Category: Venice

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New Venice Skate Park: Open for Ripping

Below, photos from opening day at the Venice Beach Skate Park. I biked down to the park early, with my morning cup of coffee in hand, and took photos before the official opening. Then I returned in the afternoon to see the action. Hundreds were there to take to the concrete. The action shots below capture a couple of girls ripping.–Stef McDonald

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Weekend Fun: Venice Skate Park


The new Venice Skate Park opens Saturday, October 3 (the photo above was taken last week), with expected appearances by Dogtown Boyz Jay Adams, Tony Alva, Jessie Martinez, and Geri Lewis. Photo of the finished park after we visit.–Stef McDonald

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Give a Hoot: Coastal Cleanup Day


Saturday was Heal the Bay‘s Coastal Cleanup Day. Records were set for participation (more than 14,000 registered volunteers) and production (more than 300,000 pounds of trash), with organized trash collection efforts taking place in 60 countries, 60 of them in Los Angeles. The photo above was taken near my home, where I was heartened to see lots parents with their kids at work. Of course, if people would only pick up after themselves, the trash take would be lower and there would be no real need for such volunteer efforts. If only… a girl can dream, right?

Below, some classic public service commercials on the subject.

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Good Luck Dolphins

I went out surfing last week in Venice with a new surfer girl. Jillian is the niece of a friend and was visiting from the East Coast. She’s a teen and had taken some surf lessons, popping up on her soft board in the white water for a few days. The water was pretty flat on the morning we met for our surf and she was sleepy-eyed and quiet, saying only that she wanted to chill on the beach for a while. I convinced her that we should paddle out past the breakers and see what we might catch. The waves were few and far between, but the water was warm and it was a pretty morning. Then, up popped the head of a sea lion within feet of us–and this woke Jillian up fast. Shortly after that, we spotted dolphins and and she was all smiles. Me, too; I never tire of seeing dolphins out in the water. I told her that I believe it’s good luck when you see dolphins swim by. Is that true? she asked. I told her I made it up but believed it. “Well, I’ll bet it’s good luck somewhere,” she said. Good answer. I agreed and told her that it was good luck in California if you saw a dolphin in the water. . . The photo above comes from Lisa Denning, whose gallery of dolphins can be found here.

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Stick It: Hot Dogs and Chocolate Bananas





Two summer treats in the neighborhood are served on sticks: the frozen banana covered in chocolate and nuts from Charly Temmel’s ice cream shop in Venice and the corn dog from the Hot Dog on a Stick stand in Santa Monica. They’re best enjoyed while riding your bike one-handed at the beach.