Author: Mom

Dad and Mom got a pizza oven for Christmas. They have been trying different ways to make them. Dad is getting really good at it. Yummy pizzas! E has been  enjoying his Christmas gifts. I love the new expansion for Exploring Kittens called Imploding Kittens. E opted to wear the silly cone of shame even though he didn’t have to. I also declared dog pile! And sumo wrestler. We gave some love to Hedgie a lot lately. He has been feeling sad but we tried to cheer him up.

The amazing Dad pushed hard and drove well to get us home in just around 3 days. It gave us the entire weekend to unpack, unwind and get back to life. We stopped at some fun rest areas to leg stretch. This one needed a new sign. We found some rocks to climb at another. OJ and space suits… we must be in Florida. Worst part of entering through the panhandle is the total drive time Florida. HOURS AND HOURS!

We got to go to the Parade of Floats today. It was basically where all the floats from the parade come to park afterwards so the public can come and look at them up close. It was amazing seeing all the things that go into the fine details on the floats. There were long stem roses taller than Emmerson. Pictures made of seeds that were so intricate! We were all amazed with all the designs and work. We jokingly critiqued all the silver leaf on the floats. We still think ours was the best!  It was insanely crowded and we were thankful we got there early! Back to the campground after lunch to pack up and hit the road in the morning to race across the US.

After a short evenings sleep, an early morning in the cold on the bus and a fun walk through insane crowds we were safely in our bleacher seats for the parade. We were able to walk behind the bleachers and visit a grocery store and get some parade snacks before the lines got too long. We saw the stealth bomber fly overhead! Then the parade came. IT was awesome to see everything put together! Our Ag PHD float came along out of order being pulled by a tow truck! Oops! It won an award and we all cheered!

We had a great morning out at the Farmers Market. We wandered and looked alt he artwork, had some yummy donuts and hot cocoa. It was really foggy so we never got to see the Hollywood sign. Up next was the La Brea Tar Pits. We enjoyed a trek through the county park learning bout the tar pits and how they are still active today. You can see spots in the grass and parking areas where there are little tar fissures and the tar just bubbles up! We watched some volunteers working on sorting bone fragments. I was obsessed with the 400+ dire wolf skulls! We visited the Santa Monica Pier in the dense fog. We saw some unique people performing on the pier. We averted our eyes and just kept walking. We did get to ride the carousel. We headed up the coast towards Malibu and had great seafood at the Reel Inn. Finally our last voyage was through the hills with mom behind the wheel. We were twisting and turning and roller coasteering through the hills back to the campground. What a wild ride. At one point Mom even got passed by a guy on a BICYCLE! I think he had a death wish! She passed him at the bottom of the hill. Mom said that was fun but she didn’t need to do it again. Early bed tonight since tomorrow we have to be on the bus at 4am from the Rose Parade!