Labor Day at Santa Monica Pier

Julie suggested we take a trip to Santa Monica Pier on Labor Day. Neither of us had been there in years. We had a great time. What a good idea!

The trip down was great. Most surprising was the traffic, or lack thereof. The freeway flew both there and back.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and blue, and we didn’t see a hint of smoke from the fires.

What sets the pier apart from others in California is Pacific Park. Admission is free, but each ride costs a few bucks.

I passed on the coaster, surprisingly enough. We got there before it opened, and by the time I could have ridden, we were on to other things.

Katie dug the pier once she got used to rolling over the bumpy wood planks.

Tourist stuff. Lots of tourists were there finishing out the season.

This original site of “muscle beach” had many “strength” activities, such as rope climbing and ring swings.

This was Katie’s first experience with sand. “Hmm…what’s that, guys?”

The obligatory roller coaster picture. Katie is 17 months old now and seems to be racing to the terrible two’s (and trying our patience). She either wants nothing to do with us, or screams to be picked up. At this moment, she wanted nothing to do with me. We got lucky that for a moment, she was in a good mood.

Off to the Third Street Promenade. I was here years ago when Joe came to town. I barely remembered it, so it was fun to be back.

Palm trees, old buildings, and lots of shopping.

“Please let there be somewhere to eat that’s toddler friendly.” We found a Johnny Rockets, whose fries Katie really enjoyed.

“Grrr…me eat balloon! Me have no idea what I would do if this thing popped right now!”

We enjoyed playing Tourist, if only for a few hours.

To get back to the car, we had to go down quite a number of stairs that were dug into the side of the hill, to get to this bridge with many more stairs on the other side. We’re very glad Katie just had a lot of practice with the stairs at great-grandma’s house.

Nice view. Nice apartments. Too bad they’re surrounded by the rest of L.A.

An even better view! :)