I regret to say that I didn't get ANY pictures of this experience because I was told I couldn't bring in a camera or a camera-equipped cellphone. At the time, I didn't realize what great treatment we would be receiving! My cousin's husband works for CBS. He's currently the "art guy" for the show. The fish on the Mr. So, it was educational. By the end, we were tired, our throats were raw from screaming and cheering, and we wanted to eat, but other than that, it was AWESOME!
In Closing...
Yankee Doodle's legendary 24-ounce cheeseburger!!!
We also got to meet Bill Goldberg (aka Goldberg within wrestling circles) who was absolutely HUGE ... EARTHQUAKE
The kids got to experience their first earthquake before we left for Santa Monica. I had rocked my nephew to sleep and nodded off. I thought the kids might have been running up and down the stairs in the apartment and I awoke intending to scold them. I then realized they were still seated next to me with very confused looks on their faces. I "ooooo" followed by "it's an earthquake". They just went back to watching TV! When I asked them what they thought, they shrugged and said, "Eh, it was cool." So much for impressing them! I know, I shouldn't be so excited about it, but after being away from CA for over ten years now, it was a welcome sensation. They're far better than hurricanes and tornadoes!
This beautiful outdoor mall was just the place to be for my daughter, who got to take her American Girl doll to American Girl Place. She got an appointment for her doll to have her hair done at the salon, bought a new doll outfit as well as a souvenir t-shirt, and she got to see every inch of this fantastic store! Meanwhile, Dad and brother thought it would be more manly and intelligent to hit the 4-story Barnes Noble bookstore until we were finished.
Center: Balboa Park's Botanical Garden building; Left: Timken Museum; Right: Casa del Prado building housing, at this part of the location, the San Diego Floral Association.
Pacific Park, where are the rides are housed, offered a great $20 ride-all-you-want deal the kids enjoyed while we visited. The pier also has an aquarium, which we didn't get to visit..
THE GROVE (Los Angeles, CA)
THIRD STREET PROMENADE (Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, CA)
***Where The Stars Shop***
BALBOA ISLAND (Newport Beach, Orange County)
So we all shook his hand and he asked us where we were from. When my daughter responded, "Delaware" he repeated it as a question, almost in disbelief that we'd come all that way. He was great with the kids, taking a few minutes to welcome them and thank them for coming. It was really, really cool. We've always liked Jeff Foxworthy, but now we like him even more and sing his praises because he was just so stinkin' nice!
SANTA MONICA PIER (Los Angeles, CA)
Find a parking place in nearby Newport Beach and take the walking ferry over to Balboa Island, a man-made island on the coast of Orange County. If you like having the convenience of being able to leave the island whenever you want, you can opt to take the auto ferry, but be aware that the wait can be 20-30 minutes during busy times and that once you drive over, you'll have a lot of fun looking for a parking place 5-8 blocks away from http://irateaggressor856.pen.io the Fun Zone. Aside from the multitude of tourist-attracting shops, the Fun Zone offers carnival games, an arcade, a carousel, and a mini ferris wheel. A fun, relaxing place full of shopping opportunities and chances to be a kid all over again! My favorite highlight was the candy shoppe that seemed to have all our old favorites for sale as well as the largest variety of saltwater taffy flavors I've ever seen. Another big perk: you'll get endless whiffs of funnel cake, cotton candy, and fresh ocean air for free!
http://gather.com/our-california-family-vacation-complete-with-star-sightings/
These two dinosaur sculptures / fountains stand within the Santa Monica Promenade.
A view of the harbor facing east on Balboa Island in front of Balboa's Fun Zone.
The taping showed the kids the true side of "reality" television and game shows. They saw that not every reaction is necessarily as spontaneous as we might think. Some things ARE re-taped until the show has the reactions and wording they'd like to get. not to be disappointed since we got to see several of their legendary Monster Burgers pass by with bells and whistles blaring.
After visiting the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, we decided to visit a few other locations in San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles counties that would be ... can we say ... what my daughter wanted to see the most on our vacation!" width="550" height="733"/>
American Girl Place at The Grove in Los Angeles, CA
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER? (CBS Studios, Los Angeles, CA)
THE L.A. Harriet Phillips. Named for its view of the Pacific Ocean, the park was named after Vasco Nunez de Balboa since he was the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean. As the years passed, the park grew, became more lushly landscaped, and was filled with cultural institutions as a result of two Expositions: the 1915-16 Panama-California Exposition and the 1935-36 California Pacific International Exposition. Today it is the nation's largest urban cultural park!
Her husband got us VIP tickets to a taping which meant we got to park on the lot and sit in the Green Room until our taping started. In all actuality, I probably could've gotten a camera in there (those taken from the line on the street have to surrender their cellphones with a coat room-like ticket to claim it later). So, there we were watching a taping conclude, just sitting in the Green Room minding our business. After the clapping started we heard doors open and then Jeff Foxworthy came into the Green Room. There was a celebrity right in front of me extending his hand! Holy Crap!
All in all, this was the best vacation we've ever had ... we're talkin' 6'4? and 275# HUGE. He was also really nice, though. Great sense of humor as well.
The Third Street Promenade runs three long outdoor blocks between Broadway and Wilshire Blvd. Home to many retail stores and eateries, there's always something to be seen. The day we visited a commercial for an exercise video was being filmed and a man played the steel drums for spare change. Before heading to the Santa Monica Pier, we decided to try Yankee Doodle's for lunch ... and there were no theme parks involved, therefore no massive expenditures to go on rides and no need to spend ridiculous amounts of money on food in the confines of a corporate-owned park. I think we'll have to take trips like this more often, not that the celebrities could be duplicated or that we'd even get to go to another taping, but just all the sights without the fabricated, money-sucking, theme park experience!
The kids got to observe the television taping for a portion of 'Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles' while on the pier, including the sighting of a star, Thomas Dekker, who was also on 'Heroes', their favorite TV show!
BALBOA PARK (San Diego, CA)
Balboa Park's story began in 1868 when civic leaders set aside a 1400 acre parcel of land overlooking "New Town" (current downtown San Diego). In 1892 Kate Sessions agreed to plant 100 trees per year in City Park, as it was then known. She became the early designer of the Park's beautiful landscaping. The name was formally changed to Balboa Park in 1910 as the result of a city-wide naming contest won by Mrs
