Venice Beach

We finally made it to Venice Beach last weekend. It's so close! We strolled the boardwalk and did some great people watching. We saw bodybuilders at Muscle Beach (where there was also a fashion show taking place) and were approached by several young gentlemen hawking evaluations for medical marijuana. There were, as one might expect, plenty of hippie musicians. We also saw a juggler and a bona fide freak show, just like on Coney Island. (We didn't go in, but we did see the heavily tattooed men with the two-headed turtle out front.)

Small World Books, an independent bookstore nestled behind a burger joint (same ownership), was probably my favorite part of the day. This little shop is extremely well-curated, and I give them huge props for having about four shelves of poetry in a small store. I loved the handwritten staff recommendation cards and the personal feel of the place. The entire back of the store is devoted to The Mystery Annex, a mystery section bigger than one you'd find at a Barnes & Noble and decorated with eerie paintings and crime scene tape. Sadly, the bookstore cat, Conan the Librarian, did not make an appearance that day. (Every good bookstore has to have a cat. As I'm blogging, I'm reminiscing aloud about the store. Chris is musing, "Beth, how are you not working there right now?")

We grabbed lunch at Danny's, sister restaurant to the James Beach joint featured in "I Love You, Man." Chris got the delicious fish tacos mentioned in the movie. (This place uses the same recipe as their other location.) Then we strolled the Venice Canals.

Locals tether their canoes right outside their front doors. We saw some adorable ducks bobbing along the waterways, and even a cat basking in the sun on the walkway. For fun, I scoped out the property prices along the canals—they seem to run between 1 and 3 million!

The beach itself had a great vibe. It was full of surfers and energetic little kiddos. As we walked along the water, watching waves crash majestically over a jetty, it dawned on Chris: "We live here."