Venice Beach | California

We wrapped up our west coast road trip with a final day at the Los Angeles area beaches. Growing up, the Santa Monica/ Venice Beach area was the Irons family´s go-to spot for holiday getaways, so with our time constraint in mind, I knew that we had to start our day with one of the best breakfast burritos in America, at the Candle Cafe on Venice Beach. I was pleased to discover that my memory did not disappoint and we both left feeling full and satisfied. While we were voraciously devouring our breakfast, I noticed that a homeless woman was hanging around outside the patio area. Unlike most restaurants, which would have shooed her away, the server from our table invited her in and paid for her breakfast out of his own salary.

We continued our beach day by parking near the Santa Monica Pier, renting bikes and riding the length of the beach and back before, for the first time in my life, going for a ride on the ferris wheel. Since January is not optimal beach-going time in the northern hemisphere, there were minimal crowds present which made for a lovely view from the top.

Our day finished with a late afternoon meal at Paradise Cove in Malibu, one of Haley´s favorites. Though we discovered that the breakfast is more worth the journey up the coast than later day savory eats, the view was still pleasant and peaceful. Our day concluded with a spectacular view of the sun vanishing behind the coastline.

What a whirlwind trip! We essentially made a round-trip drive the length from Canada to Mexico. We drove approximately 3,000+ miles in our sturdy little Saturn. We saw three different states, two National Parks, and made some lovely memories. Stay tuned for our Carnaval road trip upon our return to Brazil!