Nieces in California, Day Three: Santa Monica

Santa Monica Pier Entrance (Sign from Forest Gump)

The End of Route 66

Beach and Pier

Cassie on the Beach

Kayla on the Beach

Pacific Park on the Pier

Cassie and Our Kite

Kite Way Up High

Bird and Sun

On our third day in California (which I like to pronounce CAL-A-FORN-NI-A), we hung out at Santa Monica Beach and Pier. Most people know Santa Monica Pier, even if they don't know they know Santa Monica Pier. It is constantly pictured in movies and TV shows. And it is one of the locations Forest Gump ran to when he decided to just keep running and running and running.  I was excited to go there because I love the beach and it was listed on my California Bucket List. But what I didn't know is Santa Monica is officially the end of the famed Route 66!

Santa Monica beach is gorgeous and so much better than the beaches in Long Beach, if only because I didn't get stung by a sting ray while I was there. Cassie and I spent a lot of time in the water, while Kayla hung out mostly on the shore. The water was a little cold but the longer we were in it the better it felt. I purchased a boogey board and had fun riding the high waves in and floating on it near the shoreline.

After some beach play, everyone decided to head up the the pier. There are a lot of fun things to do on the pier. There is a mini-amusement park with a Ferris wheel and roller coaster. Tons of goodies to eat like burgers, funnel cakes, and snow cones.  And of course places to pick up souvenirs or get a psychic reading if you are so inclined (I was not). I had the best funnel cake for lunch that was topped with strawberries and frozen yogurt. And the girls played some games that are typical amusement park fare.

Later on in the day, we decided to head back to the beach and do some kite flying. We used the Toy Story kite that Adam had given me for our cotton anniversary. The kite has a cotton string, dig? The kite was very easy to get off the ground because it was so windy. But Cassie and I decided the kite just wasn't high enough. I had brought along some yarn just for that type of emergency. We tied the end of the kite to the thread and let it rip. The kite was so high in the sky that you could barely tell what it was! I was even a little worried about it messing with airplanes (however I'm just really neurotic). When we finally decided to bring the kite in, I swear it took us over 20 minutes to get it back. That was quite possibly the best kite flying experience ever.

Cassie and I left the beach badly sunburned, while Kayla just looked more like a a Hawaiian beauty. Curse my fair skin. But it was a fantastic day at the beach regardless!

Song of the Day: In Christ Alone by Owl City