Day 8: Los Angeles

Kermit the Frog

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Today we started out late, a planned sleep in for all, although Kimmy got up a bit earlier than Billy and I, and was reading her book. When we did get out it was about midday. We had packed for the long flight ahead, and put everything into the boot of the car.

First, we decided to wander around Hollywood Blvd. We saw the stars on the footpath and decided that pretty well everything was extremely tacky - I don't think we would return. The Hollywood Museum was closed so we gave Billy a choice between the Hollywood Wax Museum, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, the Guinness World Record Museum or Bowling. He chose Bowling, so we hit the lanes for a quick game. Even though our bowling was very poor, we had fun and got out of the heat for a while.

After this we decided to head up to Venice Beach. We passed Santa Monica Beach which didn’t seem packed at all, and lots of beach games (volleyball and things), plus parking was no problem. However, we had decided to go to Venice Beach, so we continued on. Again parking wasn’t a real issue, although the beach was pretty well packed. It was a Monday so I don’t think I would have wanted to be there on a weekend. Billy played on the playground, and we had an ice cream and lemonade. We also had a walk in the water, the beach was very large, and there is a large stretch of sand from the waterline to the grassy areas – plenty of room for beach games and lots of people. However, when we actually walked in the water, we found that the water was murky (almost dirty) not the clear sandy water we get washing up on our beaches. Also, it smelled (not horrible, but it was noticeable). There were lots of people surfing, playing in the water, playing ball games up on basketball and rebound courts, sun-baking, and picnicking.

Venice Beach Playground

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We then headed to LA airport, managed to negotiate there without getting lost, returned our rental to Alamo and then hit the airport. Hungry Jacks for the boy who won’t eat anything, and a well earned Starbucks coffee and a sandwich for us.

We’re flying out from LA to Boston and Boston to London, so the next 24 hours are not going to be enjoyable, I also forgot to charge the PSP so hopefully it doesn’t run out of batteries before Billy does.

Tool of the Day

Billy was the tool of the day, for cracking it completely when we bought him an ice-cream at Venice Beach. He wanted a cone, but the ice-cream was soft and melting before even getting it to the cone, so they were serving it in cups with a spoon. He had his heart set on a cone and refused to touch the ice-cream. After some tears and a cuddle, he still refused to eat the ice-cream, so went without and had another play on the playground.