Opa came to visit this weekend, actually he came to teach and had a spare day to spend with us on Saturday and so we wandered over to the coast and spent it exploring Malibu and Santa Monica. We started off with a very foggy hike in Charmlee Canyon. We had just purchased a new hiking backpack for Gianni and were eager to try it out. Despite the fact that I had two maps and the descriptions for the hike, the fog made it difficult to keep our bearings. We hiked around some very lovely meadows (we think that there were two) but due to the fog missed the lovely ocean views. It was pretty to see the dew in the grass and the spider webs. Then we went down to Zuma Beach in Malibu to eat lunch. The boys and Opa had a great time throwing rocks into the ocean. Opa teased Vinny about throwing him in too, it wasn't Vinny's favorite idea. From there we headed down to the Getty Villa. I have to admit I was scared about how Vinny would like the Villa. I refreshed my mythology knowledge last week and had a great time reading about the Gods and Goddesses of Rome and Greece (I have always loved to read about them). Vinny really liked it, my fears were unfounded. Gianni took a nap about that time and we had a great time looking at all the beautiful art and especially the architecture. If you haven't made it to the Getty Villa, we'll take you the next time you come to visit, you'll love it too. Vinny's favorite were the statutes of the Greek goddesses. He couldn't get over the fact that many of their noses were missing. He would ask me what they were saying, and I would ask him what he thought. He thought about this for awhile while standing in front of a big statue of Athena, and then said, she's saying "Fix me". I thought that was great. He also insisted on taking lots of photos of these statues and going back to say goodbye. Our next stop was the Santa Monica pier. We got there a little earlier than planned, we were planning on catching up with Mike after his class. We had a great stroll down the pier and enjoyed all of the sights. We also got to ride the carousel, which we had used as an incentive
during our visit to the Getty. Vinny really loved it and so did Gianni. From there we walked up to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica (see I told you we did a lot). We had a great dinner and met up with Mike. Mike and Vinny had a great time "heeling" (In Heeleys, the shoes with wheels, Mike is an expert in these shoes). Vinny was riding on Mike's back in his hiking backpack, it was great fun. Gianni loved to dance with all the street performers, he was sooo cute. Our favorite Vinnyism of the weekend was when we got home on Sunday. He turned to us and said, "when I get bigger, I am going to play the drums on the street and you and Opa will give me money in my bucket." We loved it and joked that we should start saving money to support him now. It was just a fun day and I look forward to more of them!
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