Universal Studios!!!

Whew! We did it. Three theme parks in three days. Man are we tired!! We got up this morning and loaded up the car, stopped for donuts, and headed from Anaheim to Universal City. It took us about an hour on the 101. It was the most disgusting stretch of highway I think I've ever been on. It takes you through South L.A., there is graffiti on every available surface. It was even on the dirt, painted on the ground! It certainly doesn't appear that they even bother trying to paint over it!

After checking into our hotel, we headed straight for Universal Studios. It is awesome! We all wished we'd had another day there. There were characters everywhere....

Spongebob kissing Thomas!

Shrek hugging Thomas!!

They had a great time meeting all these characters and getting their autographs. The highlight of the day was watching Mandy meet Dora. She was just beside herself she was so excited.

We saw the Shrek 4D show which was hilarious and fantastic. Your seat moves and they blow air at you and all that stuff. The kids thought it was great. After that we headed for the back lot tour of the actual studio. I had no idea that you actually got to see the sound stages and sets. It was awesome! Look....Wisteria Lane!!!!

The "War of the Worlds" plane crash site. This is an actual Boeing 747 they disassembled to create this scene.

The Bates Motel!!

They demonstrate how they film crash scenes like this one from "The Fast and the Furious."

They also demonstrate how the create floods!

"Jaws"

We all had a great time at Universal. They have tons of great shows and attractions. There is even a water park inside. We skipped that part, because it was just a little too cool out today.

The park closed at 5:00, so we came back to the hotel and rested for about an hour. We then headed to Beverly Hills for dinner. We ate at the Beverly Hills Diner. We all sat at the counter, which the kids thought was great. This place is a local spot. Scott was here a few months back and saw Faith Hill and Tim McGraw having lunch their with their girls. The waiter told us Jay Leno is in once a week for lunch since he lives so close. He always orders a BLT!

After dinner we headed back to the hotel and all three of them fell asleep on the way there! So.....we have no top five for today! We are all worn out from our theme park marathon! Luckily tomorrow is sort of a leisurely day. We are going to sleep late then head to Mann's Chinese theater so Thomas can see Elvis's hand prints and Grace can see "Dorothy" or Judy Garland's. We'll do the Hollywood Walk of Fame, eat lunch at Nate N Al's and head to Santa Barbara.

So, I'm headed to the bed like everyone else!!!

Blessings,
Leslie