Our first full day in Los Angeles was full of activity, pretty much from beginning to end. First off, we are now staying with my aunt Cindy for a few days (and technically with my cousin Laura as well, though she lives in the downstairs apartment and we’re sleeping at Cindy’s). I’ve never been here before, but she lives in West Hollywood in a cute little apartment.

When we arrived last night (since I was so insistent upon doing the post for yesterday early in the day), we put our things down and went to Laura’s, where Harmony did a greeting dance for us. We also met all the various pets that live both upstairs and downstairs, including an adorable little striped kitten.

When we woke up this morning, we had a nice breakfast (and probably the healthiest one I’ve had in a long time, since I’ve been away so long), and the headed to NoHo (North Hollywood) so that Cindy could rehearse for her class. I tagged along so I could go thrift shopping with mom while Cindy was in rehearsal.

Once the class started, mom headed into watch, and I met up with Laura. After a quick lunch, we made our way through LA. Our first stop was the Observatory, but it was so crowded we quickly gave up on it. However, the drive up to it made the trip worth it, as it was through the hills and we could see views of the city.

I really wanted to go to the Chinese Theater and see the Harry Potter footprints that weren’t there the last time I was in Los Angeles, so we headed there next. Armed with coffee (iced, of course, since it was so hot), we fought the crowds and amused ourselves for a bit with the various footprints and handprints that grace the outside of the theater. We opted out of the theater tour in an effort to save money.

After deeming the rest of Hollywood too hot and too crowded, we drove through Beverly Hills and Bel-Air looking for dream homes. (Really I could care less about finding stars homes – I just like looking at the fancy houses! I don’t care who lives there; it’s not like they’re going to be conveniently outside mowing their lawns with no shirts on, New Lebanon style.)

Once we’d had our fill of fancy fantasy homes, it was time to meet mom and Cindy for dinner. We headed to the also super crowded CityWalk at Universal Studios and had Mexican for the second time today (did I mention we went to Chipotle for lunch?).

And thus that brings our first LA day to a close, and now we relax and enjoy the evening. It’s up am at ’em early in the morning for brunch at the Queen Mary!