Part 1
Part 2
We had a fun family adventure in Los Angeles. Chris was going out for work, and we had enough notice to get frequent flyer tickets for me and Charlotte, too. (yay!) We stayed in Monrovia, close to Pasadena. I got a little bit too used to the green grass and flowers -- being back in Boston is a little bit depressing! ;)
March 14
This peacock is from the L.A. County Arboretum. Charlotte was transfixed by the peacocks. They were following us everywhere. This one was a little put out by her yelling!
View of the mountains
Tropical Jungle
Unfortunately I didn't get to take any pictures of Charlotte while we were there. Some flower or other must have gotten to her. Charlotte had a bit of an allergy attack, and we had to leave. Mama bought some baby Benadryl to have on hand for our next outing! (We didn't have any further problems on the trip)
March 15
We met my college roommate, Tess, for a wonderful trip to Huntington Gardens. Charlotte loved the water features, as you can see.
There are fishies in there! (thank you for the pictures, Tess!)
I wish I'd actually remembered to take a picture of Tess besides this one...! I'm sorry!
In the prism tunnel (Charlotte's favorite!)
Bye!
A cookie in my stroller
March 16
We went to Kidspace Children's Museum in Pasadena on Wednesday. It is in a city park right next to the Rose Bowl. I got pretty lost trying to get there. Despite my training in GIS, I forgot that just because two roads seem to cross on the map doesn't mean that one of them isn't an overpass, and one will have to drive halfway to Burbank before realizing one has to turn around and get back on the freeway. :)
Hmmm... stuffed fruit?
Chasing great big bouncy balls in the courtyard
This is what I meant about not getting much of an opportunity to photograph Charlotte these days -- she is usually running in the opposite direction!
More splash fountains!
Whee! I'm wet! (Charlotte developed a knack of standing right over the fountains and getting splashed!)
March 17
In the morning, we drove around Hollywood and saw the sights. We parked at the garage under the Kodak Theater and strolled around for a while. I was surprised at how cheap the parking was ($2 validated) and how few people were around. All good reasons to show up on a cloudy weekday morning!
Charlotte didn't enjoy herself at all in Hollywood, until we stopped for a muffin in the lobby of the theater. I didn't get to take any pictures, though a fake Mickey Mouse offered to pose with her while she was screaming in the stroller. I should have taken the picture, but I was afraid Charlotte would be mad at me in a few years. ;)
We had a much better time in Santa Monica, as you can see!
On the swingset at Muscle Beach, Santa Monica (I didn't realize there really was such a place!)
Mmm, sand (at least I didn't eat any, like I did last year!)
(P.S. This is the first time I'd used the Maya Wrap sling as a harness, and
it worked great!)
Breezy day
The Santa Monica Pier. Charlotte busted through the partway opened gate into the closed kiddie playland while she was on her harness. I didn't fit through the gap, so I had to go in after her! Ha! Luckily, the people working on the rides were good sports!