City ❀ Country ❀ Beach
Welcome to Royal Kona Resort located in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii! This resort will leave you breathless as you marvel at its beauty inside and out. It has everything you would want for an oceanside escape. Arriving Nearby You’ll easily spot the Royal Kona …
Make my surprise Christmas gift take you and your loved one on a weekend getaway to the big apple. Here is a list of everything you can do in two short days as a couple! In addition, it is not hard to explore NYC like …
It was the roaring 20’s when Hollywood first started it’s empire of movies & TV businesses along these two seemingly timeless streets located in Hollywood. Ever since then, Hollywood just keeps growing and growing with more talent from generation to generation.
One of our first stops is a city known for it’s boutiques, star studded beautiful homes, and, of course, palm trees. Palm Springs doesn’t necessarily have a nickname, but if I were to give it a nickname I would say that Palm Springs is the city of charm. It is secluded, quite (depending what time of year you go), has many shops that are uniquely divided in character, and is rich in history.
During our vacation, we did not do a lot at Palm Springs because our main focus was Hollywood. However, we did stay at the beautiful Palm Canyon Resort and there is no shortage of activities to do there with or without children.
One very interesting tour you could take is to Elvis Presley’s honeymoon hideaway home that is worth over $9.5 million. We did not tour this home, but we did make it a pit stop to see the outside of it. It is located in a cul-de-sac and it truly is stunning even from just the outside. Unfortunately, I did not get the best photo of it, but I did have my husband take a photo of me taking a photo of the home! Pretty funny.
I have to rate this tour as one of our favorite places we visited because we are huge movie & TV fans. We are specifically fans of many of Warner Bros. shows. Some of our favorite film stages that you can visit are “The Big Bang Theory,” “Young Sheldon,” and “The Ellen Degeneres Show.” If you’re a 1980’s child, then you might recognize the set from “Friends.” You can literally sit on the sofa and be a “friend.” Photos were not allowed inside certain studios and sets.
If you love movies as much as we do, you’ll recognize props & costumes here from many well known movies such as Batman & Harry Potter. Warner Bros. Studio, as you can see, has a full day’s worth of exciting sites to see and experience and is suitable for all ages.
Tour/Tip/2 cent: Hollywood Max Factor MuseumMany people don’t know about this museum, but if you have a few hours to kill you must make a visit. It is located within walking distance of the Chinese Theatre so if you’re already out and about, it won’t take you long to get here. It is a historic building that carries many movie and TV props, scripts, and artifacts.
Tour/Tip/2 cent: Hollywood BoulevardThis is the place to be when visiting Hollywood for the first time. There is so much life here! There are many tour companies that will want your business. We decided to go with a walking audio tour to get more of an in-depth perspective to the old/classic & newer Hollywood. Here you will be provided with headphones and as you walk you will be given information on everything at a reasonable pace. You may even ask questions, if you desire. Here are some of our family’s favorite stars!
I grew up in Anaheim. True story: My family met John Wayne at the LA airport and John Wayne held me as a baby!
From the Oscars, Academy Awards to American Idol, Dolby Theatre is a gorgeous 640K sq.ft. theatre auditorium in the heart of the Hollywood Distric in Los Angeles. You can only tour with a ticket in hand. Tickets are purchased through their website. I was very surprised how ordinary the outside staircase entrance to the theatre was. Did you know it’s located in a shopping mall? On any given day it looks ordinary, but on award nights the entire entrance is transformed into a red carpet event. Store signs are covered with fabric. Seats are provided for spectators/fans. Giant Oscar statues are lined up at the entrance. The entire street of Hollywood Boulevard is closed off for the event. Our tour guide showed us a photo of how the place is transformed verses how it is on a daily basis.
This is how it looks on a daily basis:
You won’t see these stairs adorned in all of their red carpet splendor on a daily basis, but on Oscar night it will be! Entered from the first level going upstairs, is the entrance to the Dolby Theatre. I was pretending to pose like a wannabe movie star! I think I may have been a bit under dressed! By the way, do you notice the shop signs?
If you go to the second level, you’ll be able to see the entire mall’s courtyard. And if you move to a certain location, you’ll see a far off view of the famous Hollywood sign.
Our tour of the Dolby Theatre was about to begin as we waited patiently for our guide. We were ready to go with ticket in hand. We were very excited!
To our excitement, once you’re in, it is spectacular!!! It is all about glamour and glitz! The staircase inside is where the stars go to get their seats. In addition, there are private VIP rooms!
The inside is impressive!
Sony Pictures Studio is a place where many stars film their shows and/or movies. It is a wonderful place for the entire family! There are sitcom sets and game show sets. If you look and book ahead of time (plenty of time), you could even be in an audience!
“Who you gonna call?” That’s right! GHOSTBUSTERS!
Getting our Spidey sense on!
If you were a big “Desperate Housewives” fan, you would recognize this entire neighborhood. I was a fan and it felt surreal to be IN Wisteria Lane. That was an awesome experience!
Knott’s Berry Farm during the holidays is so merry. The last time I was here was when I was 5 years old! This was a long overdue trip and to enjoy it as a family made it even more special. This theme park is has things for the entire family. They have awesome rides, shows, and great food! It is an old world feeling walking about the grounds with fun all around.
The Reagan Library is the Reagan presidential museum and the resting place for former President Reagan. This library is Located in the city of Simi Valley which is southeast of Ventura County. It is an absolutely beautiful place to visit and perhaps stay a few days. We really wanted to visit the Reagan Library and I was stunned on how beautiful it was out there!
Santa Monica Pier is a lovely place to spend a fun time with your family or just relax on your own on the beach. It’s also a great place to people watch or grab a bite to eat. It’s got the best of both world’s: thrills and chills (thrill=rides, chills=chillax on the beach). The best time to go is during sunset and that’s when we went. It can be very chilly depending on when you go and very windy so bring a light jacket!
There are innumerable things to do in Hollywood as a family.
I hope you enjoyed this guide to serve you in any future visits to Hollywood, California.
If you have a specific question about this post, please email me.
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First, let me tell you that my mom and dad are natives of Costa Rica, so I am not new to all the beauty this country entails. I have visited many times while growing up, even attending school there. I do speak fluent Spanish and …
Have you ever been to a place and your mouth just drops in amazement of how beautiful it is? There are many beautiful places in the world, but Arenal Observatory Lodge & Spa is truly the ultimate retreat in Costa Rica! During our trip to Costa …
This Peruvian restaurant, located in La Fortuna de San Carlos near the Arenal Volcano National Park in Costa Rica, has many food options that will leave you satisfied. It is was not crowded at all when we visited. In fact, we had the whole restaurant to ourselves, aside from another table on the opposite side of the room. Truthfully, this made me think of the quality. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the service and quality of the food.
I decided to order a seafood ensemble with veggies and rice. Honestly, I didn’t care for the octopus, but it was my first time ever trying it. Everything else was delicious!
Then came dessert! Oh, this was out of this world! This brownie and ice cream was so good. However, I wish the portion was a bit bigger. No sharing here!
This restaurant was good for us so I don’t have anything negative to say. It is also located in an area where there are souvenir shopping and a grocery store. It is conveniently located for a night out in the area! For things to do in the San Jose & Arenal locations, visit my travel post, Costa Rica.
Have you ever eaten octopus? How did you like it? Are you an adventurous eater? Comment below and let me know!
If you have a specific question about this post, please email me.
You Ottawa Go Here, EH? Canada was like a vacation like no other. You see, I’m a tropical weather kind of girl and well, as you could have guessed, Canada is cold. And then Canada in December?!? Brrrr! It was -11ºF!!! I have never been …
Shooters Bar & Grill… is a wonderful restaurant that feels more like a diner. While we were on vacation in Ottawa, Canada, we stayed at Dickson Manor Resort in Calabogie which is about an hour and a half away. We needed a close place to eat. …
Calabogie Peaks Resort is an escape of its own because it has everything you want in a vacation! Forget renting a car. You don’t need to! However, if you do rent a car, make sure to check out my post on what to do near Calabogie “Ottawa, Canada | You Ottawa Go Here, Eh? A Snowy Christmas Vacation.” If you need a place to eat, check out Shooters Bar & Grill located just six minutes from Calabogie Peaks Resort!
This ski resort is situated in on the eastern side of Ottawa in between Toronto and Montreal. It is about 1.5 hours away from the Ottawa International Airport. It is in the Greater Madawaska area of Ontario and overlooks the beautiful Calabogie Lake. The mountainside of Calabogie absolutely makes this resort top notch because it is great every season.
You don’t need to go to Calabogie Peaks Resort only during the winter months. They have many activities & amenities year round to make even the hermit crab want to come out and play. I will show you the winter activities here, but some of the other season activities include tennis, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, hiking trails, golf and more. There is no shortage of ‘what to do’ here.
Since this is a ski resort, the rooms feel like a mixture between a lodge and a condominium. We stayed in a two story king size and sofa bed room. There are other options, but this fit our family the best. I thank God there was a fireplace in our room! It kept me warm in our -11˚F weather. If you’d like a fireplace, which I highly recommend if you’re visiting during the winter months, you need to call the resort directly and request one.
Our family had never been skiing before and it is something we wanted to try. Honestly, I thought it was way harder than I thought it would be. Putting on those ski boots was really hard and hurt my ankles after a while of skiing. However, I did not fall! I was proud of myself. The resort is awesome for skiers! I might sound like a novice here, because well, I am. It has a ski lift, a conveyor belt for you so you don’t have to ski your way up the bunny slope, and all the equipment you need to rent for your day in the snow.
My favorite activity was tubing. That was my thing! I might not have been good at skiing, but tubing was easy and a lot of fun!
Whether you’re in the mood to stay inside and enjoy the comfy fireplace, go outside and enjoy the scenery, do any of the onsite activities, or just play in the snow, Calabogie Peaks Resort has it all at every season.
If you have a specific question about this post, please email me.
The Three Mariners Located in Lancaster, this pub won’t leave you disappointed. The following is a great description from The Three Mariners restaurant website itself. As the oldest pub in Lancaster, The Three Mariners is steeped in history, located inside a Grade II listed …
