We had such a fantastic day trip on Thursday. This is exactly the type of trip I had envisioned earlier in the summer when I decided that I want to take advantage of living in such a beautiful place.
This was pretty casual and spontaneous. We got our tickets online for
Getty Villa the morning of (they are free, but you have to get them before you enter the property). Beyond that, the only prep was to throw some swimsuits and my packed beach bag in the car and go (wish we had brought some sweatshirts though--the beach gets chilly in the evenings--when will I ever learn that??).
The drive down the coast on Highway 1 was gorgeous. We got to Getty Villa by noon or so (only an hour and a half from our home, but we had a leisurely morning) and ate lunch at the cafe there. Then we wandered through the museum and grounds. Lots of ancient sculptures of Greek and Roman gods. Dieter is really into the Greek gods and such and he and Ken paid a lot of attention to the details. Rainer has a much shorter attention span so I went around with him more. It was fascinating to be in the presence of such old art and to think of the artist who made it, two thousand years ago. How would he feel, knowing that we still are looking at and admiring his sculpture?
After the Getty Villa we headed for the
Zuma beach in Malibu. It was great--such a long, flat and sandy beach, fully staffed with lifeguards. It had a very retro feel to me. The facilities were very basic, bare-bones, but I appreciated having a place to change and shower off a bit if we wanted to.
The boys and I had the best time jumping around in the waves and running to shore and back again as the waves came in and went out. I felt so free and summery and the color of the water was amazing. It felt quintessentially Sothern California. The boys sat separately and worked on sand castles for a long time after the water play. Usually Rainer needs to be entertained and intereacted with constantly, but something about the beach air and the exercise and sound of the ocean seemed to settle him and he was able to entertain himself with just the sand and his hands and the water. It was awesome to see him that way.
We stopped at
Neptune's Net on the way home for dinner. We'd been to Neptune's Net years ago, just Ken and I, and stumbled into the fresh seafood side. It was really confusing--you order directly from the tank of fresh seafood and there is hardly a side dish to be had (I remember we were able to rustle up some corn on the cob, but that was about it). This time we went into the front of the restaurant and it was totally different. They sell fish and chips baskets and everything you'd expect to go along with them. It was refreshing enjoying the atmosphere, sitting across from the ocean feeling the chilly breezes.
I couldn't resist taking several photos through the dirty-windshield on the way home. The ocean was so pretty.
A couple details for your daytrip: parking at the Getty Villa was $15 but admission was free. The lunch was pretty pricey. The kids menu was extremely limited but everyone was a good sport. Parking at Zuma Beach was $8, but plenty of people found parking on the street, so that is always an option. Remember to bring a sweatshirt or jacket for dining at Neptune's Net--the ocean breeze can get chilly.
