Venice Beach, CA

So I want to go ahead and tell you all about the one trip I have taken so far that stands out most in my memory...Venice Beach, CA! Let me tell just tell you, I had NO idea what I was getting myself into by going there. The location itself was awesome, but the people there were, to put it lightly, different. I understand that I live in California and I should have expected it, but it's like they were all gathered here in this one place. Right from the start I was a little creeped out when a little old (and VERY tan) man in a speedo-ish thing was staring at me and waving as we pulled in the parking lot. I wish I had snapped a picture at that very moment so you could see for yourself. My guess is that he had just finished working out at Muscle Beach, which is the famous gym area that is directly on the beach! 

The next interesting experience was a group of musicians standing at the entrance to the beach, each holding a set of headphones. Naturally, they approached us as we walked towards them and since we were walking around with the infamous NathanSoro (www.youtube.com/nathanandsebastian) we had to stop and check out the competition. Just for the record I have never really listened to some random person's music, but these guys were awesome! Hearing them for just a couple seconds opened my eyes to how many talented musicians are out there, especially in this area, and I completely understand why so many amazing musicians are struggling to make their music known to the public. Hopefully that will not be the case with my younger brother, Nathan, because a huge reason why we moved out here was for him to pursue his music career further and have more opportunities. I know these opportunities exist, but they are much more difficult to find than we both expected. 

Once we removed ourselves from the musicians we saw even more talent! From comedians to dancers to acrobats.. It was crazy!! They were all lined up on the street with large crowds gathered around to watch. Hard to believe that many people make a living performing in this type of environment. It takes a lot of courage to stand out there and perform, hoping people will be gracious enough to make a donation. There was one particular dancer that I remember vividly because he reminded me of someone that is very special to me, but will go unnamed. This man was quite large and stood in the middle of the street shirtless with a suitcase to collect spare change. He put in his headphones and was in the zone, dancing his heart out while people watched, pointed and laughed. I can't decide if I felt sorry for him or proud of him for ignoring people's comments and doing what he seemed to enjoy. Either way, it takes a strong person to get out there and do that sort of thing so I give him props! 

As we continued to explore the area we saw amazing graffiti, which is legal in Venice Beach with some sort of permit. Again, I was in awe of the talent that surrounded me through this type of art. I think the graffiti was my favorite part of the whole day since my inner artist appreciates that sort of thing. 

Moving forward we spent some time watching the young skateboarders at the skatepark which was also on the beach. When I say young I mean some of these kids were probably only 7 years old or so and they were awesome!! Without a doubt I was looking at the future skate pros of America. Overall Venice Beach was a pretty cool place once I was able to open myself up and appreciate it from all aspects. It provided really great views of the land as well with a backdrop of the mountains behind the city and beach! Definitely not something I have ever experienced before and I doubt there is anywhere like this on the East coast so that is one point for Cali and zero for SC! :) 

"Venice Beach is poppin'

Like live shrimp dropped on a hot wok.

Hucksters, hustlers and hawkers

Set up their boardwalk shops.

Home for all the homeless, hopeless, well heeled, and deranged.

Still, nothing here seems out of place or strange."

-Brian Wilson