Dave and I drove to Venice Beach yesterday morning, and spent a couple of hours walking around and having lunch by the ocean. Some people describe Venice as seedy, and it does have a very urban feel, but I like the colorful characters and street art and buskers and taco stands and t-shirt shops. There were guys (and girls) playing pick-up basketball, as well as something I'd never heard of called teqball. There were people on skateboards and roller skates, and people lifting weights at Muscle Beach. A lot happening!
It was only late morning by the time we got there, but we settled into a sidewalk cafe (aptly named The Sidewalk Cafe) and had an early lunch. It was a peculiar menu, with omelettes named after John Denver, Emily Dickinson, Will Rogers and Georgia O'Keeffe. What's the connection between Emily Dickinson and a plain cheese omelette? (I ordered a Georgia O'Keeffe without the bacon.) There were burgers named after Dylan Thomas, John Irving and Zane Grey. Mysterious!
A nearby guitar player skillfully strummed tunes by Eric Clapton and Santana as we ate. Afterwards we walked up and down the sidewalk checking out the scene.
There was a lot of marijuana smoke drifting around.
Here I am in front of a typically colorful mural. And you'll note I'm wearing my Bahamian fish shirt! I blended right in.
(As we were taking this picture, a couple of guys rode by on bicycles, carrying beers -- at 10 a.m. -- and hooting loudly. "We're scaring the tourists!" one yelled to the other.)
We only barely ventured onto the sand. The beach was so wide that the water seemed about a mile out -- I thought we might die of thirst before we got there and back.
Afterwards, Dave wanted a nap, so I dropped him at the hotel and set out on a driving odyssey of my own. I wanted to hit some Goodwill thrift shops, and on Google Maps I found one in West Hollywood and another in Santa Monica that seemed doable.
I was sitting at a stoplight on Beverly Boulevard by a Ralph's supermarket, the sun shining through the trees and warming my face, with Led Zeppelin's gentle guitar ballad "Going to California" on the car radio, when I suddenly had a moment of bliss that I could almost call ecstasy -- a feeling that everything is beautiful. I swear, being in the sunshine is doing me a world of good.
The Goodwills, unfortunately, were a bust. I didn't buy anything in either one. I did find a beautiful Robert Graham shirt in the one in Santa Monica, but alas, it was the wrong size.
Finally, last night, Dave and I had dinner at Merois, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant atop the Pendry Hotel off Sunset Boulevard with stunning views over the city. I had West Coast oysters on the half-shell, followed by Shanghai lobster and a delicious coconut/tapioca/mango dessert called halo halo; Dave had a crab salad followed by a pork shank and a chocolate-hazelnut cake. I wondered what their martinis would be like, but I didn't go there since I'm the designated driver. (The only driver -- Dave no longer has a license.)
Today, off to Palm Springs!
22 comments:
After a soggy dark winter or two , bliss is overdue! So glad the weather is cooperating, no floods, no earth quakes, no landslides- sunshine and palm trees- bliss. I've have friends who still live there, would live in no other place, which I could not understand, but there you go- blog posts from Steve, our reporter on the go, and my mind is somewhat more open. Miles of sand and open skies- breathing room , correct politics and ubiquitous petrol guzzling automobiles. Without one in this country , one is pretty much at a loss. I am part of the problem. What an excellent holiday! Relax in PS, Dave can snooze by the pool.
Sounds like bliss. We lived just a few minutes walk from Venice Beach, which WAS cool and seedy and a cheap place to live at the time. I DID love it there -- although not Marina del Rey so much. I would have thought a thrift store in West Hollywood would have been a treasure trove. I assume the John Denver Omelette was a Denver omelette. No clue the connection with any of the others.
I think the light level is raising your spirits. You needed this after a glum couple of weeks. I always expect everyone in Venice Beach to be in roller skates, like a requirement.
Believe it or not, I have walked down Venice Beach before and it was exactly as you describe it- seedy and fun and funny and weird and sort of great. I am so happy that you had your moment of bliss and ecstasy. Those are rare and beautiful.
I'm sorry that the thrift stores held nothing for you but at least you tried.
YOU'RE HAVING A VACATION! I love it.
From the start of reading your post until I finished was nearly 40 minutes today. I got sidetracked on the teqball reference which I never heard and then ended up watching last year's championship game. It looks like a lot of fun when I was much younger and more flexible!
Halo halo is THE dessert of the Philippines. It stands for mix-mix for the variety of ingredients and that you should mix it up before consuming. I don't consume it in the Philippines as it tends to be made with contaminated water that my digestive system can't process but I would have eaten it here in the U.S.
isn't that the whole California vibe, that everything is beautiful?looks like a fun day.
What a great day exploring in the sunshine. I love that muscle shirt (the one the sleeves fell off). You blend right into that mural. Dinner sounds great too. There used to be a Wolfgang Puck restaurant in Chicago that I used to go to quite often when I was working in that city. One night, Wolfgang was in the house and he signed a cookbook for me. I love the view from this one.
All very enticing and interesting. Thanks for sharing and hope the rest of your stay is equally relaxing and fun.
I love those moments where it all seems to come together so very perfectly. You can almost hear the click as it fits into place. I had one of those last night. I saw what I had missed and applying it today, the world looks so much brighter. Not perfect, not by a long shot, but brighter.
I am glad you are having so much fun, Steve.
You should Google "resale shops" and hit others besides Good Will. I love thrift shopping and always find the local shops are better than Good Will shops.
I love that photo of you! It's like a postcard. I'm glad you're having a good time. The moody English coast is fine and all, but you can't beat sunshine for a mood booster.
Even though we've had a mild winter, I wouldn't mind some sunshine and beach about now. Lovely pics.
Beer at 10:00 a.m. can only mean "hair of the dog"!
I ate at a Wolfgang Puck Spago in LV many years ago.
Lucky B's! It's cold here.
It does look very warm and sunny and hopefully not too hot.
I love the view of the city. I will never get there so seeing your experiences is nice. Being an old fart in Wisconsin means I don't (won't) eat the seafood you're enjoying but if you have some deep-fried gigantic shrimp, let us know!
I am glad to hear you and Dave are having a wonderful vacation. Sunshine, palm trees and a beautiful blue sky sounds like perfection.
Nice post and of course in America it is perfectly fine to refer to sidewalks and sidewalk cafes etc.. Over here on the island of Britain we will stick with pavements and footpaths thank you very much. Looking forward to your next blogpost - presumably concerning Palm Springs and the journey there.
The food sounds fantastic. I can't imagine the total on your check at Merois. And your tours sound grand, too. I hope you're building memories that you'll look back at with great pleasure some day.
Venice is indeed a fascinating place to people watch! It sounds like you've eaten and enjoyed what LA has to offer. Have a great trip to Palm Springs.
You DO blend right in. That wide beach looks like many around my city, but we don't have bike paths IN the sand, our bike paths are off the beach, though still quite close.
A moment of bliss will stay in your memory forever.
A moment of bliss. Is anything better than that? It sounds just lovely. Dinner, the beach -- lots of color and how nice to see open water and warm days. It sounds like a great trip so far (apart from Goodwill...)
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