The Lee Family: California, Day 14: Saying Goodbye

We packed up our car and gave John and Lynn big hugs goodbye. It was great to see them one last time and we couldn't thank them enough for all the fantastic meals and time spent with us and especially our girls. We got on the road and stopped for lunch at Waypoint Cafe in Camarillo, about an hour from Santa Barbara. The Cafe was really cute and very busy and we got a great table outside. CK showed the girls the miniature runway that included a control tower that announced the real communications between the actual tower and pilots. The girls loved running up and down it and pretended like they were planes (or horses). We ate breakfast which was delicious and got on the road to take CK to Burbank Airport for his early afternoon flight. We got a little nervous that we would miss getting him there on time when we hit traffic, but we were fine. While I drove, CK looked for a hotel room for the girls and I for our very last night in California. My original plan was to just pick a hotel near LAX for the night and then catch our flight in the morning. Unfortunately, President Obama and several events made for a very limited hotel situation in the entire LA area! Finally, CK found a nice hotel with two queen beds in Van Nuys!

We dropped CK off just in time and gave him hugs and kisses looking forward to seeing him the next afternoon in Texas. From there, we drove into Los Angeles (slowly, since there is apparently always traffic in the LA area) and made our way to the California Science Center which has an exhibit about Pompeii. Sofia was really interested in Pompeii when she read the Magic Tree House book about Jack and Annie's visit on the day of the volcano eruption. I visited Pompeii with my Mom in 1996 and found it fascinating. The Science Center was really busy so it was a little overwhelming, but we made it in and went straight to the exhibit. It was really interesting and there were a lot of artifacts that had been recovered as well as mosaic floors and frescos. Sofia enjoyed it and Olivia loved taking pictures with my iPhone, although she took a lot of pictures of museum visitors. At the very end of the exhibit, there were several replicas of people who had been buried by the ash and it was a little unnerving to think of how they died.

After Pompeii, we walked to the Space Shuttle Endeavor hall. Before seeing the actual space shuttle, we were able to learn about the control center, how the Endeavor was built and could touch the real tires that were on the space shuttle! We made our way into the see the Endeavor and it was incredible! As we entered, a video played with the Endeavor's launches and it was very emotional to know what we accomplished as a nation and that our space program basically doesn't exist now. The Endeavor was impressive but also looked like it had been well used. It was very cool to see and Sofia kept saying "I know Papa wishes he were here right now." We bought him a little space shuttle replica as a souvenir.

Just as we were leaving the California Science Center, my friend Janet called and we made a plan to meet up. She and I worked together in DC and were really close friends. She now lives in Chicago and has a little girl a little younger than Olivia. We met for coffee and drove to the beach and talked while Sofia played on a nearby playground and Olivia slept in her carseat. It was so great to see her and it made me realize how much I miss her! She was in LA for a work trip and had a dinner meeting, so we drove her back to her hotel before heading to our hotel in Van Nuys. Of course, by then it was in the middle of rush hour and we went 10 MPH to our hotel! It took forever. Once we checked in, we ordered room service and the girls ate while sitting in bed and watching Mr Peabody and Sherman. The girls were SO excited to order room service and eat while watching a movie! It was the highlight of their day, I'm pretty sure! The girls got a bath while I packed up and we all crawled into bed together. I originally planned to move to my own bed once the girls were asleep but the next thing I knew my alarm was going off and it was time to go home to Texas!

A final goodbye hug from John and Lynn