Spur of the moment beach walk

January 13, 2015 by RMW 30 Comments

Last week was really a downer for me. Not only was I without a computer but I had a family issue I was dealing with… back and forth on a decision I didn’t want to make because I didn’t know which was the right way to go… so I was in a dark place. Yesterday the decision was pretty much made for me… it’s not a good situation but today I felt that weight was at least off my shoulders.

This morning I had things to do but I decided life is short and “things” can wait. I read Mark Bialczak’s blog post about sub-zero temperatures in Syracuse, New York and I thought, how lucky can I be living in Southern California with 70F (21C) degree weather and the sun shining… I didn’t want to spend the day hunched over the computer!

So I ran out the door, jumped on the Metro #733 bus and pretty soon I was at the Santa Monica Pier. Aaaaahhhh, I already felt a million times better.

I have a ton of photos of the pier so today I mainly wanted to breathe the air and enjoy staring at the ocean. I really liked the texture and color of the above photo, pretty much the way it came out of the camera with just a little sharpening. It doesn’t even look like water, does it?

I just managed to get this photo with a tad of water on the left… would have been better with another quarter of an inch but I would have had to dangle off the side of the pier so I felt lucky to get this.

These white stars are at various locations on the pier. I don’t know what they signify. Maybe nothing. But I like them.

While on the pier I decided to treat myself to my favorite greasy tuna melt. Very unhealthy but delicious. So to compensate I walked the 2 1/2 miles along Ocean Front Walk from the pier to Windward Avenue in Venice so I could catch the Culver City #1 bus. That’s one of the many advantages of taking the bus as I don’t have to walk back to my car.

So obviously, the above photo is looking back to the pier. That’s the bike path all those people are walking along…

A view of the pier through the palm trees. Really, today I felt like I was on vacation in some exotic foreign land… and all just a short bus ride away.

Walking, walking, walking. No cars allowed here, just bikes, roller skaters and pedestrians.

I like this little play on words, loosely translated as “A clean beach is within our arm’s reach.”

These storm fences make a nice abstract composition.

A Santa Monica seagull. I liked the black and white art deco motif on his tail. This little rascal did not want to pose for me. Every time I clicked the shutter he turned his head away. Gotcha!

Now we have arrived in Venice. Can you tell the difference? There is a distinct feel in the air with the first footstep over the city limits from Santa Monica. Just for the record, Venice is a district in the City of Los Angeles, whereas Santa Monica is a separate city unto itself (but within Los Angeles County).

For one thing, you would never see a drinking fountain decorated like this in Santa Monica. Also in Santa Monica the beach birds are Seagulls. In Venice they are Pigeons. Only kidding…

Now for some history. I lived in Venice in the mid to late 70s. Yes I am that ancient. This was the apartment building we called home, right on Ocean Front Walk in the middle of the action. Back then our living/dining area was on the left hand side where now they sell t-shirts, umbrellas and boogie boards. On the right, where the smoke shop is now, was our bedroom.

Every time I walk past this building I get such a weird feeling seeing all these strangers walking around in my former home and I think of us still watching TV and eating dinner in there!

A lot of things have happened since those days to me and the world. Gosh, how did I get through each day with no computer and no internet? It was a cruel and barbaric era!

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