When we’re working, we usually end up at least once each year in Southern California. When we do, our go-to hotel is the Marriott TownePlace Suites in Hawthorne. It’s reasonably priced, in a great location, and having come here for almost a decade now, we often see familiar faces. Just a few miles from Manhattan Beach, we can’t resist a beach walk, no matter how little time we have.
This morning was unseasonably warm, and the surf was high. We dipped our toes in the Pacific, and sat to watch the multitudes of surfers catch some waves. It’s such a peaceful spot to breathe and listen to the crashing waves. After a bit, as we always do, we chose to walk south toward the Manhattan Beach Pier, with our backs to the less-than-scenic Power Plant.
At the Pier we turned around and returned along the “Strand,” lined with multi-million dollar homes. The landscaping between the walkway in front of each home and the beach varies, but the flowers are always beautiful. We talk about which houses we’d like to live in as if there was a possibility of that ever happening, then decide they all lack any sort of privacy, and who’d want to give that up?
The bikeway that runs along the Strand is part of the same path that begins in Santa Monica in the north and runs to Palos Verdes in the south. There’s always lots of exercising going on, and people watching is another highlight. A number of high-profile figures in the sports and entertainment worlds live in the area, so occasional star-spotting is possible too.
Random fact from Wiki: during the 1920s and 30s, when most of Manhattan Beach was dunes, some of that sand was shipped to Waikiki, Hawaii to convert their rocky shore and reef into a sandy beach!
Quite different flora than the east coast!