About a week and a half ago Annie and I (and Little Browne because he had no choice) headed down to Venice Beach to enjoy an overnight stay before we headed on to Newport Beach. The purpose of this trip was family and spending some time with them while Annie was still pregnant as well as being our last little getaway prior to LB launching into the world.
My sister and niece flew into L.A. from Texas and met us at the place we stayed on the beach in Venice and the next day we headed to Newport Beach to spend a few days with my grandmother at a time share she has there.
Why Venice Beach?
There was a period of time in my life when I spent a lot of time there…it’s one of those places where everybody fits in and it’s relatively easy to feel normal because of the VERY diverse group of people. When you’re cruising down the boardwalk you’ll come across the lawyers taking a break from their L.A. office, the homeless, the mentally ill, the artists, the freaks, the locals, and absolutely everything in between. There is something quite soothing about Venice Beach for me…maybe it’s the memories, maybe it’s because I feel normal there, or maybe it’s because I’m forced to look at humanity in a very raw way. Whatever it is, I love it.
Annie found this absolutely amazing spot to stay right on the boardwalk in Venice Beach called Venice Breeze Suites. If you’ve spent much time in Venice Beach you know there’s not a ton of “nice” spots to stay. I’m not a snob or anything but you want to feel clean and safe right? Well, this place was perfect. Our room looked out at the ocean and beach as well as down the boardwalk too…we got my sister a room right across the hall from us and her view was the same. In a word…breathtaking! The rooms were fun and funky and the rooftop deck, was, holy guacamole Batman! You’ll see in the pictures exactly what I’m talking about.
Since Annie and I got down there earlier in the day we went and walked up and down the boardwalk checking out the scene. Annie had not been there before and she seemed to really get a kick out of it. We stopped in a cool snowboard shop called Arbor where Annie got a new sweatshirt which is made from bamboo, and then stopped in to the Venice Ale House for an plate of nachos and a couple of beers for myself. There are some great shops to check out as well as Muscle Beach, the basketball courts that always have some hardcore games going on, all the artist tables, and so on…plenty to do while you soak up the culture that is Venice Beach!
The next morning we walked up and down the boardwalk again with my sister and niece…good times for sure. We grabbed some breakfast (and possibly a screwdriver or two) and then headed out to Newport Beach. I will fill you in on Newport in another blog post. I had some interesting observations and we also went to an awesome restaurant I will talk about. Anyway, we’re keeping the adventures going, even with Annie being 37 weeks pregnant!! Cheers!
Sounds like a lot of fun and exploring for Annie, when we lived in Culver City we use to visit Venice Beach. For some reason my computer isn’t picking up you slide show…darn. Thanks for sharing.
Hey there Beverly…good Monday morning to you!! We had a blast even though we were only there for a short time, good to be back where I’ve spent so much time. The slideshow is working on our computers and in our browsers so I’m not sure what’s going on. I will see if there’s anything we can do! Thank you again!
It was an amazing trip – and so good to see you and Annie! Thanks for the special memories!