California, Day 5

Sunday was our last full day in California, and the last day with any pictures since we left early the next morning. We started off the day by walking down by the Santa Monica Promenade and Pier and had breakfast at the exotic little place called McDonald's. After that, we hightailed it back to the hotel and made our way a few miles south to world famous and notorious Venice Beach.

It was the second time we'd been to Venice Beach, as Marilu and I visited it during our California vacation back in 2006. This was just one of the many things on this trip that made us realize just how much our lives have changed within the last 2 years.

It was actually a little chilly that morning, partially due to the wind coming off the ocean and partially due to the fact that California had a minor cold snap. Well, the latter is my guess, but when we came back to Ottawa the next day, it was actually warmer here than it was in California. Almost makes it seem better...if you can ignore the 14 feet of snow we had this winter.

The first picture I wanted to post is the only one we got with the boardwalk in it. There's a lot of crazy street performers and enough kitschy shops to be on par with Tijuana, but I went with a more panoramic view here.


Afterwards, we turned around, walked a couple of hundred feet, and took a picture with a slightly different background. Suffice to say Lucas is a well-traveled baby, having now seen both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans before his first birthday. And if all goes as planned, he should be seeing the Gulf of Mexico this Christmas since my dad isn't too far from it.


After Venice Beach, we traveled about 20 minutes south to Torrance and visited with Tim, a family friend that grew up with my dad. Unbelievably, we were able to get Lucas to look at the camera in this next shot, even though both of us were in the photo. Will wonders never cease?


I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but Lucas is fascinated by facial hair, probably because he doesn't see it very often. My last few attempts at cultivating a goatee have been somewhat disappointing so he will have to rely on others to get his quota of facial hair. Below is a cute picture of him grabbing on to Tim's goatee.


And that wraps up the California trip. I'll return tomorrow with pictures since then plus several others that were taken between the Lab City trip and California. If you recall, I didn't have time to get them all up. In addition, I'll be uploading several videos from the California trip, including the one that goes with nekkid Lucas.

Later!