...of Santa Monica, CA. Yes, I planned a double-header for today, I went first to the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, and then, planned for a quick visit to the pier. It has been maybe 10 years since I was there, but when I was an LA resident, I used to go several times a year. I missed the place very much, even though each time I go, it makes me think of that scene in the movie "Falling Down", where the Robert Duvall is killed by the prototype MAGA fan before Trump came on the scene, the white man who feels victimized by a plural and multicultural environment.
I went and arrived at about 5 p.m. Quick note to self, there is a parking lot next to the Santa Monica City Hall. It is on the corner of 4th and Olympic, and it seems big enough. There are no attendants, it is all automated, but you grab a ticket as you go in, you carry the ticket with you, no on the car, and you calculate and pay your fee when you go back. For one hour it charged me $1 on a Thursday afternoon.
Santa Monica feels less, how to put it, down at the ruff these days. I remember homeless people everywhere, but today, I hardly saw any. This is not to say that the drive on the 405 to reach the city is not hellish, the 405 is the same calamity it was back in the 90s when I was still an Angelino, but the city seems laid-back and clean. And people want to get over Covid, so there were big throngs of people on the pier, a very multiracial, primarily working-class group. You don't see many middle class kids here, but there were a few. You do see working class Latino and African-American groups, and many vendors on the pier, selling trinkets, balloons, churros, and even playing instruments and painting artwork. I heard a musician playing rock tunes with a sitar. I had to buy his CD.
I enjoyed my quick walk, and I did take several Instax photos. What happened at the Getty Villa? Well, that is a story for another post.
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