Santa Monica, Venice Beach and The Doors

We got to Santa Monica around dinnertime and once we had checked in, we took a few photos and hopped a shuttle bus thingy (for a big 25¢) and headed to Venice Beach.



These are some photos of the pier and other things around our hotel on Ocean Blvd...






We strolled along Venice Beach and were drinking it all in when suddenly we heard the music of the Doors. Now, just to clarify, we were mainly visiting Venice Beach because it's where Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek got together and decided to start the band. (Besides the fact that it's a cool place to hang out). We headed towards the sound and found a café/bar where a Doors tribute band was playing. Turns out that this band (The Peace Frogs) plays every Sunday! We actually ended up sitting with a guy who was from Montréal and we stayed to hear the whole set. I scarfed some excellent nachos and we COMPLETELY enjoyed the whole experience. Let me tell you, there are some really special people that hang out down there! Here is a picture of the sign on the sidewalk and a not-so-good photo of the lead singer who didn't look so much like Jim (although he was wearing all the right stuff) but his voice was almost dead on. All the chiquitas grooving in front of the stage didn't seem to mind :)

We finally left there at around 9 and cabbed it back to our hotel and strolled along the Third Street promenade. We had a delicious dinner on Ocean Blvd (mmm, crab cakes), stopped at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (where I bought a bunch of stuff including a dragonfly tea strainer) for coffee and finally crashed at the hotel. I took a few pictures of our room because it has been so beautifully restored. You could just imagine all the stars taking their morning coffee on the porch across from the ocean. Back in the day, this hotel is apparently where everyone would come to escape the heat. It's been declared a heritage site so it's really well kept-up. Love that art deco look!

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel and headed to the airport. Everything went smoothly and we had some time to kill at the gate so I bought a few last minute souvenirs and then it was all over. It went by so fast and yet we got to do so much that it felt like we were away for a long time. We got back to our apartment around 10 on Monday night and promptly went out for poutine. Our last treat before coming down from planet vacation!

So that was our trip. Back to regular posting as of tomorrow. I've been having some serious fatigue lately (slept 11 hours on Monday) but hopefully that will pass. I can feel our little kiddo moving around now which is fun and I feel like I look more pregnant now (instead of just fat). I'm only nauseous when I'm overly tired so I just have to make sure to not overdo it.

Speaking of which, time to wrap it up!