Potty-friendly piers

Spurred on by thoughts of reducing our environmental footprint (and not at all motivated by the fact little Shayla from the playground is already out of nappies, of course), we decided to potty train Lady P. I know it's a little early but she was up for it, once she realized how many stickers she could earn, and it was a fairly painless process.

But for a few days we didn't want to go more than ten minutes from home. Unless it was to somewhere we didn't mind whipping out the porta-potty in public. Roadtrips to Malibu, long brunches, and leisurely walks along the beach were all out.

Hence, an afternoon at Redondo Pier. Which is a ten minute drive, and also somewhere it is okay to pee in public. Redondo Pier - like the rest of Redondo - should be really nice. It probably was, once. And then the seventies happened. And the old storm-battered wooden fishing pier was replaced by a strange, concrete development, anchored by a multistorey carpark, with a pier in the shape of a horseshoe, some amusement arcades, and a fish market.

Even the outdoor tables have a TV

Oriental Breeze: hot dogs, french fries, funnel cakes, icecream...

...and sushi. And live fishing bait.

A pier staple since 1952, but the vibe today is pure 1980s, complete with bar tenders in tropical shirts and a building that looks like a crow's nest

Old school pier cuisine

Thai, Cajun, Whatever. This building is part of the carpark.

Carpark on top, fishmarket-cum-amusement arcade below

I'm being rude about it, and that's easy to do because it is so unfeasibly ugly. And yet, there are many redeeming features. The seafood market is one.

This place is also part of the carpark (in the background) and looks crappy

...but had a dozen types of live clam for sale

Not to mention live sea urchin for less than we paid for 2 pieces of nigiri last weekend

 There are also plenty of sweet fish themed murals, which delighted Lady P.

 It's a pretty nice place for a father-daughter stroll.

And best of all, no-one looked twice when we stopped, mid-pier, to use the potty. I suspect this is the first of many trips to our new favourite pier.