Rita lives in Venice Beach with her husband and daughter Maybelle (ages 20 months). We asked Rita to share her favorite places to visit with her family on the coast.

Escape the cold and head to the canals in Venice Beach to have fun in sunny California. With high temps and massive crowds, it is best to avoid the city in the summer. Instead find an Airbnb on the canals in the cooler months and stop by the local farmers market on Friday morning.

Spitfire Grill
Check out happy hour at Spitfire Grill, they have plenty of outdoor seating, there’s a playground across the street and the Museum of Flying is down the road. It’s total bar food (hence the bad reviews on Yelp) but you won’t feel bad about having a misbehaving toddler with you. Plus you can’t beat the happy hour priced beers.

Pitfire Pizza
Pitfire Pizza is super kid friendly and there are multiple locations. The food is good and they serve beer/wine.  Parking can be a little tricky but that’s LA.

Treats 
Maybelle has a peanut allergy so I like to get frozen yogurt from Treats because I trust that they don’t cross contaminate but of course always double check…

Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is also really fun for little ones to run around. There are permanent dinosaur exhibits and a Nature Lab that includes memory maps, touchscreens and live animals for kids.

The Huntington
I love Huntington Gardens for walks but make sure it’s not going to be 100 in Pasadena and get there early to beat the crowds. They have a little cafe for lunch but pack something for the little ones.

More Attractions:

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