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.

Fun in WI

We visited family in WI and had fun in New Glarus and the surrounding areas. 

We tried to stick dollars to the ceiling at Puempell's tavern.

We visited statues that used to creep me out as a kid.

These statues can be found just outside of Hollandale, at Nick Engelbert's Grandview.  

We also checked out the trolls in Mt. Horeb.

Miami (AZ)

 I drove through Miami today. It was sunny and warm but I couldn't find the beach.

Los Angeles Zoo

I went to Los Angeles for a work conference. Tonight we had a social event at the zoo. I couldn't resist playing on the giant snake 

Vegas and Death Valley (March 12-15, 2017)

Because all of the girls had spring break at the same time, we decided to take a quick road trip. We rented a condo on the strip in Las Vegas and used that as a base for day trips.

To break up the drive, the first stop was at Grapevine Canyon, near Laughlin. 

We saw lots of petroglyphs, a snake, and Steve and the girls had fun climbing the rocks (I didn't trust my new knees with scrambling over the boulders).

After we checked into our condo, we headed to Fremont

 Street,

We watched a street magician

Checked out the light shows

And the girls were entertained by the other street performers.