Day 16, Saturday June 8th:
We started off the day by satisfying our hunger by going to
In and Out Burger for some authentic California fast food, each of us ordering
from the ‘secret menu’ and getting our burgers animal style.
Once we were finished with our burgers, and regretting some of the decisions we have made in our lives, we left for Venice Beach, which was recommended by everyone we had talked to in the area.
Once we were finished with our burgers, and regretting some of the decisions we have made in our lives, we left for Venice Beach, which was recommended by everyone we had talked to in the area.
The boardwalk was very bright, beautifully colorful, and
extremely lively. It was literally like
a scene from any television show or movie it had been featured in.
We walked up and down the boardwalk stopping at artists stands to view their stunning and original works; from paintings to sculptures, blown glass to sand-castles, and even pieces made from post recycled material, the range was enormous. There was also a plentiful amount of talented musicians playing a wide range of instruments for tips or just plain old fun. The amount of interesting people acting on the street with interesting ‘skills’ was unbelievable. Some were dressed in costumes; others charged $5 for a spanking with a paddle.
We walked up and down the boardwalk stopping at artists stands to view their stunning and original works; from paintings to sculptures, blown glass to sand-castles, and even pieces made from post recycled material, the range was enormous. There was also a plentiful amount of talented musicians playing a wide range of instruments for tips or just plain old fun. The amount of interesting people acting on the street with interesting ‘skills’ was unbelievable. Some were dressed in costumes; others charged $5 for a spanking with a paddle.
One thing we learned was that people in this area are very
sensitive to having their photo taken.
Keith, being out trip photographer, was trying to capture the atmosphere
of Venice Beach when a large man in a Pocahontas costume, who had a sign in
front of him that read “No Free Pictures, $1”, chased us down thinking that
Keith had taken a picture of him. We had
NOT taken a photo of him, but it was clear the customs here were different than
most places we had visited.
There was also a skateboarding event along the boardwalk
where we stopped to check out some of the local talent attempt tricks in the
local park.
Once we were done exploring the area and had felt we obtained enough beach culture, we left for a Dodgers’ game. On our way to the stadium we saw a naked man riding a bicycle on the side of the street. This was especially hilarious because there were traffic officers at that specific intersection to help with game traffic. The officers could barely hold in their laughter as they waved the pedestrians and nude biker across the street. We were amazed that he had not been arrested by the officers to only find out another 500 feet up the street there was a large amount of nude people with bicycles gathering in the a park.
Once we were done exploring the area and had felt we obtained enough beach culture, we left for a Dodgers’ game. On our way to the stadium we saw a naked man riding a bicycle on the side of the street. This was especially hilarious because there were traffic officers at that specific intersection to help with game traffic. The officers could barely hold in their laughter as they waved the pedestrians and nude biker across the street. We were amazed that he had not been arrested by the officers to only find out another 500 feet up the street there was a large amount of nude people with bicycles gathering in the a park.
As we were pulling into the stadium we noticed signs saying
that the night’s game had been sold out. We ended up buying 4 individual tickets
for random seats across the stadium. We
decided to treat them as standing room only and set up camp at a standing table
in the upper deck, directly behind home plate.
The overall stadium was beautiful and the game was a good one.
Following the game we went out for the night, picking up
Keith’s friend AJ and going to Whiskey a Go Go.
This is the bar that the bar, ‘The Bourbon Room’ from the rock opera
‘Rock of Ages’ was based on. This band was a regular venue for artists such as
Bruce Springsteen, Motley Crue, Alice Cooper before they hit it big. Whisky a Go Go was also the first headlining
performance in the area for bands such as the Kinks, The Who, Cream, Led
Zeppelin, and Oasis. Needless to say,
this place had some history. We arrived
and went in quickly realizing that this wasn’t our typical crowd. The crowd was full of middle-aged heavy metal
and rock fans dressed in leather and spandex from head to toe. The headliner for the night was Keel, an 80s
heavy metal band that had some pretty good commercial success back in the
day. The band was on a 30th
anniversary tour and leaving it all on the stage. The show was amazing for the size of the
venue and we could only imagine how incredible it must have been back in its
day when Rock and Roll was at its prime.
Now, we are not saying that Rock and Roll is dead, or that our evening
at Whisky a Go Go was anything less than unforgettable, but we all kept trying
to picture how amazing it must have been.
We stayed until closing and then went to a local diner in
Burbank called the Coral Café. This
place really hit the spot for everyone; especially since the restaurant seemed
to have anything anyone could ask for in their 16 page menu. After stuffing our faces with way too much
food we headed back to where we were staying for some sleep.
~Jeremy, Adam, Keith, and Evan
~Jeremy, Adam, Keith, and Evan
No comments:
Post a Comment