The generosity of three people Tina Walter, her sister Lisa and Peter Gordon led us to an eye opening mini vacation at a Vintage beach house in Venice, California. We bid on the stay in a silent auction staged to benefit the Yorkville Fire Department. The entire amount we bid went to benefit the community so thank you to the three donors who could easily have rented the cottage to an AirBnB client for personal profit.
The house is a Spanish-style stucco built in 1915 entirely updated with all the amenities. It is surrounded by beautifully maintained, mature landscaping and the lilac hydrangea bushes set off the mint green paint beautifully. Inside a gracious tiled stairway leads to three bedrooms and two baths. You can hear the ocean waves breaking, they are only a half block away down a footpath out the front door. In the back yard there is a hot tub bliss-bliss. We lived like one percenters for two days and three nights and were able to invite family to visit, as LA is my hometown so they live close by. It worked well, they didn’t spend the night but they did enjoy the days.
We all strolled to the Venice Boardwalk, which I must report retains its edge even in the face of multi-million dollar development that has poured into the community over the past 50 years.
In my growing up years the Venice Canals were falling apart and filled with bohemians and low-income residents. Safe to say there is no low-income property in Venice now, but there were quite a few homeless tents. The day after we left we read that they did a sweep and cleared them out. This apparently happens periodically.
On the Boardwalk many groups mingled; skateboarders, young families, muscle builders, shell game players, beach babes of many nationalities shapes and sizes. Mostly it was colorful and entertaining although one very drunk young woman literally fell into the hands of some of my strong young men relative. Other than that is was peaceful and fun.
Giant red posters by Match.Com stated “Adults Wanted.” My husband Bob got a lot of attention and admiration for his big Vintage Hasselblad camera (which he liked — the attention, not the camera). Happy to report that the beach is still wide and white and very clean. They have giant combs that they drag through to remove bottles, wrappers and what have you. It is really pristine looking and the super fine-grained sand feels really good on bare toes.
Congestion in the greater LA area is notable. Getting anywhere and finding parking when you get there is a challenge. Santa Monica and Venice are right next to each other but it took us 20 minutes to drive from one to the other down the main thoroughfare, Lincoln Blvd. Fortunately the beach house has two carport spaces that are worth pure gold. There are three times more people living in this area now than there was when I left 50 years ago.
There are an unbelievable number of strip malls and they all get a prize for the ugliest signage imaginable. They also all look like they could be bulldozed in 15 minutes, which they periodically are only to be replaced by new strip malls. My hometown is the permanent home of impermanence.
They say no one comes FROM Los Angles they all come TO it. Many people’s dreams are free floating around “Tinsel Town.” We went to a Vietnamese noodle restaurant in Culver City (very good) called The Pho Show.
In LA proper, the beach communities of Santa Monica, Venice and Malibu and the San Fernando Valley movie making is always on the menu. Other cool dining spots included The Rose Café and Bakery in Venice where the freshest and most creative pastries can be found. The almond croissant filled with almond paste and golden miso was absolutely celestial. A famous old school restaurant in Pasadena called Houston’s beguiled us with live giant ornamental carp (think goldfish on steroids) swimming lazily in and out.
We ordered martinis and when we were half finished with them our statuesque server (who really should be in New York pursuing a lucrative modeling career) arrived with two frosted glasses and proceeded to transfer our drinks to the fresh glasses. I have never in 72 years experienced that level of service and I do love a really cold martini. They got my vote.
In the parking lot was bright green small Rolls Royce that looked more like a Toyota than a luxury car. What’s up with that, I wonder? We also ate at Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank “Home of the original double deck burger” – open ‘til midnight; it has been around since 1936.
As culture vultures we had to hit a couple of museums while we were in the big city. We picked the Getty in West LA and The Huntington Library in Pasadena. The Getty had a great Photography show featuring “a dialog” between two artists Carrie Mae Weems and Dawoud Bey. These two were both born in 1953 so roughly our contemporaries, which is always interesting. The idea of a dialog between two artists for a show was new to us and we liked it. Dawoud has focused his career on photographing people and communities. “I’ve never worked with a long lens. All of these pictures are made with a 35MM camera and a slightly wide lens which demands that you get close to subjects and have real interactions with them” I liked his approach.
At the Huntington the beauty of the setting was stunning. The Asian gardens with large reflecting pond, waterfall, lovely tiled roof buildings and meticulously tended plantings created an island of serenity. It is a wonder what knowledge, artistic sensibility, a big budget and time can create. They have two Gutenberg bibles and both Pinkie and Blue Boy live here. There is an American Museum and a European Museum. Plus, they have the best gift shop ever. I bought tiny golden bee studs for my ears, a beginner’s book on how to write Haiku and a small crystal candelabra for decorating cakes on very special occasions.
My favorite thing about the trip was spending time with the youngest members of my family. There are five of them aged 2-6 and one about to be born the end of this month (felt the kicking). Oh my. As a childless couple we are amazed to watch young Homo sapiens frolic, fret and play. We watched them learn and express their very different personalities. Also very fun seeing and talking with the generation that is in their prime just now (ages 30-50). They seem to be doing a smashing job of enjoying their moment in the spotlight and raising vibrant children.
We can’t help but be kinda sad that our day was yesterday or maybe it was even the day before yesterday. Every dog has its day. Kissing those soft little cheeks is startling. We are so rough and dry compared to these newly minted young fawns. Life truly is an amazing process.
If you’ve never visited the greater Los Angeles area I highly recommend it. There definitely is something for everyone there. We are really glad to be home enjoying our elbowroom, unclogged roads and familiar people and places. Moving north so many years ago was definitely the right thing for us to do.
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