Once again, we were on home turf and this marked the end of our trip. After our whirlwind tour of Asia and Australia, I had to admit that when I saw the iconic "LAX" and the "arch" at Los Angeles Airport, it made me smile. No place like home. Well, actually this was a stop over and we wouldn't be home until the following day. But in true "Conover style" we weren't letting any real estate go unexplored.
After checking into our hotel for one night's stay, we had a full day to wander. So we hopped a tour bus to Santa Monica Beach and Pier. The weather was gorgeous...bright blue skies and temperatures around mid 70's F (23-23C).
Santa Monica Pier is a prominent 100 year old landmark of California. It marks the end of the famous Route 66 roadway that runs 2,451 miles (3,944 km) across America and which begins in Chicago, Illinois.
Santa Monica Beach was spectacular - very wide with firm sand. Reminded me a bit of Daytona Beach back home in Florida.
The pier contained an amusement park called Pacific Park complete with Ferris wheel, roller coaster, games and concessions. It was colorful with a "Coney Island" feel.
Of note, the Ferris wheel was state of the art and solar powered. Smart to harness so much sunshine. This pier has been featured in a massive amount of films, television series, depicted in video games and portrayed in music videos. In the land of Hollywood, it is a true star.
The pier itself is actually two adjoining piers whose construction dates back to the very early 1900's. The building that currently housed the carousel was formerly known as the Santa Monica Looff Hippodrome and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The pier has undergone many structural and name changes due to storms and progress. It used to be home to the La Monica Ballroom in 1924 accommodating 5,000 dancers on its 15,000 square foot maple wood dance floor. In the mid-1950's, the Hollywood Autocade opened at the La Monica with 100 famous and unusual cars, including one owned by Jack Benny. From 1958 to 1962, the ballroom served as a roller skating rink. Finally, the La Monica Ballroom was demolished in 1963.
I had read about a hot dog vendor on the pier called Japadog that was a bit unusual. The small stand has been featured on the Today Show, the Travel Channel, Good Morning America, Anthony Bourdain's show, the ABC News and has fed celebrities, Olympians, singers, news anchors and chefs...just to name a few. So...we had to try it. I have to admit that the selections were unique such as the Beef Terimayo (all beef dog with fried onions, teriyaki sauce, Japanese mayo and seaweed) or the Okonomi (pork bratwurst, fried cabbage, dried fish flakes, Japanese mayo and special sauce). However, the dogs we had (I had the Beef Terimayo at $5.25 and my husband had the Hot and Spicy at $5.00) were "ehhh" at best and were not the "flavor explosion" we were expecting. Oh well, we tried it.
The next day it was back to the Los Angeles Airport and our flight home brought us back to Fort Lauderdale.
Where will we be off to next?
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