This Way to the Beach

I can barely sit up in my bed, but I need to eat something. It’s already been two days since I was stuck wandering Hollywood Hills trying to get to the sign, but I still feel the pain in my legs and feet. The routes according to Apple Maps and Google Maps didn’t work and I had trouble finding my way out. Six hours of walking can be pretty normal for a tourist, but those hills kicked my ass!

 

This is as close as I managed to get...

Yesterday, I stayed in the hostel except to eat. It was a good thing too because I have a ton of scheduling to still take care of. My plans for Australia are coming together, though nothing is booked and I still don’t have a way of leaving.

To take things lighter, I thought it would be a good idea to go to the beach. I knew it was too far to walk since I tried that (unsuccessfully) my first day here, so I bought a day-pass for the underground. I can’t call it the metro because some of the buses are also labelled that, but thankfully the pass works for everything. The LA Metro was a big disappointment after being in Europe where the trains come a lot more frequently.

I took the red line and transferred to the Expo line headed west into Culver City. Unfortunately, after walking for a while towards Venice Beach, I realized that I was still over an hour away by foot. I waited for a bus and that’s when I realized the metro pass worked there as well.

At the beach, I was surprised at the number of people in sweaters. As a Canadian, I thought it was pretty decent weather, though in reality, the temperature was at that ambiguous state between warm and cool. For someone with Raynaud’s, it’s the worst kind of temperature, but I’d be damned if I was going to be on a California beach with long sleeves.

Starting in Venice Beach, I strolled north along the strip of shops and then took off my shoes and walked through the water. Eventually, I made it to Santa Monica Beach where I took some time to relax before heading back. The water from the Pacific Ocean was cold, but it numbed the pain in my feet, so I forced myself to continue.

Having returned to Venice Beach, I thought that I would continue on to the Marina Del Rey. Again, I was deceived by the scale of my map and gave up the walk. Instead, I returned to the bus and made an extra stop at Exposition Park to take some pictures.

Even by trying to keep the walking to a minimum, today still turned out to be too much. I was excited to step in the Pacific Ocean for the first time and Exposition Park was fairly nice, but I need to tune it down a bit. All this walking is going to get me stuck in this hot-boxed city.