Day 64: Manhattan Beach

Whenever I am in Manhattan Beach I feel like I've stepped into a Beach Boys song.  There is something about the place, and the scantily-clad people that feels like a throw back to more laid-back, Southern California livin that I love.  I threw my bike in the car and drove down the scenic route along the beach.  I parked on one of the side streets, rode my bike through town, down to the Manhattan Beach Pier, made a left on the bike path and rode to the end.  I passed stroller posses, mommy boot camps, gals playing volleyball, and happy dogs and owners trotting along.  I rode past Hermosa Pier, and down to Redondo, which felt like the end of the bike path.  It may have picked up somewhere past the Chart House, but I wasn't sure, so I turned around.

I rode back up to meet my pal Cynthia, who came straight from her tennis match where she creamed a friend 6-2.  We met at Le Pain Quotidien, and had a lovely breakfast outside in the sun. (Sorry east coast friends who just got another 19" of snow today, it was a sterotypical 78 and gorgeous.)  I was pleased as punch using my KCRW Fringe Benefits card -- support public radio and get 15% off your omelettes too!  It's easy.  Le Pain Quotidien is situated right next to Shade Hotel - an adorable little boutique hotel.  If ever I were to have an affair this seems like the perfect spot.  Charming, quaint, near the beach and no-one within a 20 mile radius knows me.  Afterwards Cyn took me to the Tea Exchange, a great shop selling all kinds of loose teas that you can smell samples of, buy in bulk.  They also sell everything tea related - teapots, cups, mugs, glasses, cute little tea strainers.  Looking and feeling like a total cliche, I drove home with the windows rolled down, the sunroof open blasting Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl."  In my sexy hybrid Highlander I'm ripe for a Laura-Linny-esque mid-life crisis.