Back to the beach bunnies later. Santa Monica is not only a playground with a decidedly sand, sun and surfboard beachside attitude and attributes, but, a flourishing aboreteum of diverse art in a myriad of mediums, where culture takes root and thrives in an eclectic urban greenhouse of kaliedescopic creativity, nourished by a mixture of artistic compost in an avant garden.
The city itself is adorned resplendantly in art, including statues and murals, and with over 65 museums in the city, there is plenty to feed the vultures of culture, and those mavens who crave a hypodermic needle fix of art injected into the psyche and soul. It's a veritable galaxy of close to 90 galleries of artistic expression, including the Godfather of all Santa Monica galleries, the saucy Santa Monica Museum of Art. As a personal promoter of proletarian outdoor let-your-hair-down-art displays myself, as I refer to them, art power to the people is prevalent with numerous in your face art projects and commissions prominently displayed for public consumption and contemplation.
A beachside playground, with art to google at, is that all? Is that all there is to Santa Monica? Not by a longshot amigo's y amiga's! It's also been hit with a tsunami of sustainability, and in that regard, has earned it's stripes, and today ranks as one of the top ten sustainable cities in the United States. Not bad for a promiscuous Pacific Playground. Examples given by the City of Santa Monica is that they use 100% renewable electrical power and have at press time transformed 70% of it's heavy duty vehicles and equipment to clean air fuel technologies. Even at the beachside park, they can boast the inclusion of the Pacific Wheel, the worlds first solar powered Ferris wheel. The behemoth is powered by the benevolent and powerful hydrogen forces of the sun, and it also has a dual role as it also creates energy for other applications. The solar wheel is self-sustaining, replacing more than it uses, and all in a most natural way, and in effect is the way of the future, which is long overdue in the arena of energy use and consumption in this country where energy gluttony is the norm and not an aberration.
Being coastal, marine biology is an educational study that can also be entertaining. The Santa Monica Aquarium has a diverse array of microcosmic marine ecosystems for educational purposes inspiring awe and wonder at the lively specimens of sealife that are just off shore in a hidden underwater Octopus' Garden. Green is more than a buzzword to be used lightly. While most cities and towns can boast of having a tree or two and calling it a "greenspace," Santa Monica has more than 400 plus green acres of wide open spaces laced with a network of swimming pools, tennis courts, jogging, biking paths and trails, and even, ready for this one? Try your hand at a rousing round of lawn bowling! They have the courts set up anyway so you may as well give it a try!
Organically speaking, there are a variety of vegan restaurants and places to nosh naturally, along with organic food stores and a few farmers markets that are large and offer a cornucopia of foods for healthy eating. Being an avid mountain biker myself, I always tend to stress the biking opportunities of the region that I am writing about, so my addiction warrants me telling you about a marvelous route in Santa Monica that very well may be the Holy Grail Trail of the tribe of two wheels...the Southbay Bicycle Trail. It traverses the beach and the oceanside for over 20 miles for views of some the most spectacular drop dead scenery on this side of the solar system (I've been to the other side and can speak from experience)
Healthy eating is not only relegated to cafes and eateries that attract the granola crowd like crows to roadkill, but farmer's markets are abundant. Some of them even have visits and demonstrations by local chefs who are rock stars in their own culinary way. Hours vary from location to location so you may want to check ahead for market schedules and special events by calling the Market Hotline at (310) 458-8712.
Back to the beach! Pacific Park on the pier as playground opened in 1909 and has grown into a giant of the amusement park planet with a dozen or so rides, not to mention the Pacific Wheel and the five story, West Coaster coaster and arcade and midway games for all ages. For the pathfinder and explorer, there is the Ocean Front Walk for a leisurely stroll lined with shops and restaurants and there is a Viking ship in the middle of all of this. They say the kids will enjoy it, but if like me, there is a little pirate in you, you will too, so grab and eyepatch and get ready to walk the plank Matey's.
Santa Monica is a southern California adrenalin rush of the first degree. It's not only fun for real live sons of the beach, the surf crowd, the vegans, but for pirates and those young at heart as well!