Saturday April 18: Venice Beach

Things I learned today:

*Boardwalks don't need to be made of boards... at least in California
*I am really bad at saying "No!" to beggars/buskers/people who want my monies
*At night, there is a shocking lack of bugs buzzing around outdoor lights in LA. It's actually one of the hardest things for me to adjust to.
*Driving/Navigating in LA traffic makes both Chris and I cranky
*Kage gave us a LOT of sugar. :)
*Okkervil River is the perfect sunbathing companion
*Sunscreen gives a false sense of security
*Aloe Vera gel only goes so far when your entire body is sun burnt

Our Day:

As per usual, we rushed downstairs to try and catch the continental breakfast and then realized it's the weekend and they don't lock the doors until 10am. Ah well, it's good to get up early when on vacation, right? Unfortunately, getting up early doesn't usually translate to us getting our day started at any sort of reasonable time, so it was some time after noon when we finally headed out the door and on our way to a beach, any beach.

The little guide brochure I have labels Venice Beach as "the best beach for people watching". Intrigued, we pointed the Civic in that direction and stepped on the gas. After a little bit of sketchy navigating on my part, we arrived, located a parking space after the LA appropriate amount of time searching, and set forth for adventure.

Venice boasts a "boardwalk", a concept that conjured images in my mind of a plank walkway, supported over the sand, leading in all sorts of interesting and scenic directions. This couldn't be further from the truth. Instead, we discovered a long strip of concrete, surrounded by tourist shops, outrageously priced eateries, and buskers of all shape and size. From Hip Hop artists trying to get us to listen to their home burnt discs, to an old guy on roller skates sporting a turban and a Hendrix-esque electric guitar. All very interesting, all vying for attention, all wanting our pocket change. After the first rapper nearly assaulted me getting his headphones on my head, I was very careful about whom I made eye contact with.

After walking to the end of the "boardwalk" and back, we were both feeling a bit peckish. Luckily, we still had two delicious Great Steak sandwiches which Kage had treated us to yesterday, so we grabbed them and a couple waters out of the cooler and settled down on the beach. After enjoying our meal, we liberally applied some sun screen and laid down to bask in the beautiful California sun. It was absolute bliss.

After a while of contented sighs, short naps, and much mimicking of rotisserie chickens, Chris decided it was time for a walk. We slowly strolled up the beach, our feet in the rising tide, just... basking. You know what I mean? We stopped to chat with a fisherman who was casting into the ocean. He told us about this certain kind of fish he was going for that comes right up to the shore in search of sand crabs. He also told us about the six foot tiger sharks that like to come up to shore too. Yikes. Despite all that, Chris decided a trip to California wouldn't be complete without a dip in the Pacific Ocean. A short dip, it turned out. I declined. I came for the beach, not for throwing myself into freezing, shark infested waters. He seemed to enjoy himself, though.

We settled down for some more sun bathing, and this time we both did fall asleep for some time. I'm sure you all know where I'm going with this. Yup. We woke up beet red and sore. That seductive sun had done a serious number on us. It was time to head back to the hotel.

And that's pretty much it, folks. A perfect day. Tomorrow might find us hanging out with Kage again, depending on if he can get the day off. If he can, we're hoping we can rope Dream into joining us as well. It's our last full day in California, and we want to make the most of it.