California Trip (Part 3) - Santa Monica

Of all of the beaches in Southern California, the one in Santa Monica is probably the best. It's definitely the most famous. The pier there is historical, and it's been featured in a lot of movies. Santa Monica is the city that Long Beach is trying to be, but failing miserably (more on that later.)

In the past, our family has always traveled to California during Christmas, so it's always been cold. This time was sunny and warm, so it was the kids first real experience at the beach. They really enjoyed it, but they seemed to like the sand more than the water.

On the day we were there, there was some sort of art exhibit displayed on the beach. Over 4,000 crosses were put into the sand to represent the soldiers who have died in Iraq. (see picture above) They were also displaying photographs of dead and wounded Iraqi civilians, some of them extremely gory. I understand and appreciate what the artists are trying to do, but since this is a beach filled with small children, I'm not sure this is appropriate.

(Pictures: 1. The famous Santa Monica sign. 2. Sara in the sand. 3. The art exhibit on the beach. 4. The pier. 5. Christy and Kyle walking in the sand. 6. Santa Monica)