Fun trip to Cali with a little unexpected shaking

We took an early summer trip to California to see some sights and catch a show. Didn't blog it day-to-day, but decided to do a recap...mainly so we don't forget ;) 

The trip started with a few days with family in northern California. After some family time, we drove to Santa Cruz for a few days.  

Loved the train to the Boardwalk and back. 

And enjoyed the ride through the Big Trees! 

Had to go back to the Boardwalk for a few rides

Next up - Los Angeles. 
We made it to the Anaheim area on the 4th of July. Our plan for this trip includes some extended family who met us in LA. As luck would have it, we could see fireworks from our hotel! 

The next day we headed to Knott's Berry Farm with some of the family. The park was fun and we enjoyed many of the rides. 

After a hot day of having fun, we met up with the rest of our growing party and some local friends at the local Claim Jumper restaurant. 
With a group of ten, we enjoyed a leisurely dinner. And parts of the group left early to return to the hotel. Our little family of four lingered the longest, even chatting for another 20 minutes in the parking lot after we ate. So that is where we were when the earthquake hit. Yup... that is when the 7.1 quake shook us. The kids hadn't experienced an Earthquake yet... so that was new. And our family that was back at the hotel had quite the ride in the pool. But we were all fine. (So if you are keeping track.. this year: 1 Tornado Watch and 1 Earthquake). 

Over the weekend we got to run to Train Town and the Zoo. 

For several days of this trip, hubby worked out of a local office. So the kids and I found fun things to do in the area. Part of the larger group we were with took a day and hit Universal Studios. Our young man and I enjoyed some classic California fare with hubby at Bob's Big Boy in Burbank. 

Last full day in So. Cal, we had a busy day. A group of us (all girls except for our young man, who was very patient) got to go to Orly Color Lab and make our own personalized nail polishes. Such a fun thing to do. If you are in the area, make an appointment and stop by! 

We made a total of 9 polishes! So fun! 

We finished our trip with a show. Truth be told this was the catalyst of the trip. We had tickets for our whole group to see "The Play That Goes Wrong" at the Ahmanson Theater. [Editor's note: I had seen this play on Broadway in March 2018 while I was in New York on a work trip. When given the opportunity, I don't ask people if they want to see it, I buy tickets and tell them that they are coming with me. :-)]
We were a group of 11 for the show and it was a great performance. This show is wonderful, lots of fun. 

Thanks for the fun, California. See ya again soon!