Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Los Angeles Highlights Part 1 - Venice Beach Boardwalk

If there's one place in the world that I know the most, it's obviously my hometown of Los Angeles, California. After being asked by my boyfriend's parents about different places to visit / eat / see in L.A. I thought maybe I should share my knowledge with first time travelers to Los Angeles. Even though I now live in San Diego, I will forever feel more at home in L.A. So I've decided to start a little review of places / shops / eateries in L.A. that I love, and maybe some of you will love whenever you're able to visit the second most populated city (#1 belongs to NYC) in the United States. 

PART ONE - VENICE BEACH BOARDWALK 
"Venice Beach Boardwalk" by lapie on Flickr
Chances are if you've ever had a discussion about Los Angeles, the subject of the beaches, and Venice specifically have come up. Venice beach is a famous beach, known for it's great surfing and of course the boardwalk. Aaron and I, this past weekend, took a short drive while visiting my parents in Los Angeles to the boardwalk, specifically, as Aaron and I put it, "to see the crazies." The Boardwalk is known for it's many eclectic characters, one most famous and well known is this guy.
"Venice Boardwalk" by rickjames330 on Flickr
According to my parents, this guy has been there for years, skating back and forth down the promenade, playing his electric guitar with a portable small amp. He's always got a smile on his face and my guess is that whenever you visit the boardwalk, he will most likely be there. 
"Venice Boardwalk" by thestrangely on Flickr
There are tons and tons of people selling art, jewelry, sugar skulls, paintings, hand crafted things (anything really), "Advice" (only $1), palm readings, fortune telling, skateboarding, rollerblading, Henna tattoos, street dancing, playing music, and plenty of people asking for change. The shop buildings on the other side are full of t-shirts, jewelry, lots and lots of medical marijuana dispensaries (with people all shouting that "the doctor is in!" ready to give you a medical marijuana license), headshops, tattoo parlors, cafes, frozen yogurt stands, restaurants, and anything and everything else you can think of.   
Via Tripadvisor
The boardwalk is also known for Muscle Beach, a very famous outdoor gym that has seen many famous bodybuilders like Larry Scott and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's also seen the famous faces of Stanley Tookie Williams, the co-founder of the Crips, the famous LA gang, and Hulk Hogan in the filming for an episode of Baywatch
There are a million different kinds of attractions on the Venice boardwalk, but there is no way to describe them all. It's a place that defiantly have to be experienced to be understood. 
"Zoltar! Venice boardwalk." by Little Words Lost on Flickr
"Venice Beach Freakshow (2009)" by Patchouli Soup on Flickr
"THREE KINDS OF BOARDS, VENICE BOARDWALK, CALIFORNIA" by lkunarsky on Flickr
"sand art at the venice beach boardwalk" by sleepeating on Flickr
"Venice Beach" by Conquering_Lion_17 on Flickr
"STREET SMART, Venice Boardwalk, Venice, California" by lkurnarsky on Flickr
"Venice Beach Pothead" by Floyd's Noise on Flickr
"2010106 Venice Beach the Path to Heaven?" by 1904 Photography™ on Flickr 
"fun under the sun" by HErnanALvarado photography on Flickr
"Illegal Aliens - Venice Beach, CA" by tossmeanote on Flickr
"Charly Temmel Ice Cream" by ~db~ on Flickr
"Venice Beach 09052011-166.jpg" by MARQ LINDEN on Flickr
"Christian Evans & Terrence Rutledge 3" by KCET DOT ORG on Flickr
When Aaron and I went over the weekend the only photo I remember to take was this one of totally awesome Predator iron artwork. Loved it so much. (Check out all the little ones too! Alien is in there, along with R2 and more!)

Go here for an up close photo of Predator.
For more great photos of Venice boardwalk, check out the Flickr search for it, here.

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