We made it from Carlsbad, California to Tombstone.
The drive was hot and dry with a touch of boring.

We stayed at the Lookout Best Western hotel.
The boys were pumped because our bathroom door was a double-door swinging bar door.
They thought we were really staying in a Wild West gun-fighter motel!

After checking in at the Lookout-mahal, we drove downtown to the famous OK Corral area.
We saw the spot where the Earps and Doc Holliday fought Ike and Billy Clanton.
We were at the actual spot where they say Doc Holliday stood during the gunfight.
It was a pretty cool place with some serious history.

Below – we actually were able to walk down the main Tombstone street!

We had supper at the Longhorn!
It is located inside of Big-Nose Kate’s Saloon!
The boys wanted beers, but we said no.

Tomorrow, we head to El Paso on the way to Carlsbad Caverns!

Adios,
The A-Team!

P.S.  What state did the Earps move from when arriving in Tombstone?

We took another trip to San Diego today to visit the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Park.
This place is a really really BIG zoo!

The herbivores all run free together.  You have giraffes and rhinos rubbing shoulders.

We took the ride that goes through the park.  It was very cool to see all of the animals.
The park has helped restore many different species to the wild.
It is like a real Jurassic park with regular old animals.

Speaking of Jurassic park, the park has a Dino Mountain area that is amazing.
You have a mess of robotic dinosaurs in a redwood forest.
Sam – the King of the Dinos is right in the middle – Big Rex!

Grandma – we knew you would love this!

This one is also for Grannyma!

After the dinos, we did a bit of calf-roping.
It was fun and a bit of a pace-changer.

Lastly, we stopped off to see a porcupine show.
We sat back and the boys ran up to watch the show.

We overheard the boys ask the nice park hosts how the porcupine shoots off its quills.
Kelley and I were laughing so hard that we could not see.
Sam and Ben were very upset that the hosts told them the porcupine could not shoot its quills.
Sam said – “My daddy said the porcupine shoots its quills at stuff!”
Sam was very upset that the hosts knew so little about porcupines.
I had to defend my position on the deadly nature of the porcupine.
I explained that the nice hosts did not want panic and hysteria to overtake the crowd which was of course why they did not tell the real story of the porcupine and its ability to shoot quills with laser precision.
Had the crowd known the real danger they were in, it would have been a real riot.
We were lucky to have survived such a close encounter with such a deadly adversary!

Adios,
The A-team

We took a drive to San Diego today to visit the San Diego zoo.

The first thing we saw was a mess of flamingos.

Sam – There is an app for that!
Ben – I love pink – is that a bad thing?

Next – we saw bears and they were really funny.
Sam – I am a sloth bear and I am swinging my head like a baseball bat.
Ben – Sloths are the 2nd most dangerous animal on the planet.  Only the porcupine is more dangerous.  My daddy said that hundreds of people a year are killed by sloths and porcupines.

After that, we discovered that there was a bus you could ride around the zoo.  We hopped on and went for a ride.
Sam – To the Polar Rim we went – home of the mighty polar bear!
Ben – I love bears!  My paw-paw is a bear.

Hippos and Pandas were next!  The hippo tank was awesome – the hippo was laying in the tank right up against the clear glass.  Eeepo-nonymous!

The pandas were a bit sleepy, but we did see them up close.

Food followed!
Sam – I hate tacos with tomatoes!  Bring on the Tex-mex!
Ben – I love hot stuff!  I like my food hot and the weather even hotter!  I love Texas!

Elephant Odyssey followed and we received a brief history of the California coast and animal life.
Sam – How did I get that in that picture twice?
Ben – Why do I have no face?

We rode the sky-tram about 300 hundred times and then went to see some snakes.
We figured Aunt Shirley would really like the yellow snake.

Sam – That thing is massive.
Ben – I really like giant snakes!  I want to hug him and call him george!

Sam – How did I get a panda bear?
Ben – How did I get a woolly mammoth?
Sam – When did my mama eat the watermelon?

Adios,
The A-team!

We are still in Carlsbad, California which happens to be the home of Legoland.
I find amusement parks fun, but Legoland was even better than expected.

There are full size people made entirely of legos – 120,000 or so per person.

What a cool place to hang out if you are a little kid or a big little kid.

As we arrived, we signed Sammy up for a lego robotics class in the afternoon.
We told them it was his birthday so he received a cool button to go on his shirt.
Ben was crushed and wanted to go home.
They gave Ben a birthday button as well and he was happy.
Sammy and I went to the robotics class and we had a blast.
We designed a robot to pick up some magnetic rocks.  Tons of fun!

We arrived at 10 am and left at 8 pm.
Sammy had a great birthday at Legoland.
In all, he rode 3 roller coasters and attended a really cool class on robotics.
He also picked out a cool Lego kit for his birthday.

We also hit the Pirate buffet with all you can eat ribs, BBQ chicken, and smoked turkey legs.
It was a Pirate feast for all.  Argggggghhhhh!
Weeerah eaten turkee legggggs – arrggghhhh!

Adios,
The A-team!

P.S.  Who said “I think we’ve all arrived at a very special place. Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically.” ?

We arrived in Carlsbad today after a few minor stops here and there.

First, we ended up driving through Compton.  Wow!
I am so glad that we took that left instead of  a right.

We drove through Huntington which was hosting the world surfing championships.
That was very cool indeed.
Lots of big waves and lots of people cutting them up.

We arrived in Carlsbad, CA and are having a good time.
The hotel is on the beach and it is only a 100 foot hike down to the beach.
Getting back up is a bit of work though.

Tomorrow we are off to Lego Land.
We also plan to see the San Diego Zoo and Wildlife Park this week.

Adios,
A-Team!

Well, we made it to Hollywood!
We took the drive down Sunset BLVD and Hollywood drive.
Beverly Hills was all that it was said to be – over the top and lots of glitz.

We saw Ice Age – Dawn of the Dinosaurs in Hollywood at the ArcLight theatre on Hollywood BLVD.
It was a very nice theatre and a fun movie.

We walked Hollywood BLVD today and saw the stars.

SpongeBob was making his rounds as were all the other expected stars.

We had  soda at the Disney soda shop.

We are off to San Diego in the morning!

Adios,
The A-team!

What a long and pretty drive from San Francisco to LA.

We took HWY 1 and it was really spectacular.

We started by hitting the Monterrey Aquarium.  Wow!
We saw all sorts of stuff: otters, rays, sharks, giant squid, blue whales, godzilla – you name it!

We drove through the pebble beach golf course – which costs 9.25 by the way!

We made a few stops along the way and had dinner in the Dutch town of Buellton, CA.
Andersen’s restaurant is the home, so they say, of split pea soup.

We finally arrived in LA around 1am.

We are off to the beach for a nap.

Adios,
The A-team!

P.S. – Who invented the ceiling fan?

Well, this was the last day in San Francisco!

We visited the Golden Gate park and it was pretty nice.
The weather was cold and damp.
The park is vast and you could spend days there.

We returnd to Ghiradellis chocolate just because we could.
We also found the best pizza place in the world.
Tony’s Pizza – has been on the Food Network and such.

Sammy is now an expert at making tea in our coffee pot in the hotel room.
Not sure why he like that so much, but he does.

Adios,
A-team

We are in San Francisco and we hit a few spots around town today.

Fisherman’s wharf – lots of stuff to see here.
Food, shops, and sea lions.
Sea Lions stink to high heaven and I cannot believe that nobody ever said so.
Lots of walking on the wharf and lots of people – some of them smell like sea lions.

Ghiradellis chocolate was really cool.  Great candy and hot cocoa.

Lombard street was cool, but overhyped.
Lots of angles and a few turns, but no roller coaster.

Adios,
The A-team!

P.S.  I pitty the fool!  –  Do you know who said that?
B. A. Barackass – from the A-team

We made it to San Francisco!
It is quite cold here due to the cold water in the bay.
Bring lots of jackets and long pants.
First stop – the Golden Gate Bridge.  Wow!

Second stop – Muirwood forest – coastal redwoods!
Third stop – Stinson beack – cold water and lots of cold wind!
We found a local Chinese food place and ate like kings for 30 bucks.

Tomorrow, we head to the warf and other surrounding areas.
Sam – we are going to the chocolate shop and aquarium.
Ben – we are going to the chocolate shop that nana went to and the ferry center.

Adios,
The A-team!