Southern California (Sept 20-24, 2017)

We took a short trip to southern California during fall break for the twins. Our first stop was at Joshua Tree National Park.

After entering the park, we pulled over in a picnic area for lunch, and played a bit on the boulders.

After lunch, we got out and took a short walk along one of the paths near Arch Rock.

We were going to head west when the road forked but noticed that the gas in the car was really low so we headed out of the park through the North entrance station, instead of  leaving through the West entrance station as planned. Once we filled the tank, we decided to just continue to Big Bear Lake, instead of backtracking and going back into the park.

We arrived in Big Bear Lake around 7:30 pm, so we checked into the cabin we rented, headed into town for dinner, 

and then went back to the cabin to unpack and settle in for the night.

Southern California - Day 2 - Big Bear Lake

Day 2 (Sept 21)

We spent this morning looking at fall leaves

and taking a nice sunny hike and 

At the end of the hike, we stopped to use a bathroom. 

I thought it was fitting and really funny that the bathroom had a scat identification chart!

We headed towards the lake, but by then an afternoon fog rolled in and cold drizzling rain started, so we headed back to the cabin to relax. 

Later, we headed back into town for dinner (and a really good Himalayan restaurant) and then did a bit of browsing/shopping. I found a t-shirt that captured exactly how I was feeling!

Southern California - Day 3 - Hollywood

Day 3 (Sept 22) - Hollywood

Today we decided to drive to Los Angeles/Hollywood, since we were close and the girls really wanted to go.

Once we were there, we visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame while we waited for the double decker sightseeing bus tour to start.

We took the tour and saw various attractions and areas of interest in Hollywood.

After the tour, we visited the Hollywood Wax Museum and posed with various "celebrities".

We then headed back to Big Bear Lake to spend the night.

Southern California - Day 4 - Big Bear Lake

Day 4 (Sept 23) - Big Bear Lake

Today we explored other areas of Big Bear Lake, including talking to the observatory.

We also went on a few other short hikes

Drove around the lake

Drove further into the mountains 

 (and even saw a bobcat near the skyline trail)

and then went to explore the Stanfield March Wildlife/Waterfowl Preserve

Southern California - Day 5 - Salton Sea

Day 5 (Sept 24) - Salton Sea

To break up the drive home today, we decided to make a detour and visit the Salton Sea.

While the view of the water was nice

The beaches were disgusting, with the sand filled with dead fish and beached boats.

From there, we took a detour to the International Banana Museum to get a snack

and observe the huge collection of banana-related stuff.