Long Beach

Nick came to California for a work convention in Long Beach and since it's only a short drive from us we went up for the weekend to spend some time with him in the LBC!

We had gone surfing earlier that morning and just threw our boards in the car hoping to surf a sunset session once we got to Long Beach.  It was nice being salty in the car, but having my board strapped to the roof was so annoying.  I haven't bought a rack for my new board since we haven't really gone on any surf trips so we just use the straps that got us to California in the first place. They hold the board secure, but a two hour drive becomes agony especially when it's sounds like you're in the middle of a bee hive.

A little Ocean Treasure

We were able to get to Manhattan Beach and surf a little before the sun went down. Tyler found this sand dollar for me. It was such a cute town, especially after our detour through the Long Beach ghetto. I understand Sublime a little bit better after seeing it with my own eyes.

Nick and I outside Roscoe's

 We ate dinner at the famous Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. I've heard of this place through that Snoop Dog television show and from random people who've eaten here. I heard it was good, but I didn't really know what to expect.  Well it's soul food that's for sure. I ordered some lemonade/KoolAid concoction which ended up tasting exactly like sugar water and obviously chicken and waffles.  Who would've thought fried chicken served alongside a thick buttermilk waffle smothered in greasy butter and topped with maple syrup would pair so well together. It was delicious and I felt like a fatty mcpatty afterwards.

At the Family Fun Zone

Fountain on the walk back to the hotel.

Nick had to work the convention early in the morning so we took off for a full day in Los Angeles. We went to visit Point Dume.  Tyler had been raving about this surf spot and finally was able to show it to me.  It's one of the first places he surfed in Southern California and he had the best session ever here.

Here we are. I make us the proverbial tourists, but I like taking pictures. This is in front of the natural preserve sign.  There's a cool little hike along the cliff side and down to the ocean.  There's just no parking on the little strip designated as the entrance.

 We waited for the water to retreat before we jumped over these rocks onto the platform where the tidal pools were.  The rocks were so sharp.  Whenever I see something like this I always think of this story my mom told me when I was little about some children that were playing on these rocks in the ocean and the waves started building.  The water was getting so high that the kids couldn't make it back to the shore.  So a fairy came and turned them to stone. I don't think it was supposed to be a scary story, but I always remember that.  Weird.

Well that's all for Long Beach and Los Angeles County!