Last day in LA.......
Up early to finish packing and have breakfast. Pete then headed off at 8am to pick up the rental car.
We decided to drive to 'Santa Monica' and 'Venice Beach' for the day.
Thank goodness for GPS! These motorways are huge.... and busy but we had a relatively stress free drive (luckily it was Sunday - could have been a different story if it was a week day).
Before we knew it we were there (it took about an hour). What a beautiful place!
We parked and hopped out for our first look at 'Santa Monica' Pier and the ocean. It just goes for miles and miles. We then drove just down the road and we were at 'Venice Beach'. Parked and started wandering down checking out the shops and the stalls and the sights.
Some very talented people selling their art etc but a lot were just selling themselves (they were charging a $1.00 to take their photo).
We stopped for some lunch - it was great to sit for a while and just people watch. One thing I've
noticed over here is that Dogs (big & small) seem to be taken everywhere. They were out in force here today but they also take them into the shops (malls) and restaurants. And as seen in he movies the little ones are carried most of the time either under their arms or in their handbags.
We decided to head back to the car but this time along the waters edge. The water was warm and the girls had fun running from the waves. We had left our togs out in case we wanted a swim but decided
to go shopping instead.
Back into the car and we soon found a shopping centre. However there didn't appear to be an electronics store so Pete phoned a friend who lived in the area (Mike) to see where we should go.
We were soon at the recommended location. It was an outdoor mall so there were entertainers all along the street. They were singing, dancing, playing instruments, miming and jump rope/skipping. You name it they were doing it. And all ages.
We soon found the Apple store. Half an hour later Chloe had her iPod. One very happy child. Pete had also made a purchase :) Hannah purchased a lovely jacket from the next shop. Mike then phoned to say he had driven here - so we found him. He pointed Hannah & I in the direction of a store that sold label clothes at cheap prices while the others headed off for a coffee/catch up.
Hannah & I finally dragged ourselves out of the shop with our purchases and the others were on the other side of the street. They thought we had gotten lost.......
Said farewell to Mike - we then packed our new purchases before heading off to return the rental car. The drop off point was close to the airport and they ran a courtesy bus to the airport. Too easy!
Before we knew it we were checked in and had gone through customs without any issues or cavity searches....
We had dinner (Burger King as there wasn't a lot of choice here in Terminal 2) then relaxed outside our boarding gate - reading and watching movies. However when it was time to board, we didn't walk onto the plane but instead they put us on a bus and we drove alongside a runway to another terminal - where we boarded the plane. I guess 'Air NZ' opted for the cheaper Terminal option :)
The bus ride was at least 5 minutes.
We had a good flight home - managed to sleep for a few hours. Arriving back to a beautiful day.
So ends our amazing trip! We enjoyed every moment - especially catching up with family and friends. For those we didn't manage to see......... We'll be back!
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