Happy Easter!

My original idea for today's walk was to walk along the beach. However, the more I thought about it, I realized that just staying at the beach wouldn't be as interesting. When I was training for the (now defunct) Long Beach Inline Marathon, I skated, at various times, the entire length of the bike path from Will Roger's State Beach to Redondo Beach. I decided that today I wanted to see some new territory, so I set a route that started at the beach but took me inland. I visited Santa Monica, Venice, Mar Vista and Culver City. And Carol joined me for the last half of the walk. Yea!

I was tired today. I think it is because I've been working a lot of hours. Fortunately, work is lightening up so I should be able to get more rest. I walked 20 miles today. Frankly, judging from how I felt at the end, it is hard to imagine walking twice that far!! Yikes!!

The Venice Boardwalk at 6:30AM was quiet! My only company were the folks who live in those parts and the shopkeepers sweeping their sidewalks.




Graffiti on the whatever-it-is by Muscle Beach.




So what does an American sound like? I wonder if you can specify a New York accent, or perhaps a Midwest twang or a Southern drawl.




Venice has quite a colorful history. One of my favorite neighborhoods is the canals. I didn't even realize they were there until just a few years ago. I highly recommend a visit.




Along the canal. The first of my duck pictures today.




On my way inland, I stopped in a small neighborhood that I found in Walking LA. The tract was designed by the modernist architect Gregory Ain right after WWII. He designed them for low to moderate income homeowners. I'm sure he would flip out at what they are worth today. According to Zillow, the houses in the neighborhood are worth from $650,000 to just over $1,000,000!! This picture isn't too revealing about the architecture but I did like that yellow door.




The farthest east I got was Sony Studios in Culver City, the old MGM lot. I shot this peering through a big iron side gate.




Back in Santa Monica, tucked next to the 10 Freeway and some seriously expensive homes (all of Santa Monica is seriously expensive), is this trailer park. This isn't a fancy one either, all loaded with the latest in manufactured housing. This one is old school! I love the juxtaposition!!



Which brings us to my other duck picture. We cut through the Water Garden office complex. It must be a great place to work - or at least a great place to take your lunch and coffee breaks. The whole interior of property is a lake with a network of paths and bridges connecting the buildings. There were plenty of flowers and fountains to complete the effect. And, of course, ducks.




By the time we got back to the beach, it felt more like a normal day at the beach. It was packed with walkers, runners, bikers, skaters and tourists.



Have a great week!

Labels: Culver City, Santa Monica, Training Walk