Santa Monica

I just can’t write about California without talking about my most favorite trip ever. Dorothy was two, I was five months pregnant, we had a terrible experience with the hotel, (Lowes Santa Monica) but man that vacation was perfection. The pier, the ocean, the bicycle rides. Sigh. Nothing better.

And so it was again. This time I had a five year old and a seven year old and we were staying in, sigh, Malibu. Stunning views, and a short car trip down to the pier. Parking isn’t a big deal and it has everything to offer that Pt. Pleasant, NJ does. So we were in hog heaven.

The first time I came, Dorothy was two and I was pregnant with Meredith. I wasn’t supposed to be, um, riding bicycles, but I was so in awe of the perfect asphalt path that wound it’s way up and down the beach that I had to try it out. First day I rented one of those bikes with a little caboose on the ground and Dorothy and I pedaled our way down to Venice Beach.

Along the way there was, gasp, a playground. A lovely little playground. We stopped and she had a grand old time, and I chatted up some of the other mothers and chastised them for every complaining about anything, because, um, they were taking their kids to a playground, with a view of the Pacific!!

The second day I rented a bike with the seat right behind me and that was a bit more fun having her right there and we could, ostensibly talk. Its’ hard to believe that we had conversations back then when she was two years old and change, since my nephew Teddy is two and just spouts words and not sentences, but I think Dorothy was more advanced, and regardless I’m sure our conversations were like, “This is fun!” and “Yes, go faster mommy!”

When we weren’t riding bicycles, Dorothy tried out every single 50 cent ride on the pier. She was too young for the Ferris Wheel, roller coaster, etc., so she just went on every single little car, octopus, giant Elmo, etc. AND they have one of those old time carousels and that was a joy to ride, and we did. Over and over and over. We split a funnel cake, which began a tradition of us sharing one, anytime we got near a shore and wooden boards over a beach. Good times.

This time we got to do all the rides. Roller coaster, ferris wheel, bumper cars, spinning twirly rides that make me sick but that I had to go on at least twice. We also played games. We’ve gotten good at the ones where you aim a water gun at a target and whoever gets to the top first wins. Well, we each got a turn winning. And we got that funnel cake.

So I suppose I could have had this much fun at the New Jersey shore, but man there was something magical about Santa Monica. Yesterday and today.