Adventure Wednesday... Swimsuit Edition!

For our last mid-week adventure before Tom's new job, we decided to make a whole day of it and experience some California sunshine together.

We took a leisurely morning drive down Sunset Boulevard, hitting it two blocks from our home and following it along the strip, past the homes in the shi-shi hills, and winding through Pacific Palisades. Finally, the scenery breaks and we're facing ocean.  This, my friends, is the edge of the continental United States.  And it's beautiful.

Turning left, we pulled into the parking lot of Will Rogers Beach, a quieter stretch of sea and surf located between Santa Monica and Malibu.

Will Rogers Beach
Photo via VisitUSA

On this beautifully sunny morning, it was my goal to get my exercise by swimming in the Pacific.  I grew up visiting the dunes of Lake Michigan and the Floridian beaches of the Atlantic, so if I don't get to big, open waters at least a few times a year, I start to yearn for it.

Will Rogers is pleasantly sandy and currently graded "A" for water cleanliness, so I slathered on the sunblock and headed straight in.  The Pacific is as cold as ever!  Far closer to brisk Lake Michigan in June than to the cozy Atlantic.  But I still have a significant layer of insulating blubber (one of those times when those pounds come in handy) so I warmed up quickly and found myself body-surfing through waves.  Tom was with me, though without the insulation, he was slower to acclimate and faster to have his lips turn blue.  Nonetheless, we spent about a half-hour laughing together as the gigantic waves floated and carried us closer to shore.  Occasionally a wave would break right in front of us, drenching us completely.  Thank goodness I remembered not to wear my glasses (which hadn't been the case a few years ago, when I said goodbye to my frames from college as they were swept away with the tide.)

I was debuting my "stylish" suit, which I'd purchased several months ago but hadn't taken the opportunity to wear yet.  (I usually wear heavy-duty lap-swimmin' suits to work out at the pool.)  It's the retro navy Kiyonna suit that I included in my imaginary beach party outfit post, and it's lovely!  It is also, however, not ideal for movement.  Designed to be versatile, it can be tied in many different ways. The straps are very stretchy, and extend around the side of the bust (leaving the opportunity, for instance, to make it strapless by wrapping the straps around the ribcage.  It is unfortunate, however, that the straps, when tied in place, don't really do anything to keep the bust in place.  My suit fits perfectly, but every time I jumped a powerful wave, my boobs jumped ship too.  Thank goodness Tom and I were the only ones on that stretch of beach!  Kiyonna, if you're listening... please know that those of us who are active swimmers could really use a cute retro suit that doesn't cause a wardrobe malfunction.  For now, please know that the Ava Convertible swimsuit is for decorative use only!

It is cute for those purposes, at least. Here I am, post-swim.
Ava Convertible suit by Kiyonna
Sunglasses by Brooks Brothers
Towel by Target

After our oceanic adventure, we toweled off and headed back to Hollywood, where Tom had requested a stop at the newly-opened New York City import, Papaya King - famous for bringing hot dogs and tropical drinks together.  Tom ordered some curly fries and a non-dairy smoothie; I had a dog with roasted onions and 6 ounces of virgin piña colada. 

Pretty much what it looked like,
though the photo is via Los Angeles Times

It was planned into our daily calories, but that didn't stop Richard from bringing it up 200 times in class after I had sent him my food log.  (He's against the consumption of nitrates, and I get that, but to me... in limited quantity, on infrequent occasion, there is nothing wrong with having a premium hot dog.)  All told, I thought Papaya King's dogs and fries (I tried one of Tom's) were better than Pink's but not as good as Skooby's.

After a trip home to rinse off the sand and salt (and hot dog grease), we headed back out to scope out the location of our next Supper Club 600... but that, my friends, is a surprise adventure for another Wednesday!

I'm signing off to get some work done... but I'll be back tomorrow with not one but two recipes, one of which was a blazing disaster that - I hope - will make you laugh.  Until then, keep taking care of you!