A day full of new things!

Ron is taking his yearbook kids on a retreat on Monday. He decided to do a trail run with us today!

Sizzles asked to come along too.

A practice run was crucial since the entire trip was done on the train.

We love the metrolink as an alternative to the lovely LA traffic :)

There was lots to keep Libi busy...

the best part of the ride for her was the tunnel from Newhall to the valley. My favorite part of the ride was Libi's hair malfunction.

We took this as a golden opportunity to hang out with Daddy before the craziness of school sets in.

As we came into Union Station we all got really excited...

even Sizzles!

Our first stop was Olvera Street. Libi checked out the names of the first people to live in L.A. many years ago.

They have a gorgeous gazebo, but you are not allowed to dance on it-- Libi didn't mind, she just danced in front of it.

There are so many colorful things on Olvera Street!!!

The next portion was the walking portion of downtown. This was my trial run as well to see if I could participate in this trip while pushing Libi in the stroller and carrying all her gear. I'm pleased to announce that we all survived!

We saw loads of interested things in downtown that we had never seen before!

Here are all our sister cities... boy do we have a lot!!!

Our next real site was Angel's Flight which just reopened a few months ago.

Neither Ron nor I had ever been on it before-- we've lived in southern California our entire lives and had never done it.

For those of you who don't know what Angel's Flight is, it's the shortest railway in the world.

It costs a quarter each way...

and at the top there is a cool plaza with fountains...

and some nice tall skyscrapers! The rest of the afternoon was a total blur. We took a wrong turn and ended up going far out of our way. Hungry and tired we finally made it back to Olvera Street to have lunch. No nap and a late lunch made us all a bit cranky...

once back on the train Libi bit her thumb (don't ask) and threw a huge fit!

Giving her some hugs and a snack helped to ease her pain!

I think this is the only photo of me all day-- so glad that I'm red and sweaty for it :-)

When we arrived home there was a box waiting for me... my new camera!!!

Ron and I both took it for a test spin.

I think he got the best shots of the day! I'm so glad to have another digital SLR to play with.

After dinner Libs had some play time and she made this amazing sculpture!

She took her pinwheel turned it upside down and threaded pieces of car track on the handle. Ron and I are blown away by her creativity!!!