A Belated Happy 4th!

Wow, I'm late with this. So, um, Happy Independence Day!

I LOVE the Fourth of July.  From the time I was fourteen or so, until I was eighteen (and no longer in the area in July), I'd spend the holiday in Washington, DC—right on the west lawn of the US Capitol.  We'd always get there super early (9:00am?) to camp out for a spot just to the left of the stage they set up for A Capitol Fourth.  Most years, we'd also go the day before for the rehearsal.  During the full day of waiting around, my sister and I would disappear elsewhere on the lawn to take pictures and goof around.

Rehearsal day - July 3, 2005

Now that I'm an "adult" and live on my own (and not on the east coast), I've had to find other things to do. This year, I started the day off with a stop at a friend's pool party in Calabasas. After two hours or so, I left with another friend to meet a third friend for a beach day.

We cut through the canyons and ended up at a nice little spot in Malibu.  Veronica specifically chose this stretch of beach for the seafood restaurant across the street.

  

After our late lunch, we laid out in the sand for the rest of the evening. The plan was to stay until it got dark, and watch Santa Monica fireworks down the coast.

We brought out Apples to Apples and played a never-ending round, which resulted in some awesome pairings.  As the tide came in, Veronica and Jeremy claimed to see a seal not too far out...but I swore it was just the rock we had seen protruding from the waves earlier. (I wish I could say I knew it was a seal, because I love seals!) We ended up calling it a day around 7:00pm, as it was getting colder and we could no longer see very far down the coast.  Fireworks-viewing wouldn't be successful.

However, when I got home, I went to my rooftop and saw over 180° of fireworks shows across the horizon.  There was a big one close by, as well as other shows farther in the distance, all across the valley.  I even synched up Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture from my iPod during the finale of the big nearby show.  Super fun "chill out" day.

Pre-Memorial Day beach attempt

Remember my beach excitement yesterday?

Note to self: check the weather before assuming it's a beach day. Even in southern California, not every day is a beach day.

I drove all the way to Zuma Beach in Malibu and, after over a half hour, was greeted by this:

Not pictured: super crazy winds

Considering no one was there and I was wearing a sundress (no pants, no hoodie, nothing to survive the 60°ish temperature), I sadly turned around upon arrival.  It was still before 10:30am and I wasn't ready to give up on my Sunday plans yet, so Santa Monica beach was next.

I don't know why I expected the weather to be substantially different just down the coast, but I did.  And it was...just a little.  Maybe we added 5° and lost half the windspeed, but it still wasn't "beach weather" at all.  However, the pier was packed, and there was a good amount of people in the sand anyway.

Also in the sand—a Memorial Day display.

Mini staycation

My father is in town for business, and that means food and fun for me. Last week Sunday we got lunch, dinner on Tuesday night, and Friday kicked off my mini nonvacation-staycation.

I went down to stay at dad's hotel, just south of LAX. We've done this before when he's been here on other trips, but it's been maybe a year since the last. I had to work on Friday morning, and dad was working until evening, so I finally met him down there around 7:00pm...

This adventure begins with two thumbs up.

...and I was greeted by the Wienermobile in the parking lot.

Best part? It wasn't even the first time.  On another one of my hotel visits (last year?), it was parked out front then, too! Dad always stays in the same hotel for work trips, and I guess the Wienermobile also likes to crash there.  So it wasn't, "OH HEY, it's the Wienermobile!" — more like, "OH HEY, it's the Wienermobile again!"

I dropped my stuff upstairs and we went to Chipotle for an easy dinner, then stopped at BevMo for a case of beer.  Believe it or not, it was my first time inside a BevMo.  Now I understand Alexa's statement of, "It's beverages and things that go with beverages." ("Doesn't everything go with beverages?") Pretty cool.  I'll have to check out my local store for festive glassware and interesting drinks/snacks.

The next morning, dad had to work early (yes, on a Saturday), and I got to sleep in. That is a big deal! I've been getting up too early for work, so sleeping in all the way until 9:30am was awesome.  The plan: Beach Day!

I felt like a rockstar as I sat up in bed wearing my bikini, checking my email, and eating cold leftover supreme pizza.  Oh, no big deal, just chilling in a hotel in my bikini while the Wienermobile hangs outside. (Okay, now that sounds lame. But it felt cool!)

I arrived at Manhattan Beach before 11:00am and it was perfect.  First I walked down the little pier, then found a little patch of sand to claim.