half from 10 mg to 5 mg. Whew! Hopefully this slows down my weight gain, and my body can start to normalize.
Pics to come later once I get them off the memory card.
