So, our next adventure took us to Santa Monica for a day at the beach and the Santa Monica pier. This was the Bearcub's first experience with an ocean. She was not daunted and ran merrily into the waves, headfirst. The water was chilly so we remained clothed, barefoot and near the edge. Quite fun and quite the challenge with the cub as she continued to head in (literally) again and again and again.
Once we were completely chilled and sandy we headed to the outdoor showers near the pier. On the way we found ourselves walking, quite unexpectedly, through a graveyard. Or rather, the image of a graveyard.
We were in the middle of Arlingon West a temporary memorial erected in the sand by the local chapter of Veterans for Peace. This graveyard gave us a chilling picture of war and it's consequences. Nightowl had some questions and we all discussed war, our nation and the world. Quite the unexpected Social Studies lesson. Despite the gravity of the memorial I was happy that Nightowl got to experience it. She has heard of the war from radio, our parental talks and from sermons at church. This particular memorial fell right in line with our pacifist, UU tendencies.After lunch we visited Pacific Park - a small amusement park on the Santa Monica pier. It's just a few rides but enough to have a little carnival like amusement. Nightowl really enjoyed the bungee jump, entertaining us with back flips at forty feet. Wee!!
We ended our coastal adventures with a side trip to Venice Beach in search of a little yarn shop recommended by a California friend and fellow knitter. There we purchased our only bag of LA goodies: yarn and lots of it. The owner was very friendly and helped Nightowl find several types of yarn that she could use to make things for her dolls. She also got her first pair of circular needles. If you're ever in Venice check out A Mano Yarn Center - very wonderful.
No comments:
Post a Comment