Beaches, Boobs and Muscles

What a different world, again... Somehow we liked the Oregon coast better than the californian part... Right now we are sitting on our hotel balcony with ocean view in Venice Beach, called "Muscle Beach", first of all because Arnold Schwarzenegger started his carreer as a bodybuilder here.

The name of the town came from a strange tobacco milionaire by name Abbot Kinney who dreamt of a a beach resort similar to Venice, a "Venice of America", in 1905 and started to built channels. Nowadays the main attraction is the waterfront with kitschy, shabby huts rowing up along the promenade, selling cheap souvenirs, sunglasses and swimwear; there are street performers and bums, druggies and skaters, young people living in the park, a top-notch skater park and other playgrounds, bars and restaurants - all populated by a very colorful, crazy group of people, mostly Californians. You'll have to get used to this lifestyle...




This morning we drove down the coast from SLO on Hwy. 101 - through a large wine growing region - to Santa Barbara. Since we were listening hard and noticed a strange noise at the left front wheel of our tiny little car we decided to drive to the Santa Barbara Airport to exchange it. The manager checked it out himself, approved our concerns and - after about an hour - we had a new, bigger car, a nice Hyundai with just the right trunk for our luggage. Before that, we really looked like "traveling tramps" with the back seats turned down and luggage piles covered by a blanket.

Checked out Santa Barbara then, quaint and very pittoresque, but also pretty touristic with many shops, restaurants etc. Many spanish-style buildings in downtown, but flagship is the Mission Santa Barbara, known as "the Queen of the Missions," founded in 1786. The Spanish period ended in 1822 with the Mexican War, which terminated 300 years of colonial rule. Then the mexicans took over for 24 years, before becoming american.

Drove further down the coast - slog progress because of two-lane-traffic. Perhaps many drivers were admiring Malibu's gorgeous mansions along the road...? Wondering who's living there... Arrived to our Hotel Erwin in Venice Beach at 5 pm, got a nice top-floor room, checked out the rooftop lounge, went for a walk along the promenade and the beach

and, eventually, had dinner on the balcony. For a change we enjoyed bread, hummus and cheese with fresh delicious avocado, mango and oranges plus ABC chardonnay from Santa Barbara.