The Endless Summer
Our first weekend getaway was a great one that included surfing one of the most famous waves in the world before walking along the most famous sidewalk in the world! If you have not figured it out yet, I surfed Malibu’s world renowned point break on our way to see Hollywood’s walk of fame. Driving south along the 101, we made our way through Ventura and Oxnard arriving to the Malibu coastline. I knew we had reached our first stop when I the side of the road began changing from an empty gravel shoulder to a parking lot for cars with empty surfboard racks. There was no need for us to walk to the beach to check the waves, I just unstrapped my board and headed for the thundering Pacific Ocean. The first wave I saw peeled along the rocky shoreline and, under normal circumstances, I would have sprinted into the water to catch one for myself. This day was different, however; I was looking at the break with easily more than 100 guys out and waves around waist high. I hesitated a bit but I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to catch a wave at this iconic spot of the “Endless Summer.” I caught a few, while weaving between surfers and kelp and then on one wave I hit a rock and broke a fin. My surf day ended there, but it was time to head to the Santa Monica pier anyway.
We drove less than 30 minutes south and arrived at yet another world famous beach, Santa Monica. The pier looked just like it does in all of the movies and we had to get there. I parked the car and headed for the Ferris Wheel atop the pier. While walking along the pier we began to see a production set and a director yelling at a bunch of tweens. We came to find out that they were filming for the new Kidz Bop music videos (a few weeks later, we saw it on TV). After watching a little bit of the filming we finally got onto the Ferris Wheel. It actually provided a really good view of the beach all the way to Venice and into downtown Santa Monica. After going round and round for about five minutes, we wanted to rent some bicycles and head down the Venice Boardwalk; yet another famous and amazing beach.
The people watching at Venice Beach is world-class. We got anything from bums stoned out of their mind to muscle-heads working out in rollerblades. We even ran into a bum that I recognized from downtown Orlando who raps for a tip. We had to get the bikes back to the shop and needed to find a place to eat and also a place to be able to sleep. We ended up finding a room in Venice at a place called the Cadillac Hotel. The staff was super nice, but if it were to be named properly, I think it would have been something more like the Geo Metro Hotel (it’d be a convertible though, because the hotel was right on the beach). It got the job done and allowed us to wake up for an early surf session and not worry about driving. After surfing, we headed for the boardwalk for some more people-watching. We saw some really cool artwork, many aspiring musicians, and a couple of break-dancing shows. The dance shows were really good and it was kind of cool because they were spreading a good message to the youth that was watching. At the end, before the big finale, they stopped for a quick speech denouncing drugs, stealing, etc. Eager to see some celebrities, Stacey planned our 30 minute drive to the next ridiculously famous city, Hollywood. How cool is it that within 2 hours of our new home we can be in so many great places?!
Before arriving to Hollywood, we drove through Rodeo Drive and around Beverly Hills a little bit. Upon arrival in Hollywood, we parked alongside the Walk of Fame and headed up the street with our heads down trying to spot our favorite celebrities. On the way back to the car, we got stopped by a gentleman selling tours and opted in for the Beverly Hills tour of celebrity houses. We were taken into the Hollywood Hills and our first stop was the peak that gave us an incredible view of everything: Beverly Hills, the HOLLYWOOD sign, Madonna’s house, Los Angeles and even the beaches. From there we drove by many celebrity homes including Jason Stathem, Bob Barker, David Beckham, the place where Michael Jackson first became sick, and Stacey’s favorite, the Playboy Mansion. After the tour, we were hungry (like always) and headed towards the Kodak Theater (where the Oscar’s are filmed) in hopes of finding some good grub. We stopped briefly at the theater to take some touristy pictures and as I turn around, I literally bumped into an old friend from Orlando! We saw David and Babbs, while they were on their own West Coast adventure (we ended up meeting with them one more time in Santa Barbara). The world really is such a small place and we want to explore every nook and cranny of it! We had a delicious sushi dinner just off of Sunset Blvd and then made the hour and a half drive back to SB.
