The girls were very excited to see the Pacific Ocean, so we as soon as everyone woke up on Wednesday, we were off to Santa Monica. I have been there before, so I know the beach and activities on the pier there are very nice.
Once arriving in Santa Monica, we headed over to the Farmers Market, located a 5-10 minute walk from the pier. The Santa Monica Farmers Market is amazing. There are so many vendors with delicious, cheap fruits, vegetables, and nuts. The girls ended up getting some nectarines for free and that was a smart business decision by the vendor. The girls loved them so much, we ended up buying 10 more. I wish I got a picture, but I was too busy checking out all the food. It was 4 blocks long with all sorts of stuff. I highly recommend going.
After stopping back at the car to get the beach items, we headed down to the pier and then the water. If you have never been to the Santa Monica Pier, it's a pretty awesome place. On top of being the end of Route 66 (I'll talk about this more later), the beach there is so nice, as is the activities on the pier.
This was my girl's first opportunity to ever go in the Pacific Ocean and they loved it. They were having so much fun jumping in the waves, they spent very little time playing in the sand. They spent hours doing this. I'm not much of a beach guy, but I had a blast watching them.
While they were in the water, they got hungry, so I went up to get lunch for them at the Pacific Wheel Pizza Company on the boardwalk. They had very reasonable pizzas for under $10 a piece which was nice considering how much everything else costs in California and on this trip. Plus they tasted great!
After eating some lunch I took the girls up to the pier to go on some ride that the Pacific Park amusement park. My girls love going on rides. They think it's so much fun. All you could ride passes were $20 for Norah (under 7) and $40 for Avery (over 7). Norah rode for hours. Avery did a mix of riding and then going back in the water. Both of them had a blast though.
As the girls were riding, I couldn't help but think about how this was the end of a pretty big journey that I had taken. Driving the majority of Route 66 from St. Louis, Missouri to Santa Monica, California. It really was an amazing journey that I will forever remember. Especially seeing all the joy the Santa Monica Pier attractions brought to my girls at the end of my Route 66 journey.
After the girls were done with the rides and the water, we found dinner at a restaurant on the end of the pier named Marisol Cochina Mexicana. It was really good Mexican food. I got the fish tacos, as I usually do when I'm at the ocean. The water front dining was outstanding!!!
While down at the restaurant, we visited the Route 66 Last Stop Shop at the end of the Santa Monica Pier. I bought a t-shirt, a license plate, and a few other knickknacks. The owner of the store was really nice and gave my girls some seashells. If you make it to the end of Route 66 in Santa Monica, I highly recommend going here.
On the way back to the car, the girls wanted a treat. So we stopped and got them ice cream, and I bought a funnel cake covered with strawberries and whipped cream. It was so good. I couldn't resist taking the girl's pictures next to the Santa Monica Route 66 End of the Trail sign with their ice cream.
It was a long day at the beach and everyone was tired. However, everyone loved the Santa Monica Pier and the memories that were made there. I think my girls will remember this day for a long time to come.
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