On the Beach

As summer vacation comes to an end we decided to finish it off with a sojourn to Venice Beach. Not to watch the freaks, but, rather, to actually hang on the shore, dip in the water and eat at C&O Pasta Trattoria.
How did Zoe fare at the ocean?
Undaunted. Fearless. Danger girl.
She also has a predilection toward Surfer dudes and skater boys. Things don't look that good for dad in about 14 years, do they?
There was a moment when it got a little scary as Zo sat on the beach, awaiting the surf, and got knocked down by a wave I misread as being smaller than it was. The site of my daughter, sumberged, water and sand covering her entire head and body was a little daunting but she recovered, blew her nose, sneezed and headed back in.
So much for fear of water.

Here is Zo's first day at the beach.

The kid loves the sand.


She races IN to the water.



Proud Papa and Danger Girl


Once she decided she liked it, we couldn't keep her out.



The kid with sand EVERYWHERE. Bliss.



Zoe and her new crush, cousin Aaron.




Tasting garlic rolls with Olive Tapenade



Stuffing her face full of Lobster Linguine

Big Bear

We got home about 24 hours ago. It was a great week. And I would love to really blog the hell out of the trip, but I am pretty tired and bloated and sated and sleepy.
You will have to be satisfied with some pictures and perhaps I will tell you more about it later.

The Gang's All Here.


The view from our porch.



Josh and the vista.



Hanging in the cabin.


It's not summer til you skip some stones.


Fishing at the North Shore Landing


Allyson dances!



Mummy! Beffie is piloting the skiff!



Huckleberry and Tucker's ass.


Sam caught the first fish.

She's a rocker

I got Rock Band for the Wii.
It's not as good as the version for XBOX but I don't have an XBOX and I can't justify the expense to my wife who, for some reason, thinks that the Wii is more family friendly even though there is no chance that we will let Zoe play on it for......oh, forget it.
We got Rock Band for the Wii.
I like to play the drums. Zoe, it seems, likes the drums as well. I was trying to get through "Wanted Dead or Alive" the other day when I felt this thing on my foot. It was Zoe, pushing my foot down on the kick pedal.
Shooing her away only worked for a few minutes, though and I took a break.
While we were in the kitchen I heard the sound of a new song starting. Orange Crush by REM.
Zo had started the song by hitting the pad with the drum stick. Then she started banging away.
4%, she got. It's a start.





There was a concert in the park at the Grove on Sunday. Beth and Zo and I went with our friends Scott, Jen and Ruby.
Zo was fascinated by the drummer and hung out by the stage at the foot of the kick drum for much of the time. She would wiggle and dance and twirl and clap when songs were over.




Zoe and Ruby check out the boys.

Then Zoe Jams.







Like I said. She's a rocker.