Spring Break of 2025 in SoCal was a grand time! After a few great days in San Diego, we drove up to Los Angeles.

We stayed at the Andaz Hotel in West Hollywood. With it’s legendary rock stars stories and rooftop pool, it offered a great location and cool decor.

Our first stop in L.A. was of course…. the Natural History Museum! -If you were thinking the Hollywood Walk of Fame, well, we did drive briefly by it, but we are more into dinosaurs these days 😉

We enjoyed touring the Dinosaur Hall and seeing Gnatalie the Green Dino, as well as visiting some of the other mammal and bird halls.

Afterwards we headed to La Brea Tar Pits & Museum, where we learned about the many Ice Age fossils found right in the middle of the city, buried in big tar pits, it was a really interesting and unique site.

The next day we visited Universal Hollywood Studios. The main highlight for our family was Super Nintendo World. We got there early, got the kids a couple of Power-Up Bands and off we went to enjoy everything this fun area of the park had to offer, multiple times!

After that we headed to other areas of the park. We were not much into the big rides, but we did visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter of course, where we had fun looking around and enjoyed the wand ceremony at Ollivander’s as well as riding the Flight of the Hippogriph roller coaster. We discovered Benji is a thrill seeker, but otherwise he couldn’t wait to get out of Harry Potter, meanwhile Peter was loving it, and even got to try butterbeer (a tad too sweet, if you ask me).

We enjoyed the Studio Tour, some parts I remembered from when I visited over 40 years ago, namely Jaws, the flood and the earthquake. We had a blast watching the WaterWorld show, and got the chance to see a Triceratops and a Velociraptor, Bart Simpson, a minion, and a Transformer. It was a fun-filled day and never felt overcrowded or terribly busy, which made it even better.

The next day we were off to the ball game, none other than the season opening game for the Dodgers, and they were playing the Tigers! We had a great time, but before all of the excitement, we made a stop at an In-N-Out for a tasty lunch. Tigers lost, alas, but it was still a fun time.

Most mornings we had breakfast at a Mel’s diner which was only a few blocks away from our hotel.

That next morning after breakfast we drove to Santa Monica, where I was able to reconnect with a dear friend who I hadn’t seen in 12 years! She works at the fancy Fairmont hotel in Santa Monica, and while we were chatting in the lobby I got a glimpse of Arnold Schwarzenegger leaving the hotel after breakfast, my one and only star sighting this trip 🙂 We walked to the Santa Monica Pier, and then around Third Street Promenade, enjoying the sunshine and people-watching, before heading back to San Diego the following day.

For Spring Break 2025 we decided to head to SoCal in search of some sunshine and baseball games.

We flew from Detroit to San Diego and, after a short drive, arrived at our hotel in Coronado Island. The sunshine and clear skies were a welcome sight after a long and snowy winter in Michigan.

The next day was spent at the San Diego Zoo, where we found out why it is known all around the world. The amount of rare animals we saw and what we learned about their efforts in conservation of species and ecosystems was inspiring.

Our first stop was of course the Giant Pandas, where we got to see Xin Bao happily munching on bamboo.

We saw polar bears, koala bears, kangaroos, an ant eater, and axolotl… the list goes on.

We rode the guided double-decker bus tour, where we learned so much about animals, and the Skyfari Aerial Tram, where we enjoyed incredible views.

The next day we visited the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, where we had another wonderful day learning about animals.

We saw kangaroos, a cassowari, condors, a bald eagle, rhinos, giraffes, so many different types of antelope, and even a burrowing owl, a cheetah, an okapi, and a platypus! We heard a tiger roaring, a sound we won’t soon forget. The boys enjoyed the Balloon Safari, and afterwards we all took the Africa Tram.

We also saw some really beautiful (and some of them very old) bonsay.

After a fun-filled day we went to visit friends who live in the area. It’s always so nice to just hang out, catch up and let the kids play together, it was a wonderful time.

The next day we went out on a whale watching boat. Unfortunately we didn’t see any whales, but we did see many other sea creatures like dolphins, seals, and even a sunfish! After that we took advantage of the low tide and headed to Cabrillo National Monument, where we enjoyed watching the sea’s tide pool nursery, the tiny hermit crabs where our favorite tiny creatures.

We drove up to Los Angeles for a few days. Once we were back in San Diego, it was almost time to fly back home, but not before going to a baseball game at Petco Park.

Thank you for the good times San Diego, we hope to be back!

In August 2024 we drove to Chicago for a fun five-day stay in the Windy City. We arrived late-afternoon and went exploring around our hotel for a while before deciding on dinner at Sushi-san, which was so tasty! (Highlights: Japanese eggplant tempura and crunchy avocado roll).

The next morning we headed over to the Adler Planetarium, where we got free passes thanks to the ASTC membership. We spent a couple of hours exploring the first/oldest planetarium in the western hemisphere.

Our next stop was the Field Museum (again, free entrance thanks to ASTC!). This is always a great one to visit, and the famous t-Rex Sue is a must-see.

As we made our way to the CTA, we made a sweet stop at Amorino, where Peter had a gianduia crêpe and a vanilla macaron, and Benji enjoyed (and partially wore) a cup of delicious chocolate gelato (“make sure they give me the dark chocolate please!”).

With the kids all sugared up, we walked to Millennium Park to check out the Cloud Gate.

After a full day with lots of exploring, it was time to head back to the hotel. Always fun to ride the train and get a close look at the buildings from up high.

We had a great dinner at Sunda-River North (everything was absolutely delicious, but the highlight was definitely the signature crispy rice wagyu), then it was relaxing time for mom and kids at the hotel and baseball time for dad.

Our next morning was spent at the Maggie Daley Park, a beautiful oasis for families to roam and let kids play in several unique playgrounds.

We walked on the BP Pedestrian Bridge over to Millennium Park and made our way to the Riverwalk by Michigan Avenue for a 45-minute very enlightening and very entertaining Chicago River Architecture Tour.

Then it was time for a little afternoon break before heading out again for… Bluey x Camp. With Peter getting older, we have a very small window where we can take the kids on experiences they will both enjoy, and this was our Bluey window! It is definitely catered for a younger audience, nonetheless we all enjoyed our time there.

Then, once again, it was quiet time at the hotel for mom and the kids while dad went to his second ball game.

Take me out to the ball game… the next day was all about baseball. But first, a quick stop at the American Writers Museum.

Then we headed to Wrigley Field for a Tigers vs. Cubs game.

Next day we headed to the Willis Tower (although we prefer to call it the Sears Tower).

After that we made our way to the Navy Pier. There was walking, rides on the carrousel and ice cream.

After a break at the hotel, the boys went off to another baseball game, this time Tigers vs White Socks (must see both stadiums in town when possible!), while mom had some time by herself (nice meal and beverage of choice at Beatrix and a window-shopping little walk at a leisurely pace).

On our final day in Chicago we went to the Museum of Science and Industry on our way out of town. It was a great museum, where we were, once again, able to get in for free thanks to the ASTC membership.

Four hours flew by, and by then it was 4pm and we were starving. We had delicious authentic pizza napoletana at Nella, and then, because flexibility is the name of the game (and having Hyatt points definitely helps), we decided that it was too late to start driving back home, so we got one more night at a hotel near the museum and Ben and Peter got to go to one more baseball game before heading back to Petoskey the next morning.

We did a lot during our time in Chicago, had lovely weather plus didn’t deal with many crowds and felt extremely safe with all the police presence around town because of the DNC 😄.

We also had meltdowns (both kids and adults), sibling fights, and complaints (it’s too hot… it’s too cold… I want more ice cream… I want more sushi…), but we had some sweet moments too.

So, all in all, a typical family vacation. In the end, we explored, learned, experienced new things, had fun, and spent quality time together.

In July 2024 we spent a couple of days exploring the city of Detroit. On the first day we visited the Detroit Zoo.

It was a great experience for everyone! We enjoyed seeing penguins and tigers, gorillas and monkey, rhinos and zebras, and even a wolf and a wolverine!

They had a Dinosaur exhibit, which the kids also enjoyed (what is it with boys and dinosaurs?)

Later that afternoon we headed to the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, where I was finally able to see the Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry Murals.

The next day we decided to visit the Henry Ford Museum, where we spent hours exploring all the many cool and interesting exhibits, including, of course, a Dinosaur Exhibit!

Later that afternoon we headed to Grosse Pointe to check out a kid’s bookstore I had wanted to visit. With its beautiful decor and its magical elevator, Coreander’s Children’s Bookshoppe did not disappoint! It was a great little quiet break on a hot afternoon.

We then decided to go explore Belle Isle Park. It was almost 7pm, but the park was still quite busy. We saw many people sitting in the shade enjoying nature, swimming at the beach, and cooking and sharing food. We stopped to take a closer look at the James Scott Memorial Fountain.

The next day was all about baseball! We headed downtown to Comerica Park to see the Tigers beat the Dodgers in a really exciting game! Afterwards the boys got to run the bases, always a fun experience. Peter even grabbed some dirt as he ran between second and third base.

With its many stark contrasts that speak both of a glorious past and the sad downfall of a great town, Detroit offered a great little getaway for our family. I’m sure we will be back to see and explore more of what the Motor City has to offer.

In March of 2024 we wanted to be somewhere warm (at least I did!). We ended up deciding to go to Key Biscayne, Florida. So off we drove to Detroit to catch our flight.

Breakfast for dinner is always a good idea with these two.

We arrived to Ft. Lauderdale at 2 in the morning, almost three hours later than scheduled, very tired and hoping to find a rental car, which thankfully we did!

The next day we drove up to Orlando. We were planning on visiting three different friends/family from Venezuela that I hadn’t seen in many, many years, but we only made it to two of them before everyone ran out of steam. It felt rushed, but was still so lovely to spend time with people I love and I’ve missed, people that knew me when I was little and as I was growing up. I vowed to go back for more time to visit with everyone.

The next day we headed to Hollywood Studios. We started off meeting Mickey and Minnie (Benji didn’t want any part of it). Then we were off to Stars Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, where we enjoyed walking around, did the Star Tours ride, and saw the Mandelorian!

Then we happened to watch a great (and very convincing) performance by a First Order Lieutenant and a couple of Storm Troopers, and that was it for Benji, who said he “didn’t like those people yelling” and was done with Star Wars.

So I went off to Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy with him while Ben and Peter stayed to do the Millennium Falcon Ride.

And then that was it for Peter, who started feeling nauseous, proceeded to throw up, followed by a really bad headache. So I stayed behind with him letting him rest for a bit, while Ben went off to ride the Alien Swirling Saucer with Benji in Toy Story Land. At the time we thought he had gotten bad motion sickness from the rides, but when we were back home I heard from a few other families about kids being sick with similar symptoms on the first days of their Spring Break as well, so most likely it was a 24-hour bug that he brought from home, thankfully it didn’t spread and it didn’t last.

We were able to do a few more things, including meeting Darth Vader (Peter’s choice) and having a drink in Oga’s Cantina, but soon after we decided it was best to call it a day and headed back to our hotel to let Peter rest and recover and let Benji enjoy the pool, a highlight of the day for him. The next day we leisurely made our way down to Key Biscayne. After checking in our vacation rental we made the short walk to Key Biscayne Beach before the sun set.

Going out for a walk in the evening I noticed they get orchids to grow on palm tree trunks by tying them up until they manage to wrap their roots all around the tree, it was quite interesting a so beautiful.

The next day we went to Bill Baggs State Park, where we walked for a bit, and then got settled at the beach for the morning.

The boys found a pair of siblings to play in the sand with, and we swam for a bit, watching out for Man O’ War since there was a warning for it -we actually saw one wash up on the shore.

In the afternoon the boys enjoyed the little pool at our vacation rental, which they loved and swam in every afternoon we were there.

The next day we decided to head to Crandon Park Beach for a while.

The following day we decided to take the boys to the Frost Science Museum, Aquarium and Planetarium. We always try to take advantage of the great free museum access that Ben’s EAA membership offers through the ASTC Travel Passport Program. We had a great day exploring and learning about so many things, from sharks to the story of flight and outer space.

The next day it was time to leave Key Biscayne, so we got one last walk on the beach before heading out.

Since we had an early flight the next day, that night we stayed in Ft. Lauderdale. We decided to head to the beach once again before meeting up with a good friend for dinner.

Then it was time to leave Florida. Thankfully our flight was on time for our return. Not surprisingly, we were greeted by a snow storm on our drive home… welcome to Petoskey in March/April!