Free And For Me

LA Theme Parks

Being born a summer baby can have many perks.  This year my son decided to celebrate is 13th birthday by doing different activities throughout his birthday month.   Visiting Pacific Park was on his list.  We actually celebrated his ninth birthday the same way and Pacific Park was on his list back then.

This summer has been extremely HOT, so visiting the Santa Monica Pier was probably the best idea my son had.   We welcomed the cool, ocean breeze as we rode rides, ate food and played arcade games.  This definitely beat the triple digit heat we were feeling in our city, just 20 miles away.

When we arrived at the Santa Monica theme park, we picked up our unlimited ride Pacific Park wristbands.  We were able to ride all 12 rides in the park as many times as we would like.  My son and his friend were determined to ride every ride, even some of the rides for smaller kids.  We visited one day after his birthday, so I guess he was struggling with being a big kid and a teenager.  I did not mind.   I enjoyed seeing the smile on his face.

Santa Monica Pier Rides:

• Sea Swing
• Shark Frenzy
• Pacific Wheel
• Inkie’s Wave Jumper
• West Coaster
• Sig Alert EV
• Sea Planes
• Inkie’s Air Lift
• Inkie’s Scrambler
• Sea Dragon
• Pacific Plunge
• Frog Hopper

My son and his friend accomplished their mission.  The actually rode some of the rides a few times. They rode the Sea Dragon so many times I could not keep count.  They convinced me to ride the Sea Dragon once and my daughter rode with them a couple of times, after that they were on their own.

They later convinced me to ride the West Coaster and the Inkie’s Scrambler.  They rode the West Coaster probably just as many times as the Sea Dragon.  My favorite was Inkie’s Scrambler, that was more my speed.

My daughter and I rode that together.  She may beg to differ about the ride is her favorite because she sat on the side of the ride that made my body slide into her the entire ride.  As I laughed uncontrollably she was smashed against the side the wall of her seat.  I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes.

With so much to do, we had to make sure we were fueled.   Pacific Park has a nice selection of restaurants to choose from.  My daughter and I order grilled chicken sandwich combos from Beach Burger, my son ordered pizza from Pacific Wheel Company and his friend ordered nachos from Whac-a-mole Tacos.

Pacific Park does have other places to eat also:

• Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
• Scoops Ice Cream & Treats
• Funnel Cake
• Dippin Dots
• Themed Food Carts
• ICEE Mix-It-Up Station
• Popcornopolis Cart

We spent hours at Pacific Park.  I dreaded telling the boys it was time to go but all good things must come to an end.  Although, they did not want to leave they said they had a good time.  They enjoyed themselves so much they are asking when are we going back.

Thanks, Pacific Park for making my son’s birthday a memorable one.

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