West Coast Cruise Day 1 & 2

May 01, 2018

West Coast Cruise Day 1 & 2

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This will be my first post in a multi part series chronicling our recent West Coast Cruise. My wife & I have had this vacation planned for almost 2 years. A couple of months before we are set to leave, my wife's family decided they would like to join us. It ended up being her parents, brother, niece, & aunt. Hooray for family! LOL

Day 1 - Wednesday, March 28th, 2018
We first spent 6 days in sunny Los Angeles, California before setting sail on the Star Princess. Our flight from Houston, Texas arrived late so we decided to take a shuttle straight to the hotel. We booked 2 rooms at the Residence Inn by Marriott Beverly Hills. Shelly & I chose to have a private room, while the rest of our group (sans Aunt Rhonda, as she will be joining us for the cruise only) got a family suite.
Here's my pics of Room 617:

comfy bed

same comfy bed

sleeper sofa

flat screen tv

sleeper sofa

desk

entry door & kitchen

dining table

kitchen utensils above vent hood

glasses, flatware, & storage containers

cutting board, pot holders & knives

toaster + pots & pans

various silverware

under the sink

candy dish is a nice touch

closet

closet side 1

closet side 2

the office

sink

shower

tub

wet bar area with coffee maker & microwave

We ordered delivery pizza for dinner, but I'm a noob & forgot to take pics. We were so hungry that we devoured it before I realized my mistake. Next it was off to bed because we have a full day of sight seeing with a private tour for day 2.

Day 2 - Thursday, March 29th, 2018
Shelly found our Amazing tour guide, Jan via Tours by Locals.
He rented a minivan & met the 5 of us at the lobby of our hotel. Great customer service. I was impressed by this nice personal touch. Throughout the day, he regaled us with stories about the city's history. We especially loved hearing about his time spent in the modeling business & how he got to meet so many famous people. Unfortunately, most of the places that we had requested to visit were actually too "touristy" & crowded for our taste. Because of that, I only got out to take pics of the Hollywood sign.

Luckily, my BIL, Shannon took a couple of photos. Family vacations do indeed have there perks.

random celeb house - photo by Shannon Hebert

Grauman's Chinese Theatre aka Mann's Chinese Theatre aka TCL Chinese Theatre
photo by Shannon Hebert

For lunch he took us to an old school diner, The 101 Coffee Shop
where he said that we might catch a few celebrities eating there.
No such luck on this day. The food was great though. I was really surprised to find that they make their chili the CORRECT way - with no beans! Y'all know I'm a sucker for a good burger, so that's what Shelly & I both ordered. The table was too large to be able to take photos of what everyone else chose.

a cup of chili with all the fixins

big hearty veggies

100% GRASS FED BEEF BURGER Add Cheese for $1.00 Served with Choice of French Fries, Salad, Potato Salad or Mashed Potatoes

I prefer honey mustard with my fries, rather than ketchup

bacon & cheese!

scrumptious burger

inside of menu

back side of menu

part of the wall of fame

After lunch, we drove over towards Rodeo Drive, but my MIL, Linda decided that she didn't feel like shopping after all. A few more stops & we were back at the hotel to rest up for our dinner reservations at République. This was an "interesting" experience.
Take a gander at the pics & I'll explain below....