Santa Monica Beach

Now I’ve been to the beach before, but nothing could prepare me for just how many people can fit on a couple of square feet of sand.  I mean … there were people everywhere!!!

I was really excited to go to the beach because it’s one of my favorite places.  It’s great to just be able to sit back and enjoy the combination of the warm sun and cool breezes that blow off of the ocean.

As the group worked through the maze of people to find a nice spot for our blankets and snacks, I was doubtful that we would ever find our way out when it was time to leave.  The only consistent landmark we had were the pier and the ferris wheel.

Then, at last, we had found it! Our spot!

… And then I stepped on a piece of glass …

It was just a tiny cut though so I ran down to the water and gave it a good dose of sea salt.

Once I was back, settled on my towel, it was a great day of listening to the ocean and all the people.  There were small children running around, one that was doing cartwheels in the sand, and all different kinds of groups of people all doing the same thing: taking in a day at the beach.

Another interesting thing was all the vendors.  There were people selling sunscreen, mangos, and there was even an ice cream cart with a bell (pretty close to an ice cream truck, right?).  The most interesting salesman was the man selling water because he would walk around, stop and then just start saying “waterwaterwaterwaterwaterwater” like it was one word or a musical pattern.  It was rather interesting, but I guess it really worked because he definitely got my attention.

The girls and I took a walk down the beach while the guy in the group literally “manned the fort.”  I was excited about getting to collect some west coast shells but soon found out that rocks appeared to be the only thing washing up on the shores (besides random bits of seaweed and children’s misplaced toys).  I found some smooth stones, polished by the waves but had to be quick to escape the tide pushing up the bigger stones right into my ankles.

Without an umbrella we could only last a couple more hours at the beach and despite a painful beginning it was a pretty good and relaxing day.

The group returned and we found that we all had different degrees of sunburn (hopefully none too bad though).