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Santa Monica with Forrest fans (Ch 3)

Chapter 3 of the FairyBlogTale as our Family enjoys some LA action… or not.

Once again, food features heavily.  As do seagulls. It’s THAT kind of FairyBlogTale…

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So you recall how our Family spent the Longest Day Ever arriving at, and trying to stay awake in and around Rodeo Drive?

Well after a decent night’s sleep, they inhaled some breakfast (where The Princess discovered pancakes pretty much = pikelets) and spotted one of these vehicles…

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And with all the forethought and planning for which the Mother was famous, they decided to jump on board and see where it took them…

As the bus ploughed through traffic in a westerly direction they saw sights like this…

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And this…

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And this…

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Whereupon the Mother began humming ‘When the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard… doo-doo-do, doo-doo’ to the annoyance delight of the Father and the bus driver, who we doubt had EVER heard that melody before.

And before they knew it, they were here…

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And if that photo didn’t clearly illustrate the famous location enough to you, Gentle Reader (you would think the photographer was obsessed with how the traffic was all going the wrong way, wouldn’t you?)… then THIS might help:
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According to legend, this is the site of oldest pier on the West Coast of the USA.

But the Family remembered it most from the movie Forrest Gump. You know, where Forrest runs to one side of the country stands at the end of a pier, and then turns back?

And the Mother couldn’t help but think that with houses like this build ON THE SAND…

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…that Two and a Half Men must be taking place somewhere nearby.
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So she kept her camera at the ready for a good Charlie Sheen shot – who knew where the beret-wearing, porn-loving, stark-raving star might turn up (hopefully not in a BlogFairyTale – it would totally blow it’s current G rating).

And while the weather was a little gloomy and not terribly beach-ish, the Mother kept taking photos anyway.

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And the seagulls took pity on her, and decided to keep things a little interesting…

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And the Mother wondered if maybe American seagulls were BIGGER than their Antipodean counterparts.  Cause the Mother sometimes thinks in big words like that.  She’s a freak.

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The birdlife took over the FairyBlogTale for a little while…

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Apparently LA birds play up to the camera better than Oz birds.  It’s the Hollywood influence.

Then the oysters on the pier pylons caught the mother’s eye…
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Mmmmmmm…

So anyway, the Prince and Princess and the Father huddled against the cool wind and gazed out over the Pacific towards home…

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And took in some of the historical information about this famous landmark…

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They also spied on beachgoers and pretended to shoot each other with the telescope.  The Prince is a real little BOY sometimes…

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And even though beachgoers were few and far between and not at all Baywatch-ish

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They enjoyed the peace that they did NOT expect to find anywhere NEAR LA.

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Actually, that would be a little lie.  The Prince and the Princess did NOT enjoy the peace ensure by the fact the Pacific Park amusements were NOT open the particular week-day the Family decided to visit Santa Monica Pier.

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Not at all what was anticipated from the colourful flyers for the Pier.

Nonetheless, one arcade attraction WAS open and some quarters were gambled in time-honoured fashion at pinball machines and…

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The Deal or No Deal game.  The Mother is NOT a gambler, but was secretly sucked in to this game.  Although she didn’t actually play, but cheered on her daughter who took home the loot.  Well, some string necklaces and rings worth about $1.08 anyway.

And the Prince’s loot… well…

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Judge for yourself!

Then, all that fresh sea air prompted some grumbly tummies to seek out this place…

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Bubba Gumps Shrimp Company (Seafood Restaurant).  How could they resist?

The eatery proved quite an excellent choice for the windblown and hungry Family who snacked on a little of everything.

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The real highlight was the waiter, however, whom the Mother failed to take a photo of.  He entertained and made the Family feel pretty special and was suitably blown away when the Father answered ALL of the Forrest Gump-related questions in the pop-quiz correctly.

Including WHAT SHOES DID JENNY WEAR AT HER WEDDING TO FORREST? (Answer in comments if you don’t know)

It was heartening to see all those hours spent watching movies was well-invested.

And despite the fact that we are only HALFWAY through the day, your narrator is going to call it quits here for this Chapter.  Cause she thinks your computers will all explode if she crams any more photos in.

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That should be enough to make EVERYONE smile like this…

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