Venice Beach - Santa Monica Pier

We started out early to make the 2 1/2-hour drive to Venice Beach from Palm Desert. Parking was no problem when we arrived at a nearly empty parking lot close to Muscle Beach. All-day parking was $6...WOW!

We strolled along the beachfront walk, looking at all the murals, shops, and sights. It was much quieter and there were a lot fewer people than on a previous visit during the summer months. It was kind of nice, and the sun/heat was much more tolerable in winter.

We walked the 3.5 miles to Santa Monica Pier. We worked up an appetite and hit Bubba Gump Shrimp Co for lunch. The food was tasty and the service was great.

After lunch, it was time to check out Santa Monica Pier. There was much to see, places to grab treats, and rides to go on. My poor stomach has never done well with fair rides, which has been unfortunate as I would like to go on them and they look fun. This trip, I decided to brave the mini roller coaster, my first fair ride in 30 years. Bill was brave for sitting next to me...LOL. I managed to keep my Bubba Gump lunch down...but twice around was enough for me. Apparently, my face looked like I was having more fun than my stomach was.

We walked around for a while, taking it all in, and decided it was time to make our way back and walked the 3.5 miles back to Venice Beach. There was a palm/Tarot reader I had been to on my 2019 trip whose palm reading turned out to be spot on, and that reading played a very significant role in my getting together with Bill and subsequently the trajectory of our lives. I just had to see her again, and as fortune would have it, she was in and available for another reading. We both had individual palm readings, and she was again spot on with both of us in what was going on with the present and told us things she saw for our future...let's just say things are looking pretty bright and exciting with more adventures to come!

By this point, my stomach had settled and was craving something sweet for the drive back...I tried my first churros, and they were much like tasty, chewy, soft sugared doughnuts...YUM!

It's a good thing I had that snack as it turned out to be a looooooonnnnnggg drive back; in fact, it took us twice as long getting home. 5 hours to get through LA traffic to our RV resort in bumper-to-bumper much of the way. EGAD!!!

Still worth the trip, and we had a fabulous day!

Bill & Cat