Having decided that I will run as often as I can while I am here, that's exactly how my day began today. Despite waking up with the signs of a head cold, I laced up my trainers and hit the Strand which even at 8.30am was absolutely heaving with locals. In the short time we have been here I have deduced several things. Californian people love to exercise, including running with their dogs and their children wherever possible. If their not exercising then they're dressed for it and almost certainly holding a large take away Starbucks coffee in their hand. I ran as far as Manhattan Pier and back which was just a little over 7km, smashing my usual split time with an impressive best of 5min 32sec per km. I have to say that all of all the lovely locations I have run before, this place will be hard to beat. The endless people watching, stunning beach views and quirky beach house architecture means there's always something to take in and distract you from the task ahead.
Feeling slightly guilty for abandoning my brood I made amends by rustling up my first ever batch of American pancakes smothered in Nutella and whipped cream which were as you can imagine, greatly received!
After a minor mother/son argument which left William hiding in the garage for over an hour while Misa scoured the length of Hermosa Beach looking for him, we packed up the car for the short journey down to Redondo Beach where we would spend the day at the Seaside Lagoon.
For Holly and Louis the lagoon ticked every box; heaps of sand, lots of of other children, shallow water, fountains to run in and out of and they couldn't have been happier until, 40 minutes in when the announcement came that the water would be closing due to a technical fault. Ever British, we kept calm and carried on, stoically making use of a closely appointed sprinkler and nearby shower to keep us cool and aid the children's 'hole filled with water' game which kept them amused for several hours. Regular cries of 'stay out of the water' (needs to be said in American accent) from the lifeguards left me momentarily searching for shark fins within the 2ft lagoon although neither the children or Misa had any idea which film I was referring too.
At around 3pm after over two hours of 'watergate' they announced that the water was opening and I wish i'd been filming because the squeals and yelps of literally dozens of children all hurtling towards the shallow pool simultaneously was priceless.
Having finally acclimatised to LA time zone, we felt ready to venture out this evening after Tom and Linda had recommended the Sunday night Hermosa beach concerts which featured a British friend of the family playing in the supporting band, Fallen Riviera. Unaware there was more than one band performing however, I mustered up all my courage to go back stage and approach the lead singer who I thought would soon realise our connection but alas looked at me blankly while being flanked by groupies annoyed at me for taking up so much of his time. Turns out the all american Wayword Sons have no connection to our exchange partners but do perform with British accents (even more confusing) and can belt out a phenomenal rendition of Bohemian Rapsody.
The highlight of the day featured Louis and seven Mexican street dancers. We had gathered around with a group of other spectators and were watching an amazing dance routine when all of a sudden Louis was called up as a volunteer. It's hard to explain on here just how they involved him in the act but luckily I have all 3.5 minutes of video footage which will be shared and cherished forever more!!
(On our way to the beach concert with very excited 5 year old)
No comments:
Post a Comment