Manhattan Beach Memoirs

12/3/2017

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...Continued from yesterday:
On Sunday morning we decided to drive to nearby downtown Manhattan Beach,

...to play for a while in Metlox Plaza

...before walking down to the beach.

...where under the pier seemed the place to be.

Then we spent some time playing on the shore,

...and in the sand,

...and taking in the scenery.

Then we walked to the pier.

..which was decked out in Christmas trees and decorations.

On the pier we met some girls from the local high school, Mira Costa, who were having a bake sale to raise money to make care packages to deliver to students who had to be out of school for an extended period of time due to an injury or illness. I thought that was really sweet and gave them a nice donation.

Then we went home,

...to get a few things done,

...but in the early evening we returned to Manhattan Beach,

...because the girls wanted to have dinner at their favorite restaurant, a cute little Italian place near the beach called Mama D's,

...which we visited a couple of times during our visit and which, judging from the number of families with young children we saw there, appears to be a popular spot with children, I'm guessing for the same reason our grand children love the place:

...not necessarily for the food, which is nonetheless really good,

...some would say finger-lickin' good,

...but because at the end of the meal the server brings to every table with children a plate of chocolate chip cookies and the "Treasure Box" - a box full of an assortment of tiny, ten-cent plastic gee-gaws from which children can choose a prize guaranteed to break or be lost or forgotten within fifteen minutes of arriving home, but which for children is the highlight of the restaurant experience and no doubt the reason why Mama D's is such a popular family place.
Talk about brilliant marketing on the cheap!
After dinner we walked back to the pier,

...to see the Christmas lights