Venice Beach, Ocean Front Walk

We always look forward to a stroll along the Venice Beach promenade. It's alive with people of all ages, with separate pathways for walkers and people on wheels (bikes, skates, skate boards). There are lots of eateries, and shops selling souvenirs, original paintings, t-shirts, hats, sunglasses and jewelry.

Dual pathways on the Venice Beach 'Boardwalk'

A nice surprise is the Small World Books store at 1407 Ocean Front Walk (a few blocks up from the Skate Park). It stocks a wide range of books from major and small presses. If you are looking for books by Californian authors (fiction and non-fiction) you will not be disappointed. It's where I discovered T. Jefferson Parker's "California Girl", Anna Stothard's debut novel "The Pink Hotel" and Joan Didion's "Play It As It Lays". 

Venice Beach Skate Park

Another favourite shop is Native American World at 1207 Ocean Front Walk. Old folks like us can do with a bit of bling to make us sparkle so we always visit this store to add to our growing collection of jewelry. This is where I bought my favourite earrings - little spiders (spiders are symbolic of creative energy due to their stunning web weaving skills).  

Native American Spider Jewelry

It's also the place to find the perfect light-weight, travel-friendly gift for friends and family. I chose a variety of beaded earrings and beaded medicine pouches for my young granddaughters. Here's a sample of them.

Native American beaded turtle jewelry

Native American medicine pouch necklace

When we get hungry we head toward the Venice Ale House on the corner of Ocean Front Walk and Rose Street. The food is nourishing and the people watching is free. 

Venice Ale House, Rose Street Santa Monica

From Rose Street we exit the beachfront promenade and walk along Main Street. First stop is Angel City Books and Records on Pier Avenue (a small side street to the right). This is a treasure trove of rare and hard-to-find books, CDs and vinyl records where it's easy to lose track of time while browsing.

Continuing down Main, Dolcenero Gelato at #2400 is a must for icecream addicts. My choice is the exceptional Ricotta and Fig.

By now we are nearly at Pico Blvd, Santa Monica, and we have one more stop before ubering back to our hotel on the marina. El Texate is a Oaxacan restaurant at 316 Pico blvd - one we return to each time we visit LA because it has the best moles imaginable and two of the best Californian hosts. Here we are, enjoying a beer and sangria. 

 

El Texate Oaxacan Restaurant, 316 Pico Blvd

Marina Del Rey, northern Summer 2022

Marina Del Rey Hotel is expensive these days. It had a makeover a few years ago - the shell of the buildings remain much the same with renovations focusing on the interior. But we had to go for old times sake. 

A marina, especially one the size of Marina Del Rey, produces glorious sunrises and sunsets.

Sunrise, Marina Del Rey Hotel

Sunset over a cloudy day, Marina Del Rey Hotel

Sunlit masts as daylight wanes on a cloudy day

The Warehouse Restaurant is a short walk from the hotel, located on the edge of the marina.

Waterside view of the Warehouse Restaurant

And you can dine in or outside. 

Great beers

The Warehouse Decor

Great wines

The food is delicious and the service is excellent.

Crab-stuffed salmon

Seafood salad

If you want to make your own lunch or get picnic supplies, Ralphs and Trader Joes are very close by.

Angels Flight - Downtown LA

A quaint pair of rail-cars provide transport up the steep incline from the Grand Central Markets on Hill Street to California Plaza on Bunker Hill.

If you have already read the novel "Angels Flight" by Michael Connelly you'll enjoy the ride a whole lot more. Quoting from the backcover of the book: "An activist attorney is killed in a cute little L.A. trolley called Angels Flight, far from Harry Bosch's Hollywood turf. But the case is so explosive - and the dead man's enemies inside the L.A.P.D. are so numerous - that it falls to Harry to solve it. Now the streets are superheating......"





Michael Connelly provides an excellent description through the eyes of Harry Bosch:
"Bosch had ridden the inclined railroad as a kid and had studied how it worked. He still remembered. The two matching cars were counterbalanced. When one went up the side-by-side tracks the other went down, and vice versa. They passed each other at the mid-point. He remembered riding on Angels Flight long before Bunker Hill had been reborn as a slick business center of glass and marble towers, classy condominiums and apartments, museums, and fountains referred to as water gardens. Back then the hill had been a place of once-grand Victorian homes turned into tired-looking rooming houses. Harry and his mother had taken Angels Flight up the hill to look for a place to live." page 11.

Smurf Watch - Los Angeles

In late July, warning signs on the front of the LA Times newspaper and on the sides of the Big Blue Buses of Santa Monica advertised the arrival of mischievous smurfs to LA cinemas.

Santa Monica Place took the hype further by being home to this monstrously large smurf.

I haven't seen the 3-D movie yet, but I did fall victim to the advertising efforts and bought some really cute figurines and soft-toy smurfs from a toy shop in downtown LA - in the Macy's building - to take home as gifts.

Catalina Island - Casino Building

The Catalina Casino building is not a casino, it is an entertainment center that dates back to 1929. Through the 1930s and 1940s the Casino Ballroom was a favorite venue for many of the Big Bands.

The Casino Art Gallery, Avalon Theatre, and Catalina Island Museum are also located in the Casino Building.

This glorious Catalina icon is as tall as a 12-story building.

Catalina Island Day Trip - California

The boat ride from Marina Del Rey to Saint Catalina Island takes about 2 hours. Depending on the weather, it can be a rough voyage. But the beauty and majesty of the sea-life you may encounter on the journey is worth taking the chance of motion sickness. On a clear day in early August we saw scores of dolphins and a couple of enormous blue whales.

Once you arrive on the island, you can kick back and relax on the beach, snorkel, scuba dive, rent a boat, rent a golf cart, or take a tour.

When you get hungry there are lots of cafes, pubs and restaurants to choose from.

Catalina day-trippers from Marina Del Rey have to be ready to leave the island by 5 pm