Leila's introduction to SoCal beaches was less than enthusiastic, but far better than her recent NorCal beach experience (in Sea Ranch last month). The waves were much more gentle in Malibu and the seascape was much less rugged/dramatic/intense. She was freaked at first, but allowed herself to be won over by my perseverance and enthusiasm. Eventually she touched the Pacific with her toes, and even her fingertips.
The next morning we spent a few hours at Zuma Beach building sandcastles and strolling down the shore.
After our beach excursion on Friday, we stopped in for a wine tasting on the way back to our campsite - a nice, indulgent treat for "mawmaw" (my new name, according to Leila). Leila delighted in smelling each wine and sharing the whiffs with her Baby Annie (pictured below).
Later in the day, we went for a brief hike to try to catch the sunset. The highlight of the short hike for Leila was the cactus along the trail. The highlight for me teaching Leila to squat and pee. BIG success (and much easier than the seemingly simple task of teaching her to pee on the paper protectors in public bathrooms! We struggled with this one on the trip.)
After spending 9 hours and $325 to retrieve the keys that I locked in my trunk at the campsite on Saturday morning, Leila and I finally made it to Long Beach in time for Roller Derby. Below: Leila, me and Auntie Momo.
I'm pretty sure that this picture was taken during Leila's complete and utter captivation by the fire dancer halftime show. It was truly remarkable... I've never seen fire dancers hula hoop with fire... now, that's H-O-T!
Sunday - Long Beach Aquarium. Leila absolutely loved this experience. And of course, I want to interpret that love as new fuel for sparking what will surely be a ragingly passionate love for water! I hope my little mermaid discovers her fins soon! She definitely thought the fish, seahorses, seals, jellyfish and bamboo sharks were superlatively cool. "Onward!" Below - jellyfish...
Touching bamboo sharks, sting rays and other friends...
Tide pool...
GLEE...
This "magic wand" accompanied us on our journey (thanks for sharing, Leeloo!) and posed for several pictures, too. Leila has taken a new interest in photography, which unfortunately, has resulted in a broken camera. Looks like Leila and I are both asking for cameras for Christmas. The rest of our trip's pictures were taken with my phone.
Me and Leila got a chance to pose together with the fish (and magic wand) too.
On Monday, we enjoyed a very relaxing spa day. I was a little nervous about taking Leila to the Korean Day Spa, but as it turns out, she loved being naked and playing with cups of water near the cold water pool, and she really enjoyed the sit-down showers. And we all enjoyed the Korean lunch. 
After the day spa, we took a stroll down the beach. Leila's fears, unfortunately, returned and she didn't want to have anything to do with the ocean.
And when we got back to the house, Isa's daughter, Leeloo was home. Leeloo is five and super adorable and took charge in dressing Leila up like a doll. It was quite the innovative fashion show!
Before we left Long Beach, Leila got in some good bonding time at the park with her new friends Leeloo and Kensa. 
On Tuesday evening, we met up with Aunt Barbara and Bruce for dinner, then spent a quiet night at a hotel in Sunset Beach. The next morning, we spent hours on the beach building sand castles, chasing waves and collecting shells.
Leila loved every second of our last morning on the beach. It even evolved into some nudity as every bit of Leila embraced her love of the water.
Video coming soon....
1 comment:
Love that girl. She's losing her belly though.
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