Who’s been craving a beach day?? I know I’ve been for the last 3 years! While shivering in the blizzards of Mammoth Lakes, I’d just close my eyes and tell myself that in a few short weeks, I’d be sitting on the beach and listening to the ocean again. Well, today that comfort-thought became a reality!
While I’ve been trying to see lots of new things during this mini-trip in LA, I’ve been looking forward to going back to Santa Monica after visiting in high school with my broadcast club. It’s just such a fun place to be, and no matter what you like to do there’s something that everyone can enjoy.
Metro to Santa Monica
I took the metro fairly early in the morning, and it was delightfully easy. Just hop on the blue line at 7th/Metro center, and in about an hour and $1.75 later, you’ll be there! The taser-salesman was there again for a few stops. Gotta respect the hustle.
From the station, you get to walk down Colorado Avenue’s blue and yellow wavy striped street, all the way to that iconic Santa Monica sign. You know the one!
Right next to it was Palisades Park, which has some great ocean views and a lovely garden, although there were lots of homeless people sleeping there, and so I didn’t explore it too much since I didn’t want to disturb their sleep.
When I got to the pier, everything was just getting going. Restaurants line the left side while souvenir stands set up shop along the right side. There’s also the Arcade full of old and new games.
On the end is a finer dining restaurant and the harbor office, where they go and rescue people if they have too many drinks and leap off the pier, hehe. Just kidding, I hope.
At the very end of the pier, there are two levels. I really like this design because you can see the water from above and also close to water-level. Lots of fishermen also set up here, and it’s cool that the pier has still served that purpose for the community after all this time.
While looking at the ocean, a bunch of black dots appeared on the horizon. Then, they all drifted closer and closer, sort of in a jumbled, but intentional line. When they got close enough, I realized they were Cormorants- hundreds of them! They must be migrating, because despite diving in the water every so often, they all stayed in their line formation. They all floated right past the pier, it was awesome to see so many in one place.
After they’d passed, Pacific Park was just getting started, so I went over to see if I could maybe ride the Ferris wheel. In high school, I rode it with my friends and we all had a blast enjoying the ocean views and taking fun pictures. In fact, here’s high school WTB!
At the time it was somewhere between $3.50-$6 to ride, but with 6 or so years having passed, it’s now $11! I couldn’t justify spending that much on something I’ve already done, but I can say it is a memorable time if you like Ferris wheels and ocean views.
Next, my plan was to walk along the oceanfront paths and have a picnic lunch at Venice Beach. It took about 20 minutes to walk there, and just like you see on TV, people are rollerblading, skateboarding, biking, and even riding these crazy little 1-wheeled skateboards.
It’s a great vibe to just be out there in the sun with everyone.
I was shocked when I actually got to Venice beach. It seems that right at the end of Santa Monica and the beginning of Venice, the beach is covered in tents and tarps where homeless people have set up camp. To be super clear, I don’t express this as a grievance, nor do I consider it an annoyance. Everyone needs a place to live, and beaches provide warmth from the sand during the day, and an open space for added security, so I understand why this would be the place to set up camp.
It’s just a startling disparity to see people living under tarps right next to luxury stores and oceanfront properties. I don’t know what else to say about it, I wish I were more articulate. It was just sad to see how many are suffering from homeless out here in LA. What I did know was that I didn’t want to bother anyone who was just trying to take a nap, and so I went back to Santa Monica.
On the way, I stopped at muscle beach to swing on the swings and think.
I did end up having my picnic on the Santa Monica beach, a good ol’ peanut butter sandwich and an orange.
After my picnic, I was pretty much finished with the beach. I’d thought about going to Malibu, but with public transit, that’s 2hrs back to DTLA, which is just too far. Instead, I went to explore Grand Park for a bit.
Visiting L.A.’s Grand Park
Grand Park is very nice! They’ve got a lot of flags on display with info about the history of each. It was a little confusing though, given that some of the flags were from places and organizations that seemingly had nothing to do with LA, like the republic of Texas flag.
What’s especially cool is that they’ve got gardens with plants from each of the geographic areas where large immigrant populations in LA come from, so there’s an Australian garden, a Paleotropical garden, an Neotropical garden, and more!
At the very top of the gardens are lots of chairs where you can sit and enjoy the fountains. They are currently under construction, so it’s not as grand as it usually is. That doesn’t mean the influencers weren’t there taking pictures! I just love their outfits, please influencers, share your styling tips with me!
The water brand Propel was in the process of setting up an outdoor fitness area, but other than that, there didn’t seem to be a ton going on in Grand Park, so it was time to grab some dinner.
Dinner Timez at Vurger Guyz
And that pretty much wraps up that day. Oh actually, no it doesn’t! I tried a vegan cheeseburger from Vurger Guyz. That’s right, a VEGAN CHEESEBURGER. It was so freakin’ good. I am still getting used to these LA prices, though. $20 for a meal! My heart can’t take it.
An Interesting turn of Events + Hibiscus Breeeeeeze
I decided to be social for once and get a drink with some folks I met in my hostel room. I didn’t anticipate making any friends here because I have these phases where I’m a major introvert and sort of avoid people. However, some of my roommates are really cool, outgoing people and easy to talk to, so my expectations have been subverted!
After getting a table at the Broken Shaker (the rooftop bar), I tried what is possibly the best drink of my life called a “Hibiscus Breeze”, and with a backdrop of Los Angeles sunset, it couldn’t have been a more perfect evening with new friends.
Except for one crazy element: my drink ended up on an… eccentric fellow’s tab by mistake, but before I could talk to him to fix the situation, he got kicked out of the bar for being too drunk. So I never got to fix things… maybe that’s for the better but I do feel a little bad! Especially for the waiter who had to deal with his shenanigans.
Anyways, while crazy expensive, the Broken Shaker is just amazing, one of my favorite bars I’ve ever been to. It’s full of plants and there’s even a pool in the middle. There’s a lot of rules at this bar, but it’s still impossible not to relax and enjoy, especially with a hibiscus breeze in hand 🙂
So wow! What a lovely crazy day. Lots happened, and there’s still a lot to process.
The homelessness crisis is very prevalent in LA, and I’m not sure how I can help with it or what I can add to the conversation that would be productive. I suppose that will take more research and learning, which I’m certainly going to do. Hopefully, this is something that the city and the USA as a whole can also start to address in the future.
Yep!
Anyways, check back to read all about what tomorrow will bring!
Until next time!
~WTB