The days have flown by like Harry Potter chasing the snitch. Friday was our last day in Hollywood at Universal Studios. The boys were able to ride every ride on their list and mom took the studio tour learning where the movies and sitcoms are filmed. We even passed the Jabawockies filming a video on the old set of Tom Cruise’s War of the Worlds! Here are a few highlights from Friday:
The set from The Grinch
The red carpet treatment
Practicing magic with our wands!
Breakfast at Starbucks up the street from our hotel
All of the boys liked Transformers or the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey were their favorite rides. We took a mid-day break to go back to the hotel and do some laundry, and then it was back to the park to finish out our visit. The castle lights at night were stunning! Joe and I enjoyed a beer at Hog’s Head Pub in Hogsmeade before closing out the night!
The next morning we literally did a drive-by of Hollywood before heading to Las Vegas. It was so busy! This is a trip I’ll need to do another time when I have time to explore!
This is the solar plant on the border of California and Nevada. The lights are so intense if a bird flies through the ray it incinerates them immediately.
The Walk of Fame
We arrived in Vegas to prepare for the drive to Rachel, Nevada and Joe’s 51k race along the Extraterrestrial Highway. It was 101 degrees when we left out of Vegas, but due to all the storms it dropped to 60 by race time! Storms. We are talking hail, winds, and downpours while trying to traverse through the mountains in pitch black conditions. There were so many interesting signs on this drive!! From “cows on the road” to “Major Deer Crossing” these helped pass the time driving for two hours to literally the middle of no where for the race. One of the scariest signs was the “No gas for 150 mikes”; yep, middle of no where peeps. Our favorite sign was the flashing cow sign that made it look like the cow was being abducted by 👽 !!!
Once we dropped Joe off at the starting point(while I clapped and jumped looking for snakes-don’t ask, I thought it would keep them away!), the boys and I headed to the finish line. This race is different; there are no people standing along the road and cheering. It’s just you. One way. The boys and I had to get 20 mikes ahead to Rachel and the finish line before the State Troopers closed the ET Highway for the race. And the off and on rain continued while we drove, while cows meandered into the road and a coyote tried to dart in my path. I had volunteered to help with the race; little did I know I would spend the entire 6 hours running the food distribution area. Seamus fell asleep in the van and slept all night. Max helped run the food booth until we saw Joe at mile 20, helped him change shoes and socks, gave him a snack and sent him on his way for another 12 miles.
Seamus placed Joe’s finishing medal on him at the finish line!!!
The race finish line. You would look up the road and just see an never-ending line of headlamps coming toward you. Literally 6 hours of it!!
Max was the king of the applesauce for the evening!
Preparing to leave Joe on the side of the road
The next morning was rough as Joe and I both were exhausted from being up all night. But we made it back to the hotel safely and promptly went to bed. The boys were not into sleeping, and an hour later I found myself at the pool!
This evening we hit Tournament of Kings at Excalibur. The boys loved it! We cheered for Ireland and ate some deliciously simple food. After Joe and I stopped at RiRa to listen to The Black Donnelly’s to listen to some authentic Irish music.
Kennedy Family Travels 
