Santa Monica is a popular tourist area near Los Angeles. It is known for its beautiful beach and it is only about 30 minutes West of Los Angeles. Although it is only about 30 minutes away from Los Angeles, it is about 1.5 hours away from Orange County. On this very hot day during the summer, we decided to pay a visit to this famous tourist region to see what it is like.
We left home early and got there around 11AM. We simply took highway 405 and headed North and then took Santa Monica Boulevard down to Santa Monica downtown. Parking was very convenient at Santa Monica. There are many parking structures around the area with signs everywhere. The first 90 minutes of parking is free too!
We parked our car and headed toward the pier at the beach. As we walked along the walk way toward the pier, we saw many homeless people camping and wondering around. This was unexpected. There was a LOT of homeless people. More than what we have imagined and it smelled really bad.
As we walked down the pier, there were also many street performers who are kind of blocking the walk way. That was a bit annoying. We also saw few people selling snacks and drinks illegally along the pier. When the policy walk by, they immediately cover their stuff with blanket so that they don't look like they are selling stuff.
At the end of the pier at Santa Monica, it also marks the end of the famous historical Route 66. This is where Route 66 ends.
Many on the pier were also carrying fishing rod to try their luck at getting a fish from the ocean.
As we walked away from the beach and toward the downtown area, there were many stores to shop at and many restaurants to dine at. It was incredible. We did not really have the time to visit every single store. Besides, it was so hot on this day, we were very exhausted and did not have the mood to shop around.
Overall, it was a very touristy area. One thing that should be addressed is the number of homeless people. Although the homeless people don't really bother others, but it does make the place stink and lot of garbage being thrown around.
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