We checked out of the hotel in the morning and said goodbye to our friend from The Netherlands that we met--He and his family were traveling from NYC to Chicago, tracing Route 66 to the end at the Santa Monica Pier and then to Northern California and back home--wow!
We had another beautiful dessert drive into LA--when the traffic started to get busier. We came into town just fine with some stop and go traffic, but generally off the rush hour on this Friday morning, close to lunch time.
We got to the Santa Monica Pier and parked. It was fun, busy and we could not wait to get out there. We walked around the beach (with hundreds of people on it), waked the pier and checked out the amusement park. The girls got $20 each to play in the arcade while Mom and Dad got a Pacifico Beer at Marisol, the nice restaurant at the end of the pier. There were tons of musicians and artists, and even a fortune teller there to make the experience more fun.
The girls and Al played and bodysurfed in the waves of the warm Pacific Ocean for hours--it was a fun, relaxing day! This place, recommended by our friend Brian, was a blast!
At dinner time we walked up toward the Promenade--a cool shopping and restaraunt district for a meal at the Border Grille--a hip Mexican Restaurant in the heart of this area that was fun, smart and had terrific food. This place and a lot of the area was recommended by TJ, the son of one of Stacey's co-workers--his nickname is the "Human Yelp"--totally spot on.
After an hour or two of shopping and street performers at the Promanade, it was time to return to the pier for a few rides--the girls rode the roller coaster and Anna road the famous ferris wheel on the pier--since none of the rest of us is brave enough to ride a ferris wheel, and no one is allowed to ride the ferris wheel alone, Anna made new friend: an exchange student from Taiwan who rode the ride with her in her car-hilarious!
Then to the hotel very late--arrived about 1AM to the Comfort Inn Santa Monica--for a well deserved rest....tomorrow a sweet day in Hollywood!
No comments:
Post a Comment