Arrival In Santa Monica ~

It's 3:45 am and the Dublin taxi is outside waiting for us to take  us to the airport.

Quick ride to the airport with not much conversation.  It's finally time to check in bags and get to our gate for departure to Washington then on to LAX airport.  Bags are checked and in line waiting for security.  As we are waiting in line Marlon looked at our tickets and his are missing.  We got back out of line and talked to United airlines about his tickets, not printing.  They printed his tickets and we went back through security; check.  Once we got our luggage checked Marlon's bag was pulled off to the side and they wanted to inspect his bag because they thought they saw something in his suitcase.
We are at our gate and there is not even a place to sit down.  The plane is a 777 and is going to be packed.  I still can't believe a plane this size is packed.
The plane is fully loaded and we are on our way to LA CA.
 Mar. 1, 2016 | Columbus, OH, US (CMH) to Los Angeles, CA, US (LAX)

• Depart:
  6:05 a.m.
  Tue., Mar. 1, 2016
  Columbus, OH, US (CMH)
• Arrive: 7:28 a.m.
  Tue., Mar. 1, 2016
  Washi ngton, DC, US (IAD - Dulles)
• Flight Time:
  1 hr 23 minUnited

Change Planes. Connect time in Washington, DC, US (IAD - Dulles) is 1 hr 27 min.

• Depart:
  8:55 a.m.
  Tue., Mar. 1, 2016
  Washington, DC, US (IAD - Dulles)
• Arrive:
  11:38 a.m.
  Tue., Mar. 1, 2016
  Los Angeles, CA, US (LAX)
• Flight Time:
  5 hr 43 mn
  
  
  8 hr 33 mn  Aircraft: Boeing 777-200

 This was the smoothest flight I have been on.  Take off and landings were great.  I had the biggest smile on my face as we got off the plane and happy we will be here a month. When we got off the plane Marlon was having trouble getting his ears to pop and he is in some pain. This is not good and worries me.  If it doesn't clear up by in the morning we will have to find a Dr.
I see the bus marked Fox which is where we rented our car from. Flagged down the bus and are on our way to get a car.  30 minutes and we are out of Fox Car rental and on our way to our condo.    I loved our condo till I found out it doesn't have any air conditioning.  Nothing we can do now we are here and moved in. First night was fine.

Time to find a place to eat.  Decided on a Carribean  restaurant that is very close to where we are staying.  Loved the place and the food, but did not like the birds flying around and landing on tables.  

Gonna take a walk to the store and pick up breakfast for in the morning.  It was a longer walk then I wanted to do in heels.   I made it there and back with some complaining.  On our way to the Whole Foods, I did see several things I want to share on this blog. :-)  Loved the murals on the side of this building and of course, this gigantic palm tree,

 Walked by Hotel California and the song Hotel California by the Eagles came to mind.https://youtu.be/iqODbP1T3nk  link to Hotel California song.

As we walked farther down the street to Whole Foods grocery we crossed a street that was totally lined with big trees.  The trees made a canopy over the street.  Awe, so pretty.

Shopping done at Whole Foods and on our walk back to the apartment.  We did walk down Santa Monica Blvd. and the good times are just starting there.  Lots of musicians playing in the streets, shopping, and many places to eat.

Back at the apartment and ready to go down to Santa Monica beach and watch the sun go down.   Headed down the street and onto the boardwalk to find a place to enjoy the view.

 As we sat on the bench, I could see the Santa Monica pier.  Wow, we are closer than I thought.

SANTA MONICA, CA PIER

 The sun is beginning its descent down and the view is majestic.  I'm so glad to be here with hubby who puts so much time and effort into our trips.  Sunset tonight was great, as it always is. 

Well, it's time to get back to the condo and wait for the arrival of Audy and Greg.  Our visit was great.  During their visit, we started making plans for when we can meet and do some things together.  Looks like Sat we are going to the Chinese Lantern festival and Sunday to Huntington Beach.  Looking forward to our time together with them.

Santa Monica Venice Beach ~~love love love this place

Today we are taking the boys to Santa Monica and Audy is staying home with BB who is vomiting and has terrible stomach cramps.  She was crying when we got there, we brought her some Gatorade and ritz crackers to see if she could hold them down.  NOPE, she did not.  She could not hold down anything and the pain in her face and crying made me feel awful.  After talking with her Mom, we decided she needed to go see a Dr.  Audy took off to Urgent Care with BB and we took the boys for the rest of the day.

Marlon ended up deciding to head out to Santa Monica Beach and go bike riding.  Great idea as Audy had packed us a lunch, so we decided Marlon would carry our lunch in his insulated backpack and we would stop and picnic during our bike ride.  We stopped at a  grocery and Marlon picked up a plastic table cloth and  beverages for our lunch.

We paid and parked in a huge lot by Santa Monica beach.  The first place we wanted to go was to find a bike rental place. Marlon rented us all bikes for the day.  The grand kids are going to love riding bikes along the beach on the nice bike paths.  The views of the ocean as you ride are so comforting.  I have a smile on my face already and it will stay there.  Can't help but enjoy such an adventure like this.  We hopped on our bikes and rode for an hour from Santa Monica beach to Venice Beach.  We turned around and decided to stop and eat lunch as soon as we found a nice location to eat.  Mason did not want to stop riding but once we got everything set up for lunch he was ready to eat.

After eating our lunch, JL and I went down to Venice beach boardwalk and watched a family on stilts perform.  They were very good, the little one did take a spill and fell but got right back up and started her training again.

 After our bike ride, we ventured over to Santa Monica Pier.  Mason wanted to ride the Merry Go Round, which was located in a huge building. I bought him a ticket and he ran and got in line.   I could not believe how fast it went.  He held on tight and put his LA hat on top of his horses head.........oh Mason.......LOL

The view from the pier was awesome loved spending time there.  Lots of fun things to see and do.  We found a candy stand and Mason wanted  some blow Pops.  The boys even got one to take home to their sick sister.  :-)  I wanted to see the sunset from the pier, but the pier was packed with people.  Marlon said to follow him and away we went down the pier and up to the top of the hill.

When we reached the top of the hill the view was phenomenal.  I loved looking down at Santa Monica Pier at all the people, seeing all the lights from the rides and the sun going down reflecting its pretty sun glow upon Santa Monica.

  You could even see the fog setting in on the ocean, wow what a sight.

While waiting for the sun to go down got a few shots of the boys staking out their spot on the fence for a great view.

A few shots of the beautiful sunset at Santa Monica Beach. It's dark now and we are going to walk to Third St. Promenade to see what's going on there.  The street was filled with entertainment and bright colorful lights.  Together we watched some of the people performing in the streets and listened to some of them sing and play instruments.

Someone did a great job designing these topiary's made into dinosaurs.  Some of them even had water shooting from their mouths.

I really enjoyed listening to this guy play his violin and use his feet to add different instrument sounds to his already great playing.  Very talented guy. 

We are all tired and ready to go home but not before we walk over and see Bloomingdale's huge Christmas tree.  Long walk back to the car but the adventure has been worth it.  

The road back down Topanga Canyon is so twisty.   I do not look forward to being on that road at night. There was a lot of traffic on that road just like I thought.   Sometimes you would go around a curve and it looked like you were going to go right over the side of the mountain.   Near the end right we  stopped and got a night photo of LA.  

We went and dropped the boys off at Audys and visited for a few.  BB is still looking very sick but since she has taken the meds she has not vomited.  Maybe she is on the mend.