Bike Ride to Venice Beach? Yes Please!

Hi Friends,
So yesterday was a BIG day for me, I hung out with Tyler, met my childhood idol (She was my idol B.B. meaning Before Britney), and I strolled the promenade. My next day was pretty awesome too. I got to go bike riding on the famous "Boardwalk". Now the Boardwalk is just like a big sidewalk next to the Santa Monica beach in L.A. but its where famous people go running/walk their dogs, a bunch of venders sell their merchandise, goes to Venice Beach and most importantly its by the beautiful beach! Needless to say I was stoked. I set off with Tyler early that morning and after I did some reading in the lobby (I had to get another free cappuccino and do some shamless flirting with some of the waiters tee hee!). Once I was satisfied I headed out.

I walked up to this guy who was renting bikes and all other kind of mobiles for the Boardwalk. I can't even BEGIN to express how tempted I was to rent the Segway. I always wanted one. But alas, I set out to ride a bike and I wasn't going to let the glitz and glamour of L.A. distract me. I got my apple green colored bike, no helmet for this girl! I'm a rebel. Now heres the one factor I did not consider when making my plans: people.

In L.A. people are everywhere! This is going to sound really pompous and arrogant but I feel as if I'm a pretty girl. In L. A., if someone remotely attractive walks by a stranger that stranger stares at him or her and tries to figure out what movies he or she was in. I have to admit I did this a little bit too, everyone stares or does the double take when someone walks by wearing sunglasses. Fun Fact: L.A. is the one place where it is actually OK to wear your sunglasses at night. So that doesn't sound like it would be too bad of an issue but where it became one was EVERYONE stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stared at me. It was flattering at first until people got in my way. By getting in my way the messed up my flow making me have to stop, get off my bike, and maneuver my bike around them. RUDE! An Asian man even took a piture of me while I was on the beach thinking I was someone famous. True Story.

Anyways, as I rode my bike all the way to Venice Beach which wasn't too far just about a 30 minute bike ride away, I saw a bunch of cool things. The first one is obvious, the beautiful beach! I also saw some interesting public art and there was also a skateboard park. The skateboard park was kind of cool, there was an area where they could practice all of their tricks and a bunch of graffiti. I love colorful things. I also biked past some of the venders along Venice beach. Terrible idea, there was more people. No sooner had I just arrived did I realize that I had 15 minutes to get back to the bike rental. I was only given an hour to roam and if I didn't return on time then I would be fined. Remember when I mentioned that it was about a 30 min bike ride to Venice?

UGH!

Thankfully I made it just in the nick of time and bonus, got a good thigh workout. HA! After returning my bike I walked on the pier and saw all the rides and venders they had to offer which was pretty cool. I've seen this very pier in movies and music videos so it felt pretty cool to see it up close. I then hopped on a swing set that was on the beach and ate a very large Granny Smith Apple. It's the little things that make me happy. I felt like a kid again, bike riding and swinging!!!!!!

I realized that it was about that time to meet up with Tyler so I started heading back to Shutters. I just so happend to walk by Muscle Beach. Muscle Beach is where a lot of people come and do a bunch of intense workouts. There's all kinds of stuff there and I saw this one group doing what looked like a type of Gymnastic or Cirque Du Soleil type of stuff. What do you think? That night Tyler and I went to this mexican restaurant and met up with one of his work buddies for dinner. I got a big glimpse into the world of a guy.
Thank God I'm a girl!

Whew a fun but exhausting day. : )
-Jen