Venice Beach

I am in Los Angeles, have been here since Sunday. I love creating my own adventures when I'm here. There are so many things to do, most of which cost money. But if you're creative, or if you just enjoy observing as I do, you find entertainment in the people here. Plus, the beach is always a beautiful place to have access to, not to mention a prime spot for people watching.

I love running on the beach in the morning. It's perfect because the sun hasn't quite warmed the place yet and the crisp sea breeze offers me the fresh smell of saltwater. Mmm, it's dreamlike.

After my run, I went to Venice Beach (I ran at Marina Del Ray in the morning) to walk around. I love walking down the sidewalk of Venice and smelling herb, incense, hot dogs, and the ocean all at once. Among today's sightings was a man from the Caribbean islands stepping on shards of glass from alcohol bottles, a group of guys performing drumline style, and ironic homeless men and women openly asking for money to fund their beer addictions. I will say that I appreciated the cleverness that these "bums" used on their cardboard box signs... Perhaps, my favorite sign read, "Parents were eaten by pigeons, need money to buy a BB gun." The bum then turned the sign around to reveal the back; it read, "Why lie? I need beer." It almost made my want to toss a nickel his way. Almost.

Charles Bukowski captures the essence of Venice Beach in one very brief poem entitled "Venice Beach"

the lost and the damned
the wounded and the intellectual
the boozed and the debauched
the negative and the
uninspired
and the police
and the police
and the police.
------

I couldn't have said it better myself.