Funviralpark 
The sun, waves, and a little bit of Schadenfreude have drawn flocks of holiday merrymakers to the beaches around Los Angeles for Christmas.
“This is the most perfect weather,” said Jayanti Krishna, 47, of Boston, who took a walk on the Santa Monica Pier with her husband and two teenagers on Sunday morning. we took a picture [intending to share them] And we thought, ‘Is that like rubbing it?
In fact, most places outside of California have very bad weather. An ice storm hits Seattle. Part of Michigan he was buried in more than 3 feet of snow. A “bomb cyclone” that will threaten much of the continental United States this weekend has already stranded thousands of travelers and left tens of thousands more without power.At least a dozen people died in Buffalo, New York, as of Sunday
In his Thursday morning address, President Biden said, “This is a really, very serious weather warning, and it’s going from Oklahoma to Wyoming, Wyoming to Maine, and it’s got really serious consequences.
Amid the gloomy forecast, some saw Los Angeles as a haven.
“I didn’t have any plans for Christmas, so I went on a last-minute road trip,” says Wendy Lopez, 22, of New Mexico, riding a wave with long sleeves pulled up to her elbows. “In Albuquerque, it’s about 40 degrees right now.”
For others, the sunshine was a surprise.
“I’m wearing jeans now,” laughed Seraphine Magagna, 17, of Santa Rosa. His hair was still swimming and wet with his clothes when his cousin buried him in the sand.
Even some locals were caught off guard.
“We thought it would be cold,” said Hira Almony, 37, of Sherman Oaks, who took her children to the pier on the seventh day of Hanukkah. Let’s go?’
By noon, the pier was buzzing, the sand below was swarming with impromptu picnics, and the shoreline was dotted with children splashing in their underwear.
Thrill-seekers raced roller coasters on the promenade. The queue meanders to the iconic Ferris wheel. With Ladino Hanukkah’s classic “Ocho Candelica” blaring from the speakers, Houston’s Ahmed sisters searched for a clear spot to pose in matching hijabs.
For Zarin Bell, 25, the bustling crowd was a distraction from the toddler she left at home in Enid, Oklahoma.
While waiting outside the Pacific Park amusement park, he “won’t let me see my son open presents. On the other hand, it’s cold as hell out there.”
Some have come to the beach to start a new chapter in their lives.
“It’s our first childless Christmas,” said 52-year-old James Scruggs of Indio, whose teenage son was visiting relatives in Ohio. It’s going to be an empty hive, so you have to get used to it.”
But many, perhaps most, were looking for a place to spend their vacation that wasn’t theirs.
“We were looking for a place that was open,” said Dan Zaksas, 45, of Philadelphia, who is Jewish.
In fact, among visitors, hijabs far outnumbered Santa hats. Similarly, tsits and sarees were more common than Fair Isle sweaters and red and green garments.
“He’s planning on finding a California girl right now,” Orange County’s Sukjinder Singh teased England’s Hardy Singh, who was dining with him outside Beach Burger.
Meteorologists expect it to last Tuesday through New Years, so for the Singh family and many others, the iconic boardwalk would have been in the itinerary, even if it was raining.
For some locals, the beach has become a kind of non-Christmas tradition.
“I usually go to Manhattan Beach every Christmas and decided to come here. [to Santa Monica] Because they’re visiting,” said Almondo Greer, 45, of Jewish daughters Jaz, 19, and Nairi, 17, who came to town from Bakersfield.
“We’ll go to the movies later,” Jazz added. This is another old tradition: “I’m going to see Avatar.”
Maybe after that they will go eat Chinese food.
This story was originally published in the Los Angeles Times.
