Santa Monica

We had three days to acclimatise, see the sights, and recover before heading to Anaheim.

On our first day in LA, we walked down to Santa Monica Pier, which was supposed to be a 30-minute walk according to the hotel receptionist. Nope. Clearly, they’ve never walked it. Thankfully, the new stroller board was a lifesaver as Darcey decided early on that walking wasn’t her jam. Early on we noticed just how bad the homeless situation was here. All very sad.

The next day we visited the La Brea Tar pits and Beverley Hills. The Tar Pitts is right in the centre of LA and a lot of fun. Darcey loved the exhibits, inside and out. It was like stepping back into the ice age. As we were in the area, we decided to go shopping and see the Beverley Hills sign, with everyone else.

On our last day, we visited Venice Beach - a fascinating place with its beautiful stretch of sand along the Pacific Ocean. It's always fun to people-watch and observe the eclectic clientele. It reminded me of Bondi. It was nice to just sit on the beach, be silly with the kids and soak it all in. Next top Anaheim!