Shapiro's LA Adventure: Venice Beach and Wine Country

On Friday we took the boys to Hermosa Beach for breakfast on the strand, then prepared the house for the remaining Kornbergers who were to be picked up that evening.

Zach, AJ and Lou on the Hermosa Beach Pier.

Hermosa Beach

On Saturday, we drove back to Venice Beach for breakfast, then walked along the strand for a bit, enjoying the colorful people there, the street performers, the men playing basketball or pumping iron at Muscle Beach. Lou observed that it was something of a repeat of AJ and Zach's first morning in CA.

The Glass Man - He's about to jump on that broken glass!

We set off, then, driving up the gorgeous, scenic Pacific Coast to Malibu & wine country.

The first vineyard tasting room we found was right on the PCH, the Rosenthal, Malibu Estate, which also produces the Surf Rider label. The setting wasn't great - the tasting area was basically a parking lot with tables on it right next to the highway.

The adults each did a round of tasting, while the boys patiently played with their Nintendo DSes. Lou & Jo explored the artsy wine paraphernalia & tasty treats.

Then, over the hill, we found the Vineyard that Lou & I had previously visited (the one that actually existed), on Mother's Day.

Check out the chandelier

The boys were too young to enter, so AJ, Zach, Jim and I went off to explore the surrounding hills, while the girls enjoyed another round of tastings in an idyllic setting with live music. The area was quite hilly with frequent scenic views. We came upon a small farm that housed and sold camels, zebras, horses and llama. We passed it but circled back to take a closer look. When we pulled up a couple was behind the fence talking to a repair guy. We stood about 10 feet away trying to make eye-contact to say hello, but they never looked up. That is, until one of the boys touched the fence, then they asked us to stay back.

As we left the wine tasting behind & headed for home, we passed a vineyard estate for sale. Musing what a delightful change of profession a family vineyard would be, and a great way to spend ALOT of quality time together, we each guessed at the price. The website listed on the For Sale sign quoted the price for the 37 acre estate, the vineyards, and all the property, including the 9,500 sq ft Tuscan home with a 360 panoramic view of the ocean & rolling hills - a mere $49mil. We figured, pooling all our extended family financial resources, we could probably come up with a tenth or twentieth of the down payment. Oh, well. : )

As for the boys, Jo & Jim's first dinner in CA was the Big Wok Mongolian BBQ. Why change a good thing?

Then we drove down to Hermosa Beach, by the pier, to watch the sun set.