Santa Monica ~ More Than a Beach

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

A friend was in town, and we decided to meet and catch up over lunch in Santa Monica. Lunch and catch up was great but it also gave me an opportunity to stroll around and see what looks new and different in a neck of woods that we came to often once upon a time.

I’m not sure if this Greetings from Santa Monica sign is new thanks to the Instagram fad or I’ve just missed it. I only spotted it because the usual exit was backed up and I took an earlier exit and then thanks to construction in the neighborhood I ended up taking a bit of a circular route to my destination. I was also surprised to see a Metro station across the road. Not sure when it opened but it’s heartening to see public transportation options in a mostly car travel city.

I was a little early, so I headed to the Third Street Promenade which is equal parts shopping haven and street performer stage. The promenade consists of three open air, car-free blocks that are anchored by the upscale Santa Monica Place. There's excitement around every corner as street performers, tourists, locals, diners, movie goers, and more flock to the area.

Lo and behold I was just crossing the street but who should I find but my friend who also happened to be early heading towards me.

So, we turned around and walked back to True Food Kitchen a favorite destination for lunch where we enjoy splitting our meals and sharing. Looks like a lot of food but we did every bite of this justice.

Since I had just been in Dana Point recently, I decided to hop over to the pier and see what the beach scene looked like. It’s Summer and there are definitely a lot of people enjoying the sun and the sand.

The pier with its concessions, arcade and fun activities seemed to be a lot more crowded. Clearly people are tired off the gloom and doom of the never ending Covid and have decided to break out and enjoy the sunshine.

The lone sailboat seems to be surrounded by sea gulls that look almost like bats.

Time to head back and find my car parked in the beautiful parking structure for the mall that itself appears to be a work of art.

Of course, I decided to take a short cut to my car and then despite the pictures that I took of my parking spot I got lost. I ended up walking back into the mall to try and find the entrance that I had originally exited from. Clearly this short cut was a bust, but I suppose this experience did teach me not to skimp on steps.

Another spot of excitement in Santa Monica is Coco the delivery robot. You can find these robots fast tracking down the street delivering Pizza instead of the usual pizza boy. I first saw these robots in Dubai at the expo earlier this year, so it was kind of fun and exciting to see them in daily use in a local neighborhood. The world continues to shrink.

Dagwood Pizza, home of the rainbow pizza. I did not have Pizza on this particular day but on a prior expedition to Santa Monica I stopped to check this out in anticipation of a shared experience with my grandson.

The Funnel Mill with its large selection of teas and its siphon coffee brewing machine. A small tucked away coffee and tea shop in Santa Monica.

Starbucks is there front and center right next to the pier and the bike rental shop doing a brisk business.

As I was back wandering in the mall looking for my car, I popped my head in to check out this so interesting shop. Another place that I think my grandson would enjoy.

I’ve really enjoyed this Summer of exploration of places in and around me where the old has become new and I found a lot of interesting stuff that I never knew about before.