Technically, today could have knocked three things off the Summer 2013 list: spend a day at the beach, picnic, and find somewhere to watch fireworks for the fourth of July. But I'm only going to cross off that last one because the other two weren't truly completed.
The adventure started when we tried to find parking in Marina del Rey at 5 PM on July 4th. Considering it's a patriotic national holiday that involves fireworks on the waterfront, let me tell you. It's crazy out there. After a lot of driving in circles and waiting in lines, we finally got a spot. *Yes!*
Sophomore year, Steph, her little sister, a few friends, and I tried to do the free kayaking thing at the Marina, but we got there fifteen minutes after they stopped all rentals. So we decided to walk down to the beach instead. It's a pretty long walk.
This time around, I knew to bring other shoes besides flip flops. Hate those things. They make me trip and hurt my feet. ): I'm such a wimp, I know. So not cut out for SoCal life. What dumb kid chooses to go to a school in an area known for its warm, sunny weather when she doesn't like flip flops, shorts, or tanktops? *rolls eyes* This one.
Once we got to the beach, we called our friends to ask where they were. "Between life guard station 52 and 53." Wait. The nearest station has the numbers "41" on it and we can't even see the next station in the distance. We're gonna die. *flop*
Let's just say, we walked the ENTIRE LENGTH of Dockweiler Beach. From Marina del Rey's Fisherman's Village. Through the incredibly soft sand {which tries to eat your feet with every step}. Carrying food brought for the hungry horde {actually, that was just me. *wrinkles nose*}.
We started around 5:15 PM latest and finally reached the group by 7 PM. No lie.
By the time we made it down the entire beach, the sun had almost fully set. Which is why I have no pictures with people in them-- it was too dark to get any good pics of the group of friends hanging out. But they were there! And I got a bunch of pictures of the sun disappearing behind the clouds...
After munching a bit, the entire group decided to move locations since a few of the girls found {miracle of all miracles} an unused firepit! Had no wood, but that won't stop us. Threw a frisbee around for a while, met some kids who were hands-down better than us in terms of aim and ability to catch, took a group photo.
People arrived with firewood, lighter fluid, and s'mores materials. We lit Erin's sparklers and used them to draw things in the dark {if you set your camera to the right settings when it's pitch dark outside, you can create pictures by moving around a light source}.
The fireworks were supposed to start at 9 PM. And indeed, they did. Just... nowhere near us. It was still kind of cool, though, because the fireworks would go up, explode, and then the top half would disappear into the clouds. It was like strangely circular-shaped lightning.
A bunch of people about fifty feet from us on the beach decided to set off their own fireworks. Which meant the things burst RIGHT OVER OUR HEADS. I found it awesome, but several members of the group were like, "What if they don't aim it correctly and it comes shooting towards us?!? This is so sketchy! And aren't fireworks illegal in LA? It's so loud!"
The several years in high school that I was manager of the track and field team conditioned me to be used to sudden loud, sharp cracks of noise, so I was honestly loving the up-close-and-personal fireworks show. Where's your sense of adventure and wonder, guys? *grins*
My clothes smell like bonfire smoke. I love it.
After standing around for a little while longer, we decided to call it a day and pack up all the stuff. Figuring out rides was the usual puzzle, but the walk down the beach at night with friends while fireworks are still going off overhead... best ever.
Fourth of July on the beach. Not bad, LA, not bad.
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Things crossed off Summer 2013 List:
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