Following the Crowd

Everyone in blogland is talking about their 4th of July festivities, so I figured I should do the same...since I'm trying to blog more and all. ;)

Our 4th of July wasn't toooo exciting. We bummed around in the morning. Preston walked down to the beach to surf instead of heading down to Venice to his usual spot. Traffic and parking was just TOO insane. 

I made pasta salad, which is something I've been making since high school! I also made Rice Krispie treats, which...omg. I've not had in a while and SO good!! 

We gathered up the goodies, and some cocktails to go, and took off on our bikes towards Marina Del Rey for a pool party at my friend Meredith's. 

V. festive

It was really cool to be able to bike to Meredith's annual pool party, since in years past...it was a nightmare to drive from Long Beach. :P

Marina del Rey is only about 4.5 miles south of where we are, so the bike ride is pretty easy. Luckily, just down the hill from us is the beach and the beach has a great bike path along the sand that runs for miles in both directions. It's usually bustling with people and it was a total madhouse on the 4th. The bike path ends right before the Marina, so you have to take to the alleyways to complete the journey.

It was so fun and festive! Pres and I took our time weaving in and out of all the people. I can't deny that it's hard not to yell at all the walkers lolly-gagging in the bike path. :P

Meredith lives in a great complex with a community pool. It was really crowded with tons of revelers, but Meredith had secured an area with lots of snacks and drinks. 

It was a great afternoon. 

Hilarious. 

Around 5, the usual clouds came rolling in and it got really chilly. Luckily, I had the foresight to bring a change of clothes, because I would have been FREEZING on the bike ride home.

Even though, Meredith's hot tub is a GREAT place to view the fireworks, Preston and I headed back to Santa Monica before dark. For one, we don't have lights on our bikes (those were stolen when our old bikes were stolen. Grr.) and for two, the Venice alleyways are sketchy during the day...so going in the dark miiiggghhttt have been a little scary...even with my big, strong husband. ;) 

Before the camera got put away for the jaunt through seedy Venice :P

It was so funny biking back. There were TONS of people out and about and it was just absolute debauchery. Everyone was REALLY drunk. I almost got run over by 2 different skate boarders. I wish I had some pictures, but I had my phone safely secured in my bag so it wouldn't be stolen. Never know...

Right at sunset, we headed out of the alleyways and back out on the beach path again and the view was incredible. It was that magical hour right at dusk and it was just beautiful. 

My phone didn't quite capture the distant mountains

We passed a cute little kid biking alongside his skate boarding parents. It was soooo California. The kid's bike was covered with lights and he was yelling 'woooo wooo' as he pretended to be a police cruiser! 

There were tons of cops around and it got me thinking about all this talk about white privilege...because the police presence made me feel safe. And that's how it should be and it's really sad that it is not that way for everyone in every town. 

We missed the fireworks, since it was still about 20 minutes to start time when we were nearing our house and we were both ready to tuck in. 

We are super old and super into "Orange is the New Black" and it just couldn't wait. ;)

I hope everyone had a great holiday! Happy Birthday America...land that I love!!