OK….for those of you who DIDN’T scroll down enough at the end of my previous post, the answer to my question is: GENE AUTRY. (See previous post titled “LA Bound and Come On Down!”
After our Ultimate Hollywood Tour and eating some lunch at the mall on Hollywood Boulevard, we decided to take an Uber drive out to Santa Monica Pier. I just couldn’t be this close to the coast and not see the Pacific Ocean (to be truthful – I wanted to see the Santa Monica Pier the most).
We arrived in Santa Monica around 3:45 p.m. Of course, we walked to the pier first. To say it was windy on pier is an understatement!! You can tell by the pictures of us and the wind blowing Zoey’s and my hair straight back! 😂 It was a little cool with the wind and all, but I couldn’t believe the number of people IN the ocean on the beach next to the pier!
We just walked around on the pier and looked at all the shops, restaurants, and local artists and entertainers. We found a restaurant with outside seating that allowed pets, so we had our supper of fish and chips on the pier. The pictures don’t really do the pier justice because you can’t see, smell, or hear everything that’s out there.
We got out of the Uber a couple of blocks from the Santa Monica Pier.
This busy highway goes right along the beach.
This tiny Airstream trailer was on the pier and was transformed into the cutest little gift shop full of Route 66 items.
It was really windy that afternoon, as you can tell from the whitecaps.
Look at Zoey’s and my hair! It’s “slicked” back by the strong wind. I had to hold my visor down (this visor snaps onto my glasses) so it wouldn’t blow off my head and take my glasses with it!
After supper we walked along the ocean in Palisades Park. This park has big, grassy spaces, palm trees, lots of benches, and walking trails all featuring expansive, beautiful ocean views. It even has a unique monument honoring all the branches of the military. I also wanted to stay long enough to see the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. I tried to take the sunset pictures every few minutes.
Each branch of the military had an inscription on it thanking its dedicated members. You can’t read the inscriptions very well in the pictures, but the tributes were lovely.
The sunset was MUCH prettier in person!
We waited a little longer for it to get darker. I wanted to see the pier all lit up at night. It really is beautiful with all the lights.
Did you see the bird in this photo? That was lucky! Look to the right, just above the yellow part of the sky.
The Uber driver that took us out to the pier gave us some advice about returning. He said with rush hour traffic, it would be beneficial for us to wait until at least 8:15 p.m. before sending for an Uber. During high traffic times the fare is MUCH more expensive. Well, he was right! I started to send for Uber at 7:45 and the price was ridiculously high ($20-$30 higher than when we came out!. At 8:00 p.m. it was up to a little over $65! I had to talk Jack into waiting another 15 minutes. By now it was dark, and he was wanting to get back to the hotel. By 8:10 the price had dropped to a little over $30. I sent for the Uber, and I was so glad we waited!
The next morning we were up fairly early. We grabbed some breakfast in the lobby of the hotel, loaded up, and were headed back to Twentynine Palms where our RV was. We had a great time in Los Angeles!
Bye-bye downtown Los Angeles!
So, for now ….. “On the Road Again!”
Betty
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Retirement......LOVE IT! 