Circus Beach

Venice Beach deserves an entire blog post devoted to it and it only. I spent the day there yesterday and it was the coolest, most bizarre place I've ever been (followed closely by west Hollywood, which I could not do justice in writing). Anyway, it had been a long, hard, kid-filled week, so my friends and I decided to get off campus and vacate our adult lives for a while. Four of us piled into the car and drove 10 miles, through Marina Del Rey and into Venice Beach. This ten mile car ride, like every other commute in LA, took 45 minutes. We parked over a mile away and as we began our hike to the sand, I realized for the first time why they call this particular area "Venice." There are shallow, slightly murky canals that weave in and out of the residential area adjacent to the beach. Arked bridges allow people to cross the canals, while still allowing paddle boats, canoes, and makeshift gondolas to pass by underneath. It was really cool.

There are hundreds of little shops that line the boardwalk, selling anything from Bob Marley memorabilia to smoked turkey legs and offering various services like Chinese massages and medical marijuana screenings.. No kidding. A line of beach bums, about 20 deep, patiently waiting for their bootleg perscription slip that they could conveniently have filled by Dr. Drug Dealer at the sketch counter next door. I thought I had seen it all. There was a man playing electric guitar wearing rollerblades made out of spare wagon parts and a drunken voodoo sideshow act jumping on a heap of glass shards bare footed. It was a full-on three ring circus.

Then we made our way to "Muscle Beach." From what I gather, it is just an outdoor gym where aspiring body builders can come get in an ego-boosting workout in front of an audience. Most of the "strong man" competetions are held there. No big deal, I thought...until I saw this late-middle aged man, large but undefined, strutting around in this purple polyester banana hammock doing body weight squats and split jerks for all the world to see. It takes a lot to embarrass me, but he accomplished it in under 30 seconds. I was less than impressed.

After seeing more bizarre than I could handle in one afternoon, my new friends and I just laid on the beach, chatted, and watched surfers ride the early evening waves (I've decided my goal is to be able to surf before I leave LA...or meet Kelly Slater, which ever is more feasible). When the sun went down, we met 40 other teachers at a bar in town called "Air Conditioned Supper Club," which was not air conditioned, ironically, but was fun nonetheless. This was my 2nd Venice Beach bar experience, actually; the first was a place called "James Beach" and is apparently featured in a scene in the movie "I Love You, Man," which means very little to me because I haven't seen it. I did feel a little famous being there though ;)

So, that was my Saturday; Sunday's are designated work days, so I really should get on that. 2 more weeks of summer school!! I'm so very excited to be halfway done..