Yesterday, the little monkey had a birthday party to go to at a little aquarium by the beach. So we rose early on a day that we usually sleep in, readied ourselves quickly on a day we usually linger, and set off on the adventure that is Los Angeles traffic. Maybe it was the early hour, or that it is a holiday weekend, but we sailed through the Sepulveda Pass and arrived early, just in time to get lost in the one-way streets and construction of downtown Santa Monica. Sometimes, I wonder – have I lived in this town for 35+ years? And the answer is yes, I just don’t hang out on the Westside very much, so sometimes, I get lost.

After sea-star-crown-making, fish-gazing, urchin-probing, shark-touching and cake-eating, the party was a wrap. It was an incredibly beautiful day and despite it being January, we Los Angelenos hardly ever get the memo that it is supposed to be cold. I still make it a point to wear a sweater and a gauzy scarf because I refuse to give into wearing shorts in January (and my blood is just not prepared for anything under 72°F.) In all honesty, it was positively balmy out.  The little monkey had asked to take a walk to the water’s edge and put our feet in, so we stopped off at the car to unload both a goody bag and the sea star crown and headed to the water.

When we hit the sand, she peeled off her socks and rain boots (shoe of choice when it’s 75°F and sunny of course) and we took the short walk from pier to ocean.

As we strolled, I held her hand. We rolled up our pants and tiptoed into the chilly water, running towards the tide, then away.

Sometimes, I stood with the Man and we watched her look for seashells in the gentle waves.

The little monkey searching for treasure…

Sometimes she found what she was looking for…

Eureka! She’s found it.

And stored her collections away in her pockets when ours were full…

Storing her prizes…

I even found my own little gem…

The tiniest bit of green sea glass…both of my treasures in one image.

I was reminded of one of my favorite bluesy rock songs, the remake of “Sea of Love” by The Honeydrippers.

The band didn’t last very long, just a few years in the early to mid 80s, as it was somewhat of a little side project for Robert Plant and his friends Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and a host of others. You can imagine they might have been busy with their other projects (Zeppelin, anyone?)…they only released one EP.

The song’s impression on me, however, has lasted longer than the band.

I remember when I met both the little monkey and the Man.  I knew they were sublimely special, although for different reasons and in different ways at different times. I felt that sea of love standing there, besides the pier, amongst the tourists, and I told them both how much I loved them.

Here’s your song for Sunday, complete with cheese ball 80s hair cuts and attire – enjoy.