Venice beach is the MOST eclectic interesting insane and riveting beach-front EVER. Yes there's Mykonos, and there's Saint Tropez, and Bali. And there's Sardagnia, and there's the coast of Brazil (i feel like that must be eclectic) and there's Brac Island, Croatia (I'm told it's eclectic. it's on my list to visit). BUT none of them rival the spectacle of Venice Beach. I'm still a tourist in this town (you gotta be somewhere for at least decade to be local, right?), so I strolled Venice to discover, to see, and to enjoy the scenery.
We pick the day where the wind-advisory is on high alert on everyone's smart phone but ours. So we are greeted with sand EVERYWHERE. Like FLYING sand. Hello sand. I assumed it's supposed to rest calmly on the ground, and not on the sidewalk, in our mouths, or in the snack bag. NOT the snack bag!!! ANYHOW we think, we got this. Embrace this day when the sun, clouds, and wind are fighting for the sky space above us.
While eating sand, this is my list of MUST-notice when you visit this little stretch of beach:
+Sea of Leather Jackets: is that an in-thing nowadays? I do own one… I think. They are flocking everywhere. It fits in across all ages, genders, nationalities, race, and socioeconomic groups. Insane. One item unifying them? Crazy right. I thought that item was denim. Apparently I'm not up to speed as I'm the only one wearing denim. But that's ok. I fit right in as all is welcome.
+Green Doctors: EVERYWHERE. As popular as t-shirt stands. Nope not kidding. It is California after all. I'm told there's no actual doctor on site but you can get a script. I thought the one benefit of slaving away at medical school, residency, and fellowship, was the ability to write script, whether it's for a green substance or an assorted variety of colored pill. I guess I'm wrong or need to read-up on my California green laws. Keep u posted.
+Pigeons Galore: they are simply taking on the sand storm like storm-troopers. Hitting each other to get a chance at scraps from my kids throwing dried fruit in their direction. My kids are OBSESSED with pigeons, so we never miss sighting them. And i guess you can't ever have too much pigeon poop nearby. I hear it's like a good-luck charm. Right?
+Plethora of Rainbow Wigs: some matching. Some not. Some on actual dressed-up clowns. Some just on Susie on this delightful Sunday. Some wearing just a wig. It's colorful. It's fun. It fits right in.
+Art. All Kinds: body art. street art. actual art on canvas. discount art. pornographic art. political art. All kinds. Some colorful. Some dark. Huge array for the eyes! you look left, you might miss what's on the right. As the most-art-incapaciated-individual, I'm taking it in. No joke.
+Dancing: alone, among a crowd, in couples, with kids, with yourself. all is welcome. all is seen. Some with rhythm. Some without. Some with music. Some without. My kids take all this in. My youngest is particularly attracted to a group of 30 with tambourines, horns, and sticks on array of plastic bins. My son is mesmerized as he moves his arms in his own rhythm. Next: Beyonce's backup dancer. He's only 2, but he can move.
+Just A Few T-Shirt stands: just a few. Clearly we bought some. Suckers. And gifts. Our families are gonna LOVE wearing "i love LA" t-shirts, and "i'm Mike's bitch" t-shirts. delightful.
+Row of Palm Trees: it's truly breath-taking. Can't go to Southern California beaches, and not acknowledge these beauties. I tried to capture below the imperfect aligned trees. They are merrily planted there swaying with the wind.
Clearly we will be back. On this particular Sunday afternoon, it was colorful. Until the next adventure...
