Day 2 – Be a Tourist
Our friends were busy all day, so we opted to take another leisurely morning by the pool and then to head to the Hollywood Walk of Fame to see the stars! It was another blazing hot (110) day, so we knew we may not make it too long searching for our favorite stars! Finding parking was easier than I had anticipated – although paying for parking proved a tad difficult when none of the automated machines wanted to accept our payment! Everything I had read about the Walk of Fame said that no matter the day, there would be crowds. Now, there were people everywhere, but not any horrible amounts that would prevent you from an opportunity to snap a photo by a star. I would say we had some success in finding names we all knew (that was the tricky part)! I found it quite easy to find names of actors/actresses I know – thanks to my parent’s influence, I found some oldies but goodies! Judy Garland, Angela Lansbury, Charley Chaplin, Dean Martin, Journey, oh, and Adam Levine to name a few! The only time Niyah was remotely interested in sitting by a star was for Adam’s, so I guess he holds a special place in her heart!
After braving the heat for an 8 block walk, we opted to hop in the rental and drive the streets of Hollywood and Beverly Hills in the aircon! We took Sunset Blvd to Rodeo Drive – gawked at the large, beautiful houses and guessed which ones might belong to celebrities. I took a quick photo of the famous shopping district of Rodeo, as this is probably the closest I will get to shopping there anytime soon! Turning right on Wilshire Blvd from Rodeo Dr, we headed west toward the Pacific!
Using Maps, we navigated around Friday (it was Labor Day weekend, mind you) traffic and took back roads through neighborhoods all the way to Highway 1, just north of Santa Monica – destination: Malibu! After a little Googling of “best eats on the beach in Malibu” we discovered Paradise Cove Beach Cafe! What a GEM! We arrived around 4 pm, got seated immediately outside (which was a tad HOT) in their sand-covered patio – all tables and chairs are literally in the sand on the beach, which helped add to the coastal feel! While we waited for the meals to arrive, I took Quinn, Eliana, and Niyah down to the waves. With this beach being in a cove, it brought forceful waves that the beachgoers were thoroughly enjoying! The kids let the waves chase them for a while until we got summoned to our table. Food portions were HUGE and most definitely easy to share – but definitely, plan to spend more than you typically would on a meal. For 4 kid’s meals and one burger w/fries, plus 4 milkshakes and a beer, we dropped over $100 USD! It’s all part of the experience, right?! Yikes! The ocean breeze, the views of the crashing waves, the sand between our toes, and the California sun made it worth every penny!
Following our early dinner (we hoped to beat the beach and weekend crowds) we packed up our leftovers and headed to change into our suits in the public bathing houses near the parking lot. These bathrooms were clean, large, and had curtained changing rooms for those heading to or from the beach! So convenient! For the next three hours, all four of my big kids (yes, that includes Alan) played in the ocean while Niyah and I enjoyed the sand and screams/giggles of those in the Pacific. I think the sheer size of the waves and their loud rolling on the shore was a bit much for my Lake Michigan baby! Either way, all six of us had a fabulous day on the beach! There were moments I became emotional as I considered how vast and deep and wide this body of water is – and how the water we played in today is the same water we will be playing in Australia in a week or so. What an awesome gift to touch the waves and let them carry us, so to speak, halfway around the world. Paradise Cove Beach, you now have a very special place in our hearts, which is probably the case for anyone who steps foot in her sands and plays in her waves.
Searching for sunsets has become one of our pastimes. Unfortunately, Paradise Cove does not offer great views of the setting ball of fire. As we watched the hues in the sky begin to change over the cove, we quickly packed up our beachwear and jumped in the car to head north along the coast, hoping to find a few good views of the setting sun! We did not have to travel far as Zuma Beach was just a few minutes north and offered a great place for the kids to play in the sand one last time. Unfortunately, my sunset pictures were not adequate to post here, so you get one on the drive toward Zuma! Bless you, Malibu!
