Manhattan Beach celebrated Fourth of July 2024 with SUPs, a golf cart parade, and lots of (somewhat tamer than usual) beach fun. The sky went from hazy to sunny to hazy again, but that didn't stop thousands from enjoying Independence Day near the water.

(See our reel from the day over at the Manhattan Beach News Instagram feed.)

Several dozen brave souls came out in the morning to try their luck at the SUP Squatch Invitational, riding the waves on giant inflatable stand-up paddleboards that hold five to six people.

The quirky event stood in contrast to the throngs of "Ironman" warriors storming the beach just a mile or so away in Hermosa Beach.

Later in the day, a small contingent of patriotically decorated golf carts made their way through Manhattan Beach, followed by Mayor Joe Franklin in his trademark robins-egg-blue Thunderbird.

Up and down the walk streets and the Strand, house parties were filled with revelers in red, white, and blue. On at least one walk street, a group of party-goers was using a giant catapult to propel water balloons all the way down the block.

And along the Strand, bicyclists cruised along surveying the scene, many with bikes decked out in flags and balloons.

Down on the beach, families and crowds of young people held parties on the sand. This year's beach crowd was relatively tame - at least compared with previous years - most likely due to an enhanced police presence on the sand. 

The contrast was most obvious at the border between Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach. A police truck parked on the sand on Second Street looked out over scattered parties on the Manhattan side, whereas on the Hermosa side, revelers were packed shoulder to shoulder.