Dreamy beaches of Los Angeles
One of the obvious attractions of the City of Angels are its long white sand gorgeous beaches. The warm and sunny weather (even in December!) is another huge upside. The wide stretches of clean white sand do not compare in any way to the best beach out here in Seattle, the Golden Gardens. And we hold the latter as our jewel.
Our airbnb rental is located (not surprisingly!) in Hermosa Beach, just 2 blocks from the Strand. We paid a hefty sum for it, but it’s totally worth it: the deck has a view of the Pacific Ocean, and having to walk just under 5 minutes to the beach is an incredible convenience.
So far we’ve visited Santa Monica Beach, Venice Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and, of course, Hermosa. The latter is my top pick. I’ll explain why. First off, Santa Monica has a wonderful beach. It’s huge and it has a lot of attractions around it (the Pier, the Muscle Beach, playgrounds, lots of hip people) and it’d be my #1, but the amount of disadvantaged people surrounding it make me feel uncomfortable. Venice Beach met the same fate. It seems pretty usual (in terms of LA), though with a few playgrounds which my son liked. I understand that’s THE spot for surfers. On the other hand, Hermosa is luxurious and at the same time cozy, clean and safe. Manhattan Beach is gorgeous too, but appeared to me a little more crowded. It has this beautiful terrace of flowers and exotic plants. Add to that the backdrop of mountains and the ocean, and it looks just heavenly. The beach has also a small aquarium at the very end of the pier, which features a few small sharks and other interesting fish. My son was thrilled. The entrance is free, but a donation is recommended. Redondo beach appeared to me as a modest version of Hermosa. Full disclosure: I haven’t spend many hours at either of the above, except Hermosa, so my opinion is just a first impression.
Beaches are awesome with children. Not just because they’re exciting and appealing to them, but also because they give parents a minute to relax. Of course, you must closely supervise your kiddo when it comes to waves and water, but they also like to dig, build castles and just mess around with the sand, play with volleyball, etc. This gives me a moment to just sit and observe, when I don’t need to interfere much. Compare this to non-child proof apartment, that we rented, where I have redirect my child every few minutes.
Oh, and kids slide down the sand dunes here! For the lack of snow. That cracked me up. Never seen anything quite like that.
The airbnb apartment we rented has two decks with the view to the Pacific. Although the building is old and the decks have seen better days, they are just a delight. Even my two-year-old prefers to eat there, which was a surprise, considering how he’s never interested in sightseeing when we’re on hikes or parks, but rather chooses to mess with trash bins, climb on all sorts of constructions, or play with the dirt or debris found on the ground. What I enjoy the most on these decks (besides the meals) are my yoga sessions. There’s something magical about the warm sun shining on your skin. It makes me feel at ease. The warmth and fresh air double the effect of relaxation and I feel more replenished compared to my usual at home indoors yoga classes.
There are tens more beaches we’d like to visit on our one-month-stay. Most are in Malibu. I’m looking forward to go see, for example, the Carbon Beach, also informally known as the Billionaire’s Beach. We’ll head there on the Christmas day!