navelgazing.omphaloskeptic.net Journal

Getting There - Aneel's Travelogue

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Walking tour of Venice Venice, CA, Thursday, 16 July 2009 10:18pm

I slept in in the morning, barely getting up in time to move my motorcycle out of the street cleaning zone in front of Irina's before the towing period began. I rode on over to Lifto's, and let myself in with a spare key. I settled my stuff, set my computer charging, and then headed out to find some food.

There's a cajun place a block or two away from Lifto's, and it happened that they had a live band playing some blues: a bassist, a guitarist, and a horn player. The music was pretty good, and it was entertaining to watch the horn player, who'd do things like play two trumpets at once, and fiddle with a bunch of ancient, beat up mutes.

When I got back to Lifto's place, I discovered that I'd managed to lock myself out. The key I had worked perfectly for the deadbolt, but it only got the doorknob lock to turn halfway at best. Unfortunately, my helmet and motorcycle keys were locked inside. So much for my museum-going plans.

Instead, I ended up taking a 4 hour walk. I checked out the canals. I walked to Venice Beach, walked south to the channel, and then back north to check out Muscle Beach. It's not really what I expected. I'd pictured benches and free weights on the sand, but it's a rubber-floored area with lots of machines. I had a funnel cake with strawberries and whipped cream.

In the evening, Lifto and Sarah and I went out to Hal's Bar and Grill for a really tasty dinner. If you're there, I recommend the bread pudding.

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