Ugly days do not exist in Santa Monica, California.  That is why I live here. 

BUT…

It is not the only reason that you should take your Travelling Kid to one of the most fun-filled destinations on the West Coast!

A good friend of mine who travelled the world as a top executive in the music biz has chosen to retire here in beautiful Santa Monica.  Actually, it’s been his city-by-the-sea of choice for a very, very long time.  He is a smart man.  He has long held my admiration for two things: an expertise in precise sweater folding and for proclaiming cities such as Paris to be ‘very nice…but not Santa Monica.’  I have another friend who is an artist who will never leave Santa Monica and claims that she can create her art nowhere else on the planet. 

Santa Monica is diverse.  There is a little something for everyone.  Artists live alongside business execs…and seniors rollerblade.  We have a Pier and production studios and we feed the homeless. There is an aquarium and a cool library and high-end restaurants and taco joints and 99Cent Stores and organic farmer’s markets with live jazz and pony rides.   We are home to Yahoo and MTV and great parks and playgrounds.  You can cozy up in a B & B, check out Hollywood celebs at a 5-star property or stay in a family run motel.  Bike ride, skateboard, Segway, walk, rollerblade or take the Big Blue bus to tons of fun, family destinations where you will hear French, Farsi, German, Russian, Japanese…you name it…being spoken among the many tourists that visit our coast every year, in every season.  Santa Monica will not disappoint you.  Promise.

In fact, I must be crazy to travel so much since I have so much here.  If I were not addicted to travel, I probably would be content to just poke around Santa Monica all day, every day.  I can’t believe it took me this long to write an article about it.

‘My’ bike path is a good place to begin this missive.  This 8.5 mile stretch of poured concrete sits on the sand along the Pacific every day of the week…just waiting for the rollerblading, biking, strollering, skateboarding, meandering masses.  The crowds thin a bit in off-season, but the bike path is well travelled and inspiring just about any day of the year. 

Forgot to pack your rollerblades?  No worries. Bike and skate rental places dot the full length of this little road-by-the-sea, which begins at Temescal Canyon Road in the North and then meanders South through the very famous Venice Beach, finally ending up at Washington Blvd. in Marina Del Rey.  For more information go to:

http://www.labikepaths.com/SantaMon.html 

From the PIER you can walk up to PALISADES PARK and THE THIRD STREET PROMENADE.   Palisades Park, bordered by Ocean Avenue on the east and sheer cliffs overlooking Santa Monica Bay on the west, is 26 breathtaking ocean view acres.  This long, thin public park is more promenade than park and only part of the 420 acres of open public land in Santa Monica.  Perhaps you’ll experience a little déjà vu as you wander along, since it has been the location of many, many movies and commercials. It is also home to a cool looking cannon, located just as you exit the Pier.  Jacob LOVES this cannon.  Keep walking and you will encounter shuffleboard courts, picnic areas, pergolas, a lovely rose garden and the Visitors Center.  You may also want to visit the CAMERA OBSCURA located in the Senior Center (1450 Ocean Avenue).   Since I have never been to this famous landmark, I looked it up on the Internet and found this link with a great little personal story from people who travelled thousands of miles to see it.   (http://brightbytes.com/cosite/santamont.html)  I guess I’ll have to go see this little landmark now. 

Palisades Park is just one of many parks in Santa Monica.  Since every mom and dad knows that going to a park and playing and/or picnicking is a great way for a travelling family to pass time, here are a couple more park suggestions.

DOUGLAS PARK: 2439 Wilshire Blvd. between Chelsea Ave. & 25th St.

We love all 4.5 acres of this park. Not only does it have an amazing playground…ducks swim and waddle along a pretty realistic fake stream and there are rocks to climb on and bridges to cross.  A little further west on Wilshire you will find a Whole Foods Market where you can pick up some picnic fixings.  If you are junk food junkies there is a Jack In The Box right across from the park and there is usually an ice cream truck parked nearby.  For adult beverages (meaning coffee…what were you thinking?) there is a Starbucks at 26th and Wilshire. 

A no-name park (technically it’s called PARK #1): located ON the beach at

Ocean Park Boulevard and Barnard Way is 4.6 acres of sand and picnic tables and a great little playground where your travelling kid can swing and take in a full view of the ocean all at the same time.  The fact that there are 1,493 beach parking spaces (fee), and 2 beach restroom buildings makes it an easy to use destination.  Even easier if you ride your bike there!

From the little NO-NAME PARK you can walk east on Ocean Park Blvd. to MAIN STREET.   On the corner of Ocean Park and Main Street is the sweetest little library you’ve ever seen.  THE OCEAN PARK LIBRARY often has family story times and it is a great little place to stop and read a book with your kids. There are many libraries and they all have LOTS of things going on. (http://www.smpl.org/depts/branches/OceanPark/index.htm)

Just across the street from the library is a lovely little museum (THE CALIFORNIA HERITAGE MUSEUM).  Depending on what exhibit is there - it might be a great thing to do. (http://www.californiaheritagemuseum.org) From there you can just walk along Main Street and enjoy the many shops and restaurants.  There is even an Irish Pub called Finn McCool’s that has live music that the whole family can enjoy.   This area, which is called OCEAN PARK, is very kid and stroller friendly.  The most family friendly event in town takes place on Main Street every Sunday morning.  THE SUNDAY FARMER’S MARKET boasts delicious foods, live music, pony rides and LOTS and LOTS of people watching.

In fact, the Sunday Market is just one of many markets that grace the fair town of Santa Monica. Two of the MARKETS are located at THE THIRD STREET PROMENADE and ARIZONA Ave. The markets are Wednesday AM until 1:30PM and Saturday AM until 1:00PM.   Come to the market and then stay for the ‘show’ or shall I say ‘shows’ at The Promenade. A ‘destination’ in and of itself and home to shops, restaurants, street entertainers and movie theatres, The Promenade bustles with delicious people watching and plenty of things for everyone in the whole family to enjoy. 

Another family friendly area of Santa Monica is MONTANA AVENUE, located at the very North end of town.  This street is swimming in kids clothing stores and has a disproportionate number of coffee places, including 2 Starbucks within a ten-block stretch.  Guess it’s no mystery that this area is teeming with writers and celebs and other people who are not married to a 9-5 job.  That said; bring your wallet because it is a shopping mecca filled with hi-end shops and cute little cafes.  My fave restaurants on Montana are Spumoni for out of this world Italian (just east of 7th) and The Blue Plate for just about anything (just east of 14th).  DO NOT pass up JENNY BEC’s toystore (just east of 9th) Jenny is a sweetheart, the staff is terrific and the store is chock-full of great toys and furniture for young ones of all ages.  Kids love it here…very hands on.  Buy a gift here - the wrapping job they do is one of a kind. (www.jennybecs.com)

The antithesis of MONTANA AVENUE is VENICE BEACH.   This three-mile stretch of wild ‘n crazy by the sea is technically not part of Santa Monica, however no trip to Santa Monica could be complete without shopping and gawking along the Venice Boardwalk.   The audio-visual assault of drumming circles and jugglers and mimes and psychics and henna tattoo artists and artist-artists and comics and everything in between is SO astounding that you will not believe that is it real.  Walk, rollerblade or bike in this sui generis seaside community and you will become part of a living, breathing sideshow of every kind of alternative music, lifestyle and thing that you can imagine.  Ocean Front Walk (the official street name) is very stroller friendly and there is certainly enough going on here for every one in the family.  (http://www.venicechamber.net)  The Venice Chamber of Commerce brands Venice as ‘The Creative Soul Of LA’ and it lives up to the hype and deserves it’s own article.  By the way…Venice was originally supposed to be a copy of Venice, Italy and some of the canals still exist today! The canals were the vision of a world traveler named Abbot Kinney.  In the 1890’s he dreamed of transforming this area into “The Venice of America” and it has been attracting free spirits ever since.  (http://www.westland.net/venice/canals.htm) 

Speaking of Abbott Kinney and as long as we are venturing outside the Santa Monica City Limits…you might want to wander over to ABBOTT KINNEY BLVD.  A trendy street with great shops and restaurants, Abbott Kinney has a laid-back, groovy vibe and is very kid and dog friendly.  My fave furniture and ‘things for the house’ place on the planet, DIGS, is located here (1118 Abbott Kinney) and the owners Michelle and Dave Novak are great people. Just nearby DIGS you will find plenty of great restaurants, including Lily’s, a French café that has a Prix Fixe lunch (one of the best bargains in town). 

Venice and Abbott Kinney are certainly lots of fun and worthy of the journey…but I digress…I have a couple more places in Santa Monica I’d like to mention:

The Santa Monica Swim Center

(310) 458-8700 16th St & Pico Blvd (on the campus of Santa Monica College) http://santa-monica.org/aquatics Check out the website for more info about this state-of-the-art facility with heated pools.  Fun for the whole family.

VOLLEYBALL COURTS: on the Beach just near the Pier and also at West Channel Blvd. you will find public Volleyball Courts and even if you don’t play you may want to watch the pros and semi-pros that practice here.  A few steps south of the Pier vollyballcourts is:

THE INTERNATIONAL CHESS PARK:  Santa Monica’s answer to New York’s Washington Square Park public chess tables, including a human-scale chessboard set into the sidewalk.

TWILIGHT DANCE SERIES: Free summer concert series on the Pier with some AMAZING music with well-known artists.  (http://twilightdance.org)

So much stuff in such a small town!  Let me close with some info on where to stay and how to get about town.

LODGING:

Because the city is so small, most hotels are just minutes from food and fun.  There are lodgings for every taste and every budget.  You will find posh, simple, family run and big corporate hotels and off-season you can get really good rates.  We even have a hostel.

For more info go to:

http://www.santamonica.com/index.php/hotels.html

I can personally vouch for these:

Family/not pricey:  The Seashore Motel www.seashoremotel.com

Great location, simple, clean, some with kitchens, family run, book in advance.

Posh/Boutique:      Oceana www.hoteloceana.com 

Posh/Big:           Casa Del Mar www.hotelcasadelmar.com (Great Views, nice staff)

There are many options.  Everyone says a visit to L.A. absolutely requires a car.  But, Santa Monica (clocking in at only 8.3 square miles) does not.  The city is very pedestrian friendly and easy to navigate. If you plan to just ‘do’ Santa Monica and Venice you may be able to free yourself from a vehicle.  Depending on where you stay and how you get here – you may be able to just walk, bike, bus and taxi your way through your visit.  It is your call.

If your vacation plans have you driving here, then don’t read further.  Cars are not a big problem, like in Dublin or New York.  There is parking around, but plan on traffic and limited parking availability in the high season and on weekends.

For those of you coming via airplane:  LAX is about a 20-minute drive to Santa Monica.  Some hotels provide shuttles and there are taxis and shuttles and even a BIG BLUE BUS express.

THE BIG BLUE BUS is a great bus system with over 1,000 bus stops.  In addition to its airport express, the BIG BLUE operates an express line connecting Santa Monica to Downtown LA where you can visit places like MOCA (The Museum of Contemporary Art), the Disney Concert Hall and Little Tokyo and Olvera Street.  For more info visit: www.bigbluebus.com.  This site also list information about the:

TIDE SHUTTLE   - which operates every day of the year, every 15 minutes and connects major city spots (22 stops) including Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Place, the beach, Santa Monica Pier, Main Street and the downtown and Civic Center areas for 25 cents and 10 cents for seniors.  (http://bigbluebus.com/tideshuttle/index.asp)

There are also taxis and if you should change your mind and want to rent a car mid-trip, there are many places in Santa Monica to do that.

For more information on rental car companies and getting here and ALL the things that are not covered in this article, visit the very good city web site:

www.santamonica.com

I’ll be waiting for you…just enjoying another beautiful day in my city by the sea.

(See Google Map below)