Santa Monica (February 16)

On President's Day, February 16, my sister took my uncle and mom to the Walt Disney Concert Hall and then to eat sausages for lunch somewhere- I forget the name of the restaurant.

I had to work that day, but managed to leave at 3:00 to meet them at my sister's apartment in West L.A. My dad bowed out for the day- he had to work, and then he just came home to rest.

The four of us had some time to kill before going to dinner, so we decided to go to Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Okay ... full disclosure: I wanted to go to Third Street because the Make-Up Art Cosmetics store there had the brush set I wanted.


















Regardless of the reasons, went to Santa Monica. My uncle told us that he goes to Santa Monica every day. When we asked him what in the world he was talking about, he said that there's a restaurant near his university called Santa Monica. I assumed it would be American food, or at least Italian or Spanish food ... but no. It's a Korean food place! Why would they call it Santa Monica??























I love the dinosaur topiaries. They make no sense at all and I don't see how dinosaurs are any sort of theme for a shopping area, but there you go.


















My uncle and my sister, in the right corner. They're ignoring the dueling brontosaurs behind them.























I love the gaudiness of the Georgian Hotel's exterior. Its art-deco feel plus palm trees ... so stereotypically L.A.!

The interior is gorgeous and lush, not at all turquoise with bright yellow accents.


















When I worked on Third Street Promenade at a video-game company, I used to see this clock every single day.

The weather was really blustery and crisp, the clouds were beautiful, and it was just a spectacular day to sight-see. We lucked out, since it had been raining off and on for the past few days prior to our outing.


















Goodbye, clock tower! Ominous dark clouds in the distance ... maybe it's time to leave...























Looking west towards the ocean, with my sister and uncle leading the way.


















This building was just north of us. I've always loved the staircase design of it.























At the crosswalk of Ocean and Arizona. Santa Monica has the most inappropriate street names- Broadway, Colorado, Ohio- what?! Who decides these things??


















Once we dash across Ocean, the real ocean is just a steep fall away. The waves were really strong that day, with the wind blowing so hard and the recent rain.


















Looking down the side of the cliff onto the multi-million dollar houses that are all very distinct. Some of them are very distinctly ugly.

The staircase at the bottom of the photo leads to those houses. It's a lot of stairs!


















More houses. I love the pink and purple house at the right-hand side.


















Past the long line of houses is the Santa Monica Pier. If you ever want to ride a Ferris wheel while getting hit with the smell of saltwater, this place is it.


















The clouds seemed to change every single minute that we were there, going from puffy and white to wispy and gray. Very mercurial, those clouds!


















Mom, braving the wind! The sky alternated from white-hot brightness to overcast gloom. We walked along the path for a while, from Arizona to Broadway.


















I love that desert plants occupy even the beaches near L.A. It's a reminder of what the natural environment would be, had we not taken it completely over.























Palm trees getting abused by the wind. I feel so sorry for them, their lollipop heads getting thrashed around.























These old-fashioned lamps don't actually give off much light, but the light they do emit is softer and more ambient than the harsh modern lamps all through the rest of the city. And they're so cute!























Mom and I were lagging behind, taking pictures, while my uncle and sister bee-lined towards the warmth of the car.


















These are different monuments for the different branches of the armed forces.























The fast-walking duo in a sudden burst of sunshine.























Some dude sleeping while the wind is blowing so hard that the palm tree he's leaning against is swaying.


















A tree that I thought was so lovely. It looked like a good place to sit ... except the wind was picking up and we were getting hungry! Versailles, here we come...