Never having had children of my own, it’s been a great pleasure to invite my nieces and nephews to come visit their Favorite Aunt Marilyn in California during their summer vacation.

The deal is this: when they turn double-digits (10), they become eligible for this all-expenses paid trip, whenever they’re ready. The only caveat – they can’t come with Mom or Dad!

My two great-nieces, Maddie (almost 14) and Lauren (just turned 12) live just outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Sometime during the middle of Michigan’s brutal winter, I reminded them of the standing invitation to come visit. They were ecstatic at the thought and – according to their Mom – immediately started working on their tans.

They sent me their “California To Do List” several weeks ago:

* Spa Day
* Disneyland
* Walk of the Stars (We LOVE Shirley Temple!)
* Wax Museum
* Universal Studios
* Planet Hollywood for dinner
* Make jewelry (string)
* Santa Monica Pier
* Beach (to look for shells)
* Ice Cream stop (like “Plainwell Ice Cream!”)
* Dolphin places
* Craft Shows
* Sewing
* Shopping
* Hollywood
* Amusement Parks
* Golf (Putty)
* See Movies
* San Francisco Bridge
* Lego Land
* Water Parks?
* Knotts Berry Farm
* Get into a One Direction concert

Some clarification is in order:

• “Spa day” – is this new generation already into Ayurvedic Massage … or do they want to experience one of our ubiquitous Vietnamese Nail Salons?
• Planet Hollywood must have gone belly up, because there is no such thing here anymore.  Maybe I’ll substitute the Hard Rock Cafe … but not sure they’ll appreciate relics of the rock & roll era.
• I’ll gently explain that the San Francisco Bridge isn’t gonna happen on this trip!
• Going to the beach is easy … and they’ve never seen the ocean (although Lake Michigan is a pretty close approximation). But there aren’t many good places to find seashells on this coast, I’m afraid.
• Getting into a One Direction concert? I love these girls – but that isn’t gonna happen on this trip!
• “Plainwell Ice Cream” is a reference to a great little ice cream parlor in a mid-Michigan town of the same name. Last year when I visited Michigan, they took me to Plainwell and I was overwhelmed with the number of flavors. Can’t think of anyplace here that’s comparable … so I think I’m going to spring something typically “Californian” on them: an ice cream place named Mashti Malone’s, founded by an Iranian, and featuring a signature flavor: Rosewater Saffron with Pistachio.

Justin, Lauren & Maddie enjoying ice cream from Plainwell Dairy Co. (But will they enjoy Rosewater Saffron with Pistachio?)

• Don’t think we’ll do Disneyland since they’ve been to Disney World in Orlando. As for the other theme parks? I’m not too keen on waiting for 90+ minutes for a 90-second thrill ride – especially since temperatures this weekend will be 90+ degrees.
• Shopping? Sewing? Those are easy ones
• We’ll go to Hollywood in search of Shirley Temple and Zac Efron’s stars on the Walk of Fame. (I’ve heard of Zac Efron, but not sure who he is or what he does. Actor? Singer?) We can take in the Wax Museum, too. (Hopefully I can find a Groupon discount!)
• For sure we’ll go to my all-time favorite place: Venice Beach. I wonder whatever happened to the Chainsaw Juggler?  The roller-skating electric-guitar-playing guy in the white turban is still there … just saw him a few weeks ago when my step-daughter was visiting from Florida. (Google revealed the following about this guy, who has his own Wikipedia page! He is Harry Perry, born in Michigan in 1951. He plays electric guitar in a style reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix. He runs 20 miles a day and practices Kundalini yoga.) “Harry, you’re not in Michigan anymore!”

A “fixture” on Venice Beach, since 1973 (can you believe he was born in Michigan?!)

I picked up the girls from LAX tonight, after their originating flight from Grand Rapids to Detroit was cancelled because of a bird strike to the engine. Being so excited to leave (and getting up early) – they were very disappointed. I told them that they were getting “broken in” to the life of a true traveler.

Grumpy faces when their flight was cancelled. Happy faces when they finally arrived!

Since their late arrival put them here just in time for rush-hour traffic, I took them to the In-N-Out Burger place in Westchester – and we did “plane spotting” in the little park across the street – directly under the flight path of incoming aircraft.

Plane-spotting at LAX and In-N-Out burgers . . . a great way to start a southern California adventure! Welcome to LA!

Maddie & Lauren’s older brother, Justin, had his big California trip about seven years ago. I was concerned about entertaining a boy, but knew it would be easy when – on the drive from LAX – he was spinning in his seat taking photos of the Porsches and Mercedes’ and BMWs. It was considered sacrilegious to drive a foreign car in Michigan back in those days.

One Sunday afternoon, I took him to a car show in the wealthy community of Calabasas (think Kardashians and Justin Beiber…), where they had an entire row of pristine Lamborghinis. As Justin prepared to take a photo of one of the cars, the owner gruffly chastised him. “Hey kid, you can’t take a picture of my car!” Justin looked at me, stunned and confused. The man continued, “You have to get IN the car – behind the wheel – and let ME take the photo.”

Going back even farther, it was probably a dozen years ago when my niece Kellie had a big adventure with her Favorite Aunt Marilyn. Her visit was most memorable! I booked a “Roar & Snore” overnight camp-out at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Late in the afternoon we had a tour of the park, after which they served us dinner and we changed into our jammies for a night in a tent. We were lulled to sleep by the roar of the lions which didn’t sound far enough away! But Kellie wasn’t her usual giggly self that day. Not being a mother – I didn’t quite know how to interpret her sluggishness. Was she sick? Was she tired? She was a trooper, though, and didn’t complain. The next morning they served up a pancake breakfast. I’ll never forget when Kellie barfed up her breakfast … very neatly puking onto her plate of half-eaten pancakes without spilling or spattering. So, I guess she WAS sick, after all!

Aaaahhhhh …. summer vacation memories! Nuthin’ better!

Comments?  What’s your favorite place to take family and friends when they come to visit?