A Happy Pace: Family Hike to the Hollywood Sign!

Sponsored by Zappos

Our new base is in the middle of nowhere, but that middle of nowhere is conveniently located 90 miles outside of LA. So the weekend possibilities are endless! The back-to-school shopping possibilities, not so much. Ha! Thank goodness for the internet. It was SO easy doing the back-to-school shopping online that I don't think I'll go back to the drag-the-kids-to-the-mall plan ever. Hallelujah! New "gym shoes" were on the list for the new school year, and Jake & Summer were SO excited to hop on Zappos and pick out their own Saucony Kids shoes! Jake picked the "coolest and fastest" pair, while Summer set out to pick a pair that was "really cute and still fast." (I can't imagine where they get this from...)

The delivery trucks may as well have been Santa's sleigh! Jake brought the Zappos box in and they ripped it open right away. It made my mother runner heart happy to see them so excited about their new running shoes! Jake picked the Saucony Kids Voxel and Summer picked the Saucony Kids Jazz (click the names to check them out!). They immediately put them on and as soon as Daddy walked in the door, we were off to the park for races. Since then, they've worn them to school, to Disney, and on Saturday, to the Hollywood Sign!

This little lady fits RIGHT in to that LA scene. ;)

This hike has been high on our list of must-do's after arriving in Southern California. The kids saw the Hollywood Sign in a movie awhile ago, and we told them that we took Jake up to the sign when he was a baby... and they've been asking (and asking) to go to it ever since. We penciled it in for our family outing last weekend and had a blast! It is by far the best way to see the sign, and there are pretty awesome views of the city, too!

Last time we did this hike, it was more like a little nature walk -- maybe 3 miles at most, and we wore flip flops (along with other questionable 2011-era attire) (proof at the end of this post). But apparently that route was closed due to a lawsuit, so all of the new popular routes are longer! We picked the 6-mile round-trip and it was just right for a family hike. The kids did such a great job!!! We gave them piggy back rides here and there, but they did most of it on their own. And they kept running up ahead, so I suppose this counts as their first trail run, too? :) Zero complaints about tired feet, so the Saucony Kids shoes have officially passed all family tests. It was such a fun afternoon!