Soaking Up the Sun!

One final trip today before our classes start on Monday. We ventured out west to the coast for a day at Venice Beach. This is just one of the many beaches that line the Southern California coast, and it was certainly one of the nicest I've been to.

The sand on the west coast is so much different than it is back east. Very smooth, very grainy, not water-logged and gross like the sand in New York. It was excellent to walk through and lay down on. The only problem is that the sand gets much hotter and becomes difficult to stand on.

The waves are without a doubt the best part of the beach. They are at least twice if not three times the size of normal waves back on the east coast. While the water was cold at first, we got used to it quickly, and the day was filled with body surfing, swimming, and amazement of the power these waves carried.

The beach also had a tremendous boardwalk. Someone noted that it was like "Ithaca on Steroids." There were many little shops with souvenirs and other odd items that you would find in a laid-back town like Ithaca. There were also street vendors and performers doing all wacky types of things. The walk also featured Muscle Beach, which was a place you could work out right on the oceanfront, as well as basketball courts and a skate park.

I would definitely recommend a visit to Venice Beach. There is plenty to do over the course of a full day there and is a great place to catch some sun and ride great waves.



For all my Venice Beach photos and pics from other places, check out my Facebook photos.