Wednesday

Today was GREAT!!!! We started off toward UCLA at 8am and was able to maneuver through the freeways using the carpool lanes, getting us there at 9:45. While that may seem like a long time to you, it was nothing like yesterday. The tour was very detailed. The campus is HUGE! It sits on over 400 acres and we felt like we walked most of it. The weather was HOT!! It was 80+ degrees and no breeze as we walked the campus.

After the tour, we ate lunch in the University Center (UC) there on campus. The UC has every type of food available; pizza, Chinese, Thai, Burgers and more. The kids loved it. After lunch, we shopped in the bookstore and then off to Pepperdine. As soon as we turned onto Pacific Coast Hwy, it was a new day. Both vans of kids were in awe. The Pacific Ocean was to our left for the entire trip up the coast to Malibu. All we heard was ooohs and ahhhhs the entire drive. (UCLA and Pepperdine are 30 minutes apart). Once at Pepperdine, the ahhhs began again. The campus sits atop a hillside with views to die for. It was heavenly. Serene in fact. We couldn't stop taking pictures of the ocean and how beautiful it was.

After we left Pepperdine, we went to the Malibu Country Mart. The kids shopped and had snacks including cupcakes from Crumb's Bakery. Delicious!!! Then we went to the Santa Monica Pier. Roller-coasters, shopping and Bubba Gump Shrimp made this a hit for our evening dinner venue. The kids immediately ran to the water to run their feet through it. We had a great dinner with shrimp and more shrimp.

Well, we are back at the hotel and winding down for the evening. Tomorrow we visit Claremont McKenna Colleges and then off to Disneyland.

Keep us in prayer!!!

Toni and Carole