Sunny California!

Day 1...

Derek and I had a wonderful time in California this past week! We flew out early Monday morning. We arrived in beautiful California at 10:30 am with PLENTY of time to go sight-seeing! Our first stop was the Santa Monica Pier! What an interesting place....

Kandace & I at the Santa Monica Pier

We voted him the "Best Entertainer on the Pier" and also "Best Dressed" for obvious reasons!

Derek & Kandace eating at Bubba Gump's Restaurant

We also did some driving through Malibu, which was absolutely gorgeous and very cool at 64 degrees! Loved the weather there! After exploring the coast, we headed back to Bakersfield, CA where my sister lives. (Side Note - If you don't know, my sister works for Nestle Purina and has lived in Iowa and New York before moving to CA.) 

Day 2...

We headed back to Los Angeles. The original plan was to drive to the San Diego Zoo, but driving four hours one way to see the animals just didn't seem right, so we settled for the LA Zoo which was fabulous!

Lions, Tigers and Bears! Oh my! 

(Actually, they didn't really come out of the shade because it was so stinkin' hot!)

After a walk around the zoo, which Derek was thrilled about doing in the heat (haha!) We left to grab some lunch. As we were leaving, Warner Bros. was filming across the street for something set in Boston, because there were Boston police cars and Boston school buses everywhere.

We drove into Hollywood and had some wonderful sushi! (YUM!)

After lunch, we drove down the Hollywood Boulevard. 

Hollywood Boulevard

 Chinese Theater (Everyone was there!)

Kodak Theater (Now Dolby Theater)

Someone "living the dream" on Hollywood Blvd

Kandace and I wanted to see the Hollywood Sign. Derek was more excited about getting to the Warner Bros. VIP tour. He was not happy when our Los Angeles app took us through the Hollywood Hills to see the sign. The road was big enough for barely two cars and there were cars parked along one side of the road. Kandace was driving us uphill around sharp curves where you could not see if another car was around the curve. Kandace and I laughed the entire time. Derek was brooding, because he was scared that we weren't going to make it to his precious VIP tour. Bless!

We did see the Hollywood sign! 

And Derek also make it to the VIP tour with PLENTY of time to spare!

We made it to the Warner Bros. VIP Tour! 

We did have a blast, but we had an awesome tour guide, Brad! 

Kandace and I outside before the tour began.

Kandace and Scooby Doo

 Derek and General Lee's Car

 Derek and the Batmobile

This was super exciting! Warner Bros. Studios has kept the Central Perk set preserved!  

For True Blood and Pretty Little Liar fans, this is Merlotte's Diner 

and the motel in the Pretty Little Liars' episodes.

Pretty Little Liars' shed

Lots of cool things on the VIP tour! We also went onto the set of The Big Bang Theory, saw lots of props and clothes used in different movies and TV shows and the row of houses and buildings used to film numerous shows and movies. It is pretty incredible how they use their sets over and over again!

Day 3...

We drove back out to LA to be in the audience for a taping of the Jay Leno show with Morgan Freeman and a few others. We sat out in the heat for a couple hours. We met a sweet family from Florida, who we talked to the whole time that we were there. Finally, we went into the studio to start the taping. Lots of people, including Jay Leno, come out to speak to you and welcome you to the show. They only take a hour to tape the show and FYI the Tonight Show is not filmed at night. It is filmed at 4pm. Crazy!

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the studio, so that is why I have no pictures for this. They were definitely serious about not taking pictures, because I reached in my purse for my chapstick and EVERY security guards' eyes went onto me!!!! Sheesh!

Day 4 and 5....

These were low key days spent waiting on my sister's new furniture or just having fun in Bakersfield! 

It truly was a blast!

Also in the midst of this fun-filled trip, I started my shots. Hooray! I'm able to give myself the shots which is good that I don't have to rely on anyone to be home at a specific time. Although, my neighbor & friend, Holly, and friend, Joni,  have been generous enough to say that they would give the shots to me if I can't! 

Here is a little sign that my sister sent to me right before Derek and I flew out there! I think that it pretty much sums up us!

I miss her and I'm trying not to cry as I type this!

Love y'all! 

Karilyn