I LOVE Santa Monica. Lots of fun stores, the typical touristy places, great places to eat, and good music.
Kelly and I met at Huckleberry Cafe. Wow, that place is YUMMY!! Lots of organic deliciousness in a cute, trendy environment. I got a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon, and I swear I could've eaten another one. (Thanks to the internet for the photo)
We then walked to the Santa Monica Pier. It's crazy-packed with tourists all the time, but something about it I just love.
Something that I noticed this time was the piano! Our pastor talked about these in a sermon a few weeks ago. The LA Chamber Orchestra has placed these pianos in different high-traffic places around the city, with the words, "Play me I'm Yours" painted on them. I have watched a bunch of videos of people playing. This one, sadly, is horridly out of tune (salt water+pianos), and several keys are broken--but that didn't deter this young girl who was playing some classical music on it. I just love everything about that idea.
Here's a vid of someone playing one of the other pianos (the one at Union Station):
The Santa Monica beach (where, incidentally, I interrupted a Diet Pepsi commercial when I visited on Spring Break last year).
Kelly and I on the pier!
There is a trapeze school on the pier, as well. It's fun to watch them giving lessons. The girl on the left is the student, and the one on the right is the teacher. I would LOVE to do this sometime!
The Santa Monica Pier is actually two adjoining piers. One was owned by the city, and had pipes and things, and the other was called Pleasure Pier, and was opened in 1916 by some amusement park pioneers. The pier is 1,600 feet long, and concrete. There used to be a huge ballroom here, which hosted the first musical TV show in the 1940s. The amusement park side of the Pier closed in the 1930s, but some of the rides remained.
1/3 of the Pier was destroyed in some storms in 1983, and the neighborhood worked hard (as it has many times over the years) to "save the Pier". Pacific Park opened in 1996, which revitalized the amusement park side of the Pier, and encouraged families to visit. Today, you can ride the carousel that remains from the 20's inside the Hippodrome, which is Santa Monica's first National Historic Landmark, as well as a roller coaster and some other amusement park-type rides. The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium is housed under the eastern deck of the Pier.
The Pier is also the end of Route 66.
The Pier has been in HUNDREDS of movies, TV shows, and music videos. It's really prominent in this video by John Mayer (enjoy, Sara!).
Some other things that have been filmed here: The Sting, Iron Man, Forrest Gump, Titanic, 2012, The Amazing Race, Gilmore Girls, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
Alias fans, do you recognize this spot?
It's from Season 1, episode 1.4 (and also from the last season, but I don't know which episode it's in).
If you come to visit, you can almost be guaranteed that I will take you someplace in Santa Monica.
Thanks for the shout out! And the video. Nice way to start my morning. :)
ReplyDeleteSanta Monica, and specifically the pier, is probably one of the places I want to see most when I come visit. Which we seriously need to talk about!