Day 18 – Santa Monica and Venice Beach

Finally, a SoCal day to remember! 

I was a professional musician for about thirty years. At the height of that career (which was not on a par with, say, Beyonce, but still helped pay the bills), our band had a few roadies. One of them was a young high school student named David. Along with one or two other kids, David helped take our gear out of the band trailer, set it up, and do sound check. 

Little by little, David also took an interest in the sound of the band, and he had a natural gift for audio mixing. By the time the band ended its seventeen year run, David was enrolled in a school for audio engineering. He now travels the world helping to set up and test extensive audio systems for theme parks and other large venues. He just happened to be between gigs and living in L.A. when we got there.

So the sun broke out to meet us, and we headed to the beach. Officially, this is the day we touched the Pacific Ocean, and completed a long trek that started by the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. It was a moment of reflection (no water pun intended), as it underscored the whole purpose of this journey: to see and enjoy the vastness of America.

The area around Santa Monica Pier was lively and lovely. People were there to sit in the grass, to play on the beach, to ride the rides, to visit the stores, and to eat at the myriad seaside restaurants. This was the L.A. we had been hoping for, and we took advantage of all of it.

As I visited with David, the kids went on a roller coaster. We got off of the pier to feel the sand and the water. And even though we come from a place full of good and authentic Caribbean food, we went to Cha Cha Chicken (Ocean Avenue), which was a superb stop for lunch, and worth the wait in line. We hung out and talked for hours. When it was time for David to leave, our family got back in the car and headed a little farther south to Venice Beach (also home to “Muscle Beach”), which was also busy, but overall less impressive.

After some touristy shopping, we headed back to the area of our hotel, grabbed some pizza, and spent our last night in Los Angeles.