Tammy's California Adventure

Well, the blog has veered into the political lately, and I think it's time to get back to talking about what we've been up to. The big news around here, besides all the babies this year, is that my mom came for a visit! Tammy hasn't ever flown before, and my dad's illness kept them from making the trip to Massachusetts while I was getting my PhD. So she had her first plane ride, and her first vacation since before my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away two years ago, and so it was really past time for her to have some fun. And I hope she did have a good time, because I know Jason and I really enjoyed her visit. She flew in on Monday afternoon and we spent that day making lasagna together and going to the mall. On Tuesday we headed down to the Santa Monica Pier and more shopping at the 3rd Street Promenade. This is my mom at the entrance to the Pier:You may notice the diet soda in her hand. She was absolutely appalled when she got to my house and found out that all we have to drink is water, and the only snacks we have are fruit and vegetables with some granola bars. She tried to make herself some sweet tea, but we didn't even have granulated sugar in the house. I guess we've really embraced the healthy lifestyle more than I realized! She was so happy to get to buy a soda. She was a good sport about taking the bus and walking everywhere too!

I took Thursday off of work and we spent the day in Hollywood. We visited Grauman's Chinese theatre (where you find the hand and foot prints of the famous in the sidewalk out front), we walked Hollywood Boulevard to see all the stars, and had lunch at the Disney Soda Fountain next to El Capitan theatre. We also visited the new Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. It was a blast, and honestly the figures are very lifelike. You are allowed to touch them, and they encourage lots of pictures. It's the closest I've come to spotting a star since I got here...
But Friday was the day my mom had been waiting for. Universal Studios. We were there when they opened, and we stayed till they closed. We rode pretty much everything in the park and took the studio tour. My mom wasn't crazy about the Simpson's ride, but she loved the Mummy. Here's my mom and I at the entrance:
We had a blast. Saturday was her last full day here as she flew out early Sunday morning, and we spent the entire day at Long Beach. Unfortunately, Jay's memory card for the Nikon D300 pooped out on us, and we have no pictures! I can tell you we did the Ghosts and Legends tour at the Queen Mary, and visited the Aquarium of the Pacific. We had dinner at Parker's Lighthouse where we saw a sea lion playing in the waves. It's really a shame about the pictures, because it was a lovely evening. And a great visit! My mom is an old pro at flying now, and we both hope to see her again soon.