We were so excited for our very first 4th of July in the USA!!!! We were looking forward to parades and street parties, and expecting about 95% of all citizens to be dressed in the colors of the American flag.

Perhaps we had somewhat exaggerated expectations. Maybe. But as native Düsseldorfers and some years in Cologne, and after infinitely many through-partied carnival seasons, we had so our ideas.

Santa Monica

So we prepared ourselves and went to the beach in Santa Monica, expecting that the party was already going on there. This was not so. There was quite a bit going on, finally many had off, but the hustle and bustle was like a normal weekend. 

So we walked further in the direction of 3rd Street. There it was exactly the same. At some point we had lunch at The Hive and strolled through a few stores. A saleswoman then said that there should be a party on the Venice Pier. That sounded good, and we wanted to go to Venice anyway. So we walked along the beach towards Venice. There is hardly anything more beautiful than a beach walk at the golden hour. I also discovered the almost famous Pride flagged lifeguard tower, and we experienced our first real sunset on the beach! On our last visit, we were unfortunately so cold that we had to leave early.

Venice Beach and Marina del Rey

However, from a party on Venice Beach was nothing to see. Only a small homemade parade float we have discovered in front. Since we had actually thoroughly researched, we knew that in Marina del Rey is a good point to watch the fireworks. 

So nothing like there, and excitedly waited for the fireworks. At 9pm it went off, and well what can I say…even then we had expected more. 

The traffic chaos after the fireworks, however, would have fit a really big event. All roads were closed and to order an Uber or Lyft was impossible. So we walked on. In the process, we got to know Marina del Rey better (very beautiful at night), and then had to realize at some point that we will probably only come home on foot this evening. We probably walked as many steps that day as a normal American might walk in a month (we were at over 30,000).

One day later, our neighbor told me that California is not necessarily one of the states where 4th of July is celebrated so big… we would have asked earlier. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful day on which we are once again a few experiences smarter.