Justin's Whirlwind Graduation Adventure began with a nice beach bonfire.
Ben, Justin, Kirsten, Ky and I roasted hot dogs, and Elissa joined us in time for S'mores.
But the bonfire was only the beginning...
I never told Justin where we were going until we were almost there. The first morning we went to UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD!
Perfect morning for a visit to Hollywood's super-famous theme park.
"The Chronicles of Riddick" World Premiere was that night. We walked the red carpet, but didn't stick around.
Justin's first character assault of the day - Shreck goes for his neck.
The Time Machine from "Back to the Future!"
Doc Brown jumped out at us as we headed for Back to the Future Ride.
Wacka wacka wacka
A true clash of the titans.
Justin with the cast of "Apollo Thirteen."
Justin does his Velociraptor impression as we head for Jurassic Park: The Ride.
We are very disappointed. None of the dinosaurs are working.
On the run with Jason Bourne and Franke Potente's car from "The Bourne Identity."
Here's one of my favorite parts - The "Spider-Man Rocks!" music show!
It's a mix of superhero action and superstar hits in a musical fighting revue. Here's Spidey taking on three thugs singing "She Bangs."
Uh oh! The Green Goblin's got Spidey in his sights! Mary Jane distracts the Goblin by shakin' it to "Lady Marmalade!"
A full tank of gas, a half a pack of cigarettes...
...It's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it.
Justin saves the future from cardboard cutout terminator robots...
...Only to be captured by Spongebob Squarepants!
It's hot, so Justin decides to cool off under the nice mist from this giant Nickelodeon rocket ship. What could go wrong?
Ah. Yes. Well.
Guess we should have seen that coming...
As we end the day, Woody Woodpecker sees us off.
Justin thinks deeply about his time at Universal Studios.
DAY 2. A visit to Hollywood and the Chinese Theater!
Justin stands in the footprints of George Lucas.
The Velociraptor is back at Hollywood and Highland.
We head past The Knitting Factory to get to the Hollywood Entertainment Museum.
Inside we get to make sound effects like they do in the movies. Here's Justin doing "footsteps."
They've got lots of movie props on the tour, including the head of King Koopa from Super Mario Brothers: The Movie.
We're able to put that out of our mind as we beam up to...
The Bridge of the Starship Enterprise!
Ky joins the Captain on yet another five year mission.
Everybody wants their picture with Mulder's desk from "The X-Files."
They even have the pencils that Mulder throws into the ceiling tiles!
Ky can't resist a picture for herself.
We stroll down the Hollywood Walk of Fame to see who we can find.
Only one Stormtrooper was guarding the Chinese Theater that day. Looks like we're safe.
DAY THREE: DISNEYLAND!!!
It's just as they say: The happiest place on earth.
Ky's buddy Chris works there and got us in for free! He's Huckleberry Finn, in the red with the green hat. That's Tom Sawyer on the left.
Ky and Justin struggle through Indiana Jones: The Ride.
Snakes... Why did it have to be snakes?
No visit to Disneyland would be complete without a visit to Pirates of the Carribean...
And no visit to Pirates would be complete without a fortune from FORTUNE RED.
Booty for All!
Justin knew he couldn't come to Disneyland and not go on It's a Small World.
He called his dad from on the ride and got the song stuck in his head all day long.
Ky opted to wait outside, but we were quick to get the song stuck in her head too.
Justin attempts to pull the sword from the stone, but he is not the chosen one.
Looks like this little girl will be King.
I take the wheel on Mister Toad's Wild Ride...
But my driving only leads us to Hell.
Next we crossed the street to Disney's California Adventure.
Ky and Justin enter pseudo-Hollywood.
I set out to collect every squished penny from the entire park - AND I SUCCEEDED!!!