Monday 23 April 2012

Santa Monica & Venice Beach

We landed in LA at 5:30am and it was simply freezing! After spending eight days in temperatures that didn't drop below 22 degrees, 6 degrees was a shock to our flip flopped feet!

We had a coffee and got a bus to the car hire depot to pick up our chariot for the week. We weren't disappointed with the chrome rims and key fob engine start!

Bling!

We checked into our hotel and had a power nap before hitting the road and heading to Santa Monica.

Santa Monica Boulevard
Santa Monica is a city in its own right but is connected to and surrounded by LA on all land sides. It is a great mix of old and new buildings, with small 1920s industrial unit restored into private dwellings, coffee shops and retail units.


But there is one main attraction in Santa Monica; the beach. Its huge!

A bit busy!

The pier is synonymous with Santa Monica.  Opened in 1909, it attracts over 4 million visitors annually, and has featured in countless films and TV shows.
Added in the 1940s
The pier is home to numerous stalls, restaurants and amusements, as well as the iconic Big Wheel

Iconic!

Crushed green velvet and basketball boots. Nice!

Even the dogs have accessories!




















In the 1930s, Joe Gold (the founder of the legendary Gold's Gym) started to work out of the beach front, giving birth to Muscle Beach. Today, muscle beach no longer has the Mr Universe types pumping ridiculous lumps of iron, but instead has people practicing gymnastics on the rings, bars and sprung floor grass (seriously!!) , or Capoeira, a Brazilian non contact martial art.

Capoeiraists! 

Make my arms longer!
When your legs are tired....



Another world famous place  no one has heard of! 


The Boardwalk from Santa Monica to Venice Beach is also home to the 'best corndogs in the world'. So we tried one. Having never eaten one before we can safely say they were the best we have ever eaten!



After our 'lunch' we needed a little sit down. I sat on the beach, Amy found something a little grander! 

On the throne

The Boardwalk is split into two main sections; one for bikes and skaters (and the odd segway) and one for pedestrians. 


The bike lane

One thing that is fairly unique to the LA beaches is the bikes that are that the locals ride.  There is the odd mountain or road bike, but most are 'beach cruisers' and many of these are customised, some even have sound systems! 


The closer we got to Venice, the more bizarre the sights were!

Who knows?!
The best place to buy your rasta-wear!



Venice is home to many artists, musicians and those who prefer an alternative lifestyle. 'Medicinal' cannabis stores outnumber cafes, street vendors sell 'art' and street performers dance, read your palm and even create sand sculptures (the sign is the best ever!)

Interesting requests!

One of the benefits to having many artisans in the area is that the drab and dreary buildings lining the promenade have been given a So-Cal makeover, which makes Venice the best outdoor art gallery since the lanes of Melbourne!

Colourful


Amazing

Bright
A little overly ostentatious?


Extraordinary

Even the sky is nicely saturated for once!


Entrance to the skate park is a constantly changing wall of art
Another famous area of Venice is the skate park. Completed in 2009, it cost over $3.5m, and 
spans over 16,000 sq ft. It has a street section, 2 bowls and a snake run, and is constantly busy! 


He didn't land a single one!




There was one kid, about 8 or 9 years
 old who was riding the bowls.
Simply fearless and landed everything
he attempted - and he went so high! 





Big Hair

As we walked the few miles back to Santa Monica, the evening brought out more and more people, with even more obscure hobbies!

I'm spinning around.....


Yep - they really are disco dancing in retro skates!
A rollerblading Jimi Hendrix!





All in all, a very interesting experience!




Wednesday 18 April 2012

Hanauma Bay & Waikiki

'The best snorkeling on Oahu' - that was how the brochure described Hanauma Bay, so we booked ourselves on to a bus.  At 7am we waited for it to turn up. And waited. At 7:30 we went back to the room. At 8:30 we were finally picked up and we were off!

Hanauma Bay was formed after sea levels rose flooding an extinct volcanic crater. It became a tourist destination in the 1930s and hit a peak in the 1990s. Overuse had a negative impact on the bay, and from 1991 visitor numbers have been limited and must attend a video briefing before entering the water.

Hanauma Bay
After the mandatory video which told us not to step on the coral or feed the fish, we trekked down to the beach.

Should have gone to Specsavers
The water was freezing and quite choppy, so visibility wasn't the best.  It was also low tide so the levels were low, but the fish were about!






And after the disappointment of not seeing a turtle at the Great Barrier Reef, we finally saw one! Amazing!










After the excitement of the Turtle, we headed back to Waikiki and practiced our laying around by the beach skills!



After being so lazy all week, an overcast day gave us the opportunity to have a little wander around town.



Hawaii Five-0

The locals 'car' park
We came across a statue that was decorated with leis. The statue was Duke Paoa Kahanamoku (1890-1968), who was born and raised in Waikiki, and is seen as a representation of the Hawaiian culture. Duke was an Olympic champion winning three golds, two silvers and a bronze metal in four Olympic games between 1912 and 1922. He is also known as the Father of International Surfing having introduced the sport to Hawaii.  During his lifetime, the Duke was a movie actor, political figure, and true hero, the reason why many Hawaiians decorate him daily.

The Duke

Diamond Head from the breakwater
Although we were ultimately lazy in Hawaii, we had a great time.

Long live the Aloha Spirit!






Aloha!

At 8:45pm on Friday 30 March we took off from Sydney Kingsford Smith airport and after a 10 hour fight landed at 9:45am on Friday 30 March in Honolulu! Odd!

We headed straight for the beach; the sun was out, the sky was blue and the beach was quiet.

Bliss!
We didn't really move much for the rest of the day, just watched the world whiz by (although some of the people we watched were a little odd!) 



























The next day we woke up early and headed to Diamond Head, an extinct volcano formed about 150,000 years ago.  


A little hill
By 8:30am we had paid our $1 entry fee and were climbing! 

Nice n easy
The climb was fairly easy (compared to our NZ hikes!) but the views from the top were amazing!

East from halfway up

Northwards from the summit

Waikiki

A bit windy! 

Diamond Head Lighthouse

Diamond Head got its name after sailors discovered what they believed were diamonds in the rocks on the volcano's slopes in the 1820s. Although the sailor's diamonds turned out to be clear calcite crystals, the name Diamond Head has been associated with the crater ever since.

After all that exercise we headed straight back to the beach and didn't move!  


We couldn't come all the way to Hawaii without playing in the waves!

Looks simple! 
 Kai Sallas is a world champion surfer. David Shaw is not. Kai led the way.

It all starts with choosing a wave and then paddling like mad!

Paddle!

 Once you catch the wave, slide the knees forward...

Smile Kai!

...swivel the feet and stand...

Easy!


 ...and then fall off!
No balance!
 But if at first you don't succeed...

Getting better!

..and then it is just plain easy! 

Cheese!

Sweet as
After a beak for lunch (and for DS to get his breath back!), we both grabbed some body boards and hit the sea!
Hang Loose!

Nice body 
 As soon as we hit the sea, the waves gave up and it became as flat as a pancake!

Where are the bloody waves?
The next day they returned!

A bit big for us!


No way were we going into those!