Exploring Santa Monica and Venice Beach

From Palm Springs, we made the trek back into the city, but not before stopping at the Cabazon Dinosaurs, a destination that Connor planned for in advance. Originally erected to attract visitors to a diner (that no longer exists), two dinos dubbed Dinny and Mr. Rex, are located right off of Interstate 10 for a unique photo opportunity. Additionally, there is an open-air dinosaur museum whose admission enables you to climb into Mr. Rex's mouth, but it is free to simply view these concrete attractions. Apparently, there is also a famous jerky shop right next to this, but we were not aware of this until after the fact.

Our next destination was Marina del Rey, a coastal town that is home to over 5,000 boats. Upon arriving, we walked to Venice Beach and (accidentally) made the four-mile trek to Santa Monica. Along this path were many eclectic apartments, electric scooters, and your typical boardwalk shops that provided entertainment along the way. I was super interested in trying a popular local street snack, a Mexican fruit salad seasoned with Tajin (a mix of spices) and a splash of lime juice, and it did not disappoint. In fact, upon coming home, I found the best east coast equivalent that I could (Trader Joe's Chile Lime seasoning) and sprinkled this on mango slices to satisfy that post vacation nostalgia. We made a stop at the original muscle beach where we learned that locals can buy a $20 monthly membership to workout at this famous outdoor gym.

This yummy fruit salad featured jicama, watermelon, mango, cucumber, and coconut, and was topped with the seasoning!

I feel as though I romanticized Santa Monica a lot in my head, but as a public beach destination, I am not sure what else I should have expected in terms of how crowded it was. However, I will admit that we did not spend a lot of time here to really be able to make a proper judgment. Due to our very long stroll, the air had gotten a little chillier when we arrived at the pier so we were not able to enjoy the ocean for too long before heading back and warming up in the hot tub.

The next day, we made a stop at Abbott Kinney with the sole intention of getting Salt & Straw ice cream before heading out to West Hollywood. Abbott Kinney features a lot of unique clothing and novelty shops that are perfect for gift giving or finding that perfect piece of California and I would highly recommend perusing each one. Each boutique is nestled into a converted home and it was so fun to explore them before discovering that were even more tiny shops connected in the back! Salt & Straw certainly lived up to the recommendations I received from locals and tourists alike. We tried honey lavender and roasted strawberry and coconut sorbet, and it was the perfect balance of flavor and creaminess. The featured flavors of the month were vegetables in ice cream (pickle + peanut butter, beet red velvet cake), but honey lavender was the standout flavor for us. I so wish that the cones could make their way to Boston!