@guthrie's triumphant returns to the Santa Monica Pier!

in #travel6 years ago (edited)

Late night Steemit post after a long“Los Angeles” day. We’re back at the estate in La Cañada. @vermillionfox and I are exhausted. @guthrie has been passed out for hours. Earlier this year, February, we brought @guthrie to the Santa Monica Pier. His first time seeing an ocean […he’s a landlocked Minnesota kid]. He was jubilant and overwhelmed, even though the weather was cold and the sky was grey. You can read about that trip in my previous blog post titled,

Today, the weather was clear, sunny and in the 90º’s. I’ve been trying to sit and work for days. I desperately need to edit, but logically, it’s Friday. If we’re going to fit the beach in during this trip, it made more sense to go today while “most” of LA is still finishing the work week. I decided to put the edits off until tomorrow. We packed up, made a quick stop at Grand Central Market downtown for pizza, bento and tacos […the market is a giant international food district], then continued our journey to the pier.

On the drive, I saw a sign for La Brea. I asked @vermillionfox if we should stop so @guthrie could see the tar pits. We did, and he was immediately turned off by the smell. He likened it to some of the pollution we deal with in Minneapolis, disregarding the historical significance of the attraction. He felt bad for the mammoth sinking in the tar pit as well. I struck out as the family tour guide, but it was nice for me to reminisce. One of my first shoots in LA happened at that very museum. I’ve come a long way.

Onward, and we finally arrived at Santa Monica. We parked and made the walk over the bridge, down in to the sand. @guthrie began pulling ahead of us, captured by the awe of the pacific ocean. He got close, allowing his toes to touch the water for the first time since February. A little more confidence, he waded in slightly deeper, until a wave crashed and knocked him over. He scurried back up the sand trying to regain his composure. Excited, smiling, and obviously terrified.

He brought up Finn Human from Adventure Time and his irrational fear of the ocean. He would tempt the waves by getting close, then try to run away before the crest. Sometimes he got a way. Sometimes he didn’t. I loved seeing completely overstimulated. His brain barely able to process his surroundings. We stayed for two hours. We eventually left, hot, thirsty and covered in sand. We walked around the pier and visited the aquarium under the pier. For another two hours, @guthrie touched urchins, starfish and crabs in the petting tank area.

Caught in traffic now mid-LA-rush hour, we stopped at Urth’s Cafe in Santa Monica. I’ve enjoyed coffee and pastries at their Pasadena location. Unfortunately, as good as the desserts were, this clearly wasn’t a “work spot”. @vermillionfox and I wanted to write our Steemit posts while traffic died down. We made our way to another coffee shop, Coffee Connection, just three miles away. I took care of work phone calls, she wrote and we all charged our electronics. We made it back to Pasadena late, showered and we’re just now ending our day.

Thanks for reading. For more photography, travel, illustration and the stories behind the work, follow me here @kommienezuspadt. Good night, Steemit!

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God bless your family! They are a beautiful family picture, those moments in life that will never be forgotten, for decades they will be the pleasant memory of that beautiful child, enjoy life with your family with every breath of your life, do not miss a single instant.
Greetings a big hug, I am happy to see these things.

cute and happy family

I am glad you are having some fun mixed with your work. It truly is a workcation.

I am so excited for @guthrie getting to see and play in the sea. I love the sea and water and my earliest memories are water based. I hope he enjoyed it and did get over his fear.

I also love petting tanks at aquariums, and even here at our own beach I daily play with sea versions of hermit crabs , periwinkles, and other fun sea creepy crawlies, I guess once a kid always a kid?

And a great way to end the day with that delicious food. I call any wonderful carbs I view online now food porn and this is a good one. I can just smell that choky cake!



Desserts look very rich I Love cholocate cake. 😍😍😍😍Good thing you are enjoying together @kommienezuspadt! You can see so much happiness in @guthrie face, it's nice to feel the water and the sand, as he has not been to the sea so much he can feel scared but as they are together, the fear goes away and he only has a good time!

Maybe not a great place to work, but those pastries look delicious!

Sounds hella fun. I'm a landlocked midwesterner in Wisconsin but grew up in California and lived in SoCal for a couple of years. Lots to see and do down there, that's for sure. Enjoy that ocean!

Once we get in the water it's difficult to get out haha....and those pastries look amazing...
You guys had some awesome time :)

I'm glad you had a great day with family, your son could enjoy the beach I know more about the world around him, eventually want to go again and until you like the idea of the sea! Also not bad to get out of the routine sometimes I hope you have a good weekend :)

Oh, my God! I apologize, I did not realize I made the comment from my wife's account @antonela, when I realized it was too late, I thought I had not published it. I'm very sorry but your baby is very beautiful and sweet.

God bless your family! They are a beautiful family picture, those moments in life that will never be forgotten, for decades they will be the pleasant memory of that beautiful child, enjoy life with your family with every breath of your life, do not miss a single instant.
Greetings a big hug, I am happy to see these things.

such a lovely family , sweet moments of life , we should enjoy every second <3

...family is everything <3

Wonderful family day story, @kommienezuspadt

boy, what a day ! and such well written, accompanied with such beautiful photos, that i felt as if i was right there in spirit... that photo with your hand grasping guthrie's sandy hand is so touching. the difference in size, and how well connected the connection is * ___ *

love the final photo also ! <3

aww man, I remember my first time in a real ocean with real waves. I got knocked and skidded so hard on my borrowed boogie board, haha. Not that that stopped me, the Ocean is a beautiful (and scary) thing.

It seems that you're having a great family adventure, though I guess there will be rough patches too alongside the exciting journey. I hope all of you are doing fine, and smile as wide as guthrie's. What a great smile :).

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