Alice and I both woke up at 3:00am, wide awake because of the three hour time difference. We finally got out of bed at 6:00am California time. Went to the great breakfast buffet then off to the Santa Monica Pier. The pier is huge and even has a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster on it. We played pinball at the arcade and just walked around enjoying the shops and people. In the sand near the pier were many crosses representing the soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus four coffins with American flags draped over them.
It was on the cool side, mid 60's but there still were people playing on the beach and in the water. Must have been tourists. Alice and I settled into a Mexican restaurant for drinks and salsa with chips. Alice ordered a margarita and I, a Sam Adams, on tap. The bartender asked small or large. Duh! Of course I said large not knowing how large. 42 ounces of beer in a glass that gave my arm a workout. We watched the Steelers beat Baltimore in football while Alice had another drink. The bill for three drinks..$32.95.
We headed south stopping at Venice Beach. This was a different area. The people were doing their own thing, some of it very weird. Venice beach is known for the "muscle men" and there is a big weight lifting area where working out can be observed. Not many guys were pumping iron as it was still on the cool side with stronger winds. There is also a huge skate boarding park with half pipe runs and railings to skate up on. Kids of all ages were skating and it was hard to find a spot to watch as there were so many spectators. The waves were even higher here and more surfers were coming out. Alice and I stood on a sand hill watching the water until the cold chased us back to the car. As we started to enter the car Alice pointed to the shop in front of us. It was a medical marijuana store. I stuck my head in the door and inhaled deeply. Yep, it smelled like dope.
We headed south again, this time to Manhattan Beach. On the way I drove through some residential neighborhoods. The one thing us country folks noticed was the lack of lawns. The houses are packed so close together that there isn't room for a yard. We walked out on the Manhattan Pier in now very windy and much colder conditions. There is an aquarium at the end and we quickly looked around then headed in land. I wanted to have a beer at the Manhattan Brewery but they no longer brew their own beer. Instead we headed back to the hotel, ate left over pizza, watched a movie and were in bed by 8:00pm California time.
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