So yesterday turned out to be a total bust because of all the flight delays. We managed to settle in to our house and stock up on some groceries, but had no opportunity to check out the neighborhood. We made up for that today. But first, my husband and I did an early run to Whole Foods to get a few things he needed to make breakfast.
And make breakfast he did – pancakes and sausages. Suitably fortified, the girls set out to find the beach. Nola decided to wear her princess dress and a pair of butterfly antennae, with a long sleeve t-shirt and leggings underneath. Her other Aunty had brought her a Christmas present of roller skates and she was determined to try them out. But first she spent time on the sand with a bucket and a shovel, followed by a short stint at a nearby playground. That was tiring enough that we all needed to take a frozen yogurt break.
The roller skating tryout happened as we walked along the path next to the beach. Nola did really well for her first time (excepting a short stint in the house yesterday) but got frustrated that it was considerably more difficult than she was expecting. So after a short trial, she decided to ride in her stroller as we walked to Santa Monica Pier.
We purchased ride tickets and Nola went on almost all of the rides that were suitable for her height. Then we played a racing arcade game that guaranteed a winner if you had four players. Nola “won” a floppy stuffed purple dog. At this point we had been out for almost five hours and were facing a two mile walk back to the house. So I called for a husband “uber.” Nola had fallen asleep in her stroller by then, so her mom walked back with her while Aunty and I went to the grocery store with my husband to get supplies for dinner.
Back at the house we had a taco feast, followed by watching Pete’s Dragon. I managed to undo all of the benefits of walking most of the day by consuming several margaritas and entirely too much guacamole and chips. Totally worth it.