Los Angeles

Last week, on our way to Hawaii, we stopped in Los Angeles for three days to visit the cousins.

One of the nicest things about seeing the cousins on the Calisoff side is that they are similar in age.

The first night we arrived they had a spread ready for us for dinner.

After the kids ate, Joy made cupcakes and we celebrated Adam and Ben’s birthdays.

Then the kids played. I never realized how great having an outdoor space for kids to play creatively is until that evening.

Both of our Los Angeles cousins were great hosts, chasing the twins around and letting us use all their toys.

Ben fell in love with Sadie, their dog.

The next day we woke up and hiked Runyon Canyon Park. We were on a mission to see the Hollywood sign.

And we did!

After that hot excursion, we took a break at the pool. We booked an AirBNB that had a pool and jacuzzi like a hotel. We used it every day.

Some of the cousins joined us.

The next day we hit Griffith Park. Joy knew of a delightful walk there called FernDell.

It was mostly shaded and had lots of great things to look at, like crayfish and frogs.

At the end of the walk was a playground perfect for tag…

…a rock gully to run through…

…and a yummy little restaurant called ‘Trails’.

Everyone else thought so too!

The next evening we headed to my favorite restaurants from my days in Asia, Ding Tai Fong. My friend Tom first took me to the one in Taipei. Their Xiao Long Bao is the best I’ve ever tasted, though this visit I think I only got 2!

Jack ate about 15, Aaron ate 6!

Right down the street, the other cousin was in a baseball tournament.

We stopped by but unfortunately missed the game. We didn’t miss out on playing in the nearby park, though.

We also took one of the suggestions from our cousins for an ice cream place, Salt and Straw.

It was another popular LA destination! Luckily we beat the crowd. Or maybe we created it?

The last day we visited the La Brea Tar Pits.

It was a truly fascinating and unique experience.

They have discovered tons of dinosaurs bones here. Wooly Mammoths, sloths, Dire Wolves and more! In fact they are still excavating! In the museum they show how they painstakingly separate and clean each specimen.