On Friday, we spent the day riding beach cruisers and going on a pub crawl. Always so fun and makes me wish that we lived near the beach all the time.

Since Jay and Lindsay, being true California beach goers, had their own beach cruisers, Jay and Joe headed out in the morning to rent Joe and I our own.

Around 11am we headed over to the beach on our cruisers. As Lindsay and I rode over to the beach, we came across throngs of people getting out of their cars, people looking to the sky, pointing. We had no idea what they were looking or waiting for… an alien spaceship?! We waited a couple minutes and headed over to the beach.

Once at the beach, a sound came roaring over our heads. Ah, I saw what people were waiting for. The plane carrying the space shuttle Endeavour was being transported to LAX. It flew right above us! Sadly, I didn’t get the overhead picture, but overlooking the beach was great too.

After the shuttle sighting, we met up with the guys and on our way we went! Isn’t this an amazing view? Can someone buy me one of those houses? Or perhaps, maybe win the lottery.

Starting from the beach in Playa del Rey we rose about 6.5 miles over towards Hermosa Beach to eat brunch at Martha’s 22nd Street Grill, one of our favorite brunch places when we come to visit. It’s right near the beach and has plenty of outdoor patio setting. LA Weeky calls Martha’s the Best Eclectic Breakfast by the Beach, review here.

I usually go with one of their scrambles or omelettes but this time decided I needed some veggies in my life and went with a huge garden salad and a side of hash browns. Delicious. Of course I stole a few bites of Joe’s scramble.

Scenery along the way to our first stop on our pub crawl.

First stop for drinks was at one of our a favorite spots in Hermosa Beach, Watermans: Safe House for Surfers. All the decor is surf-inspired and it’s always a cool place for happy hour.

Even better is that from 3pm-7pm Monday to Friday, all items including cocktails are half off. I started off with a Double Skinny Raspberry Margarita Slushie. Refreshing.

Being silly:

Taking a picture near the Hermosa Beach Pier where Watermans and lots of other cool bars and restaurants are located.

Our next stop was the poopdeck tavern, another awesome dive bar in Hermosa Beach.

Jay and Joe being goofy.

This, quite possibly, may be the most awesome mural. So much going on. Too much.

After a beer there, we hopped back on our beach cruisers and headed home. Scenes along the way:

It was such a fun day! At the end of the night, we ate dinner at Fishbar in Manhattan Beach. I didn’t take any photos of my meal, but the calamari appetizer, cup of clam chowder, and Caesar salad were all delicious! Our friends love this place, so please try it if you’re in the area.

Got home and went to sleep immediately to prepare myself for my last double-digit long run before the marathon. Next recap will highlight this.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!