Photo of the Week - The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica California

The Third Street Promenade is a great place to spend an afternoon while in Santa Monica, California.

You can wander through the shops, have lunch with a friend, have a coffee, watch the people go by, or enjoy the street performers. There are many volunteer ambassadors for the Third Street Promenade, who are volunteers and are there to help you find what you're looking for.

We really enjoyed our afternoon at third street promenade and had an amazing lunch at La Sandia which is on the third level of Santa Monica Pl.

So the next time you're in Santa Monica don't forget to spend an afternoon at the Third Street Promenade.

Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say about hotels and things to do in Santa Monica

Photo of the Week - Santa Monica Pier and the Arlington West Memorial

Last weekend Warren and I went to Los Angeles to see the LA Lakers play at the Staples Center. Few know it but I am a big Lakers fan! I also love to watch the celebrities at the game (hey what can I say). We stayed at the beautiful Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows in Santa Monica and stayed just a couple of nights.

This photo is from the Santa Monica Pier on a sunny Sunday morning in November.

It is the Arlington West Memorial, Santa Monica and is a project of Veterans for Peace. Each Sunday from sunrise to sunset, this organization displays the memorial known as "the Arlington West Memorial". It really is a site to see and this photo doesn't do it justice.

The crosses represent each fallen soldier and the red ones actually represent 10 military personnel. The draped coffins represent the fallen soldiers in the last week.

We didn't realize that it was temporary and only displayed on Sundays. We must have visited the Santa Monica Pier on a Sunday last year as we thought this was a permanent display. We were sad to see how many more crosses there were from last year.

Have you seen this memorial? We would love to hear your experiences in the comments below.

Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say about hotels and things to do in Santa Monica

Photo of the Week - Moonstone Beach in Cambria, California

I love to watch the sun set. Warren says that I wore him out of sunsets when we were in Hawaii. That could be true!

This is the sunset over Moonstone Beach in Cambria, California. We stayed at the Blue Dolphin Inn (which we highly recommend for a romantic getaway) and had a patio oceanview room.

We could snuggle in the patio "loveseat" under a blanket and watch the sunset each night.

This is my favorite sunset photo from that trip:

Sunset at Moonstone Beach,
Cambria, California

If you have a favorite sunset photo, please send it to me or link it in the comments section below.