What is it about traveling that makes one stay up all hours of the night before they have to get up at the butt crack of dawn to catch a plane somewhere? For some unknown reason, Robb Green and I jetted all around San Francisco until 3 am on a Wednesday night -- along with many other people it seemed, because the bars were hoppin', despite the Wednesday factor. I was finally in bed at 3:30 and had to wake up at 6:30 to catch a plane to LA. Needless to say, I was pretty tired when I boarded the short flight. Having decided to leave on Thursday just two days before, I was lucky enough to snag the last seat on this flight and still use my Alaska Air miles. Yay for air miles!
I arrived at LAX at 9:30 am and caught a cab to Venice Beach where I was set to stay with Vivek, a friend I had met at the Seattle September Oktoberfest in Fremont (Washington). The cab driver was a little lost finding the spot. Once we eventually did, though, I realized that I should have given him these directions: Drive to the center of the Venice Beach boardwalk and go east one street. Because that is where Vivek lives -- virtually right on the beach!!
My timing was just right for Venice (also known as Muscle Beach), as his roommate Leanne was out of town until Monday morning. Thus, I was able to enjoy a room to myself for much of my time there. Alone time is quintessential for traveling, especially if one is an introvert like myself. I wheeled all my bags inside and crashed out in the luxurious all-white bed.
I napped most of the day until Vivek came home from work at 6pm. In fact, my entire time there consisted of so much sleeping that Vivek took to calling me 'Baby Jen'. I took it in stride, though, because sleeping is a healthy psychedelic experience.
One of my biggest lessons during my time as a traveler is to learn to ground, or find my center, regardless of where I am. I moved out of my apartment in North Seattle in March. Instead of finding a new home, I decided to store my possessions with various friends and carry my home in my heart. I'm literally homeless, but virtually rooted. I travel with a few items to lay out when I reach a new destination in order to help make every resting stop a cozy nest. One such item is a small portable altar with various trinkets to remind me of my intentions: A buddha (for wisdom), a rock from Masil's rock garden (for support), a Native American tile from Mel Sky (for vision), a blade shaped from glass (for security) and a teddy bear pin from my childhood (for playfulness). I also have two new ornaments that I have acquired from this trip: a bass guitar pik from the floor of Annie's Social Club and another rock from Venice Beach, reminders of all I've picked up along my way.
When Vivek arrived home from work we took a short walk to a restaurant down Pacific street to meet up with some of his other friends from Seattle that were in town. We played it pretty mellow that night, though, as I knew we would be going out plenty over the weekend. We watched Anchorman on his huge flat-screen TV and retired early.
Vivek and Leanne's shower is the best shower on the West Coast. It has two nozzles and hot water for well over 45 minutes. I know this because I stayed in there Friday morning with the rain-like water falling over me for almost 40 minutes. It was heavenly! After my shower, I enjoyed a leisurely morning of Pilates, breakfast and some light reading (I love the perks of the artists' lifestyle!). By afternoon I decided to hit the beach. I packed a bag and headed out to walk along the water and stare at the ocean. I hiked from the Northern most side of Venice along the water to both over and under the Santa Monica Pier. There were many couples, families and singles out enjoying the warm weather and bright sunshine. I wondered if every boardwalk in California hosted a roller coaster and I giggled when I saw a restaurant called 'Bubba Shrimp Co'.
I decided to return to Venice from Santa Monica on Pacific street instead of the Boardwalk. I passed shops and natural food markets. I stopped into The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf whose ambiance was much better than their bean. I sat outside next to two gentlemen playing speed chess, read the LA Weekly and watched passer-bys, gaining a feel for the city, its people and its issues.
One noticeable thing about Venice Beach is the high population of Homeless people. They are generally peaceful hippie types that will do such things as help direct you out of your parking spot during times of high car and foot traffic. Once in a while they do get in fights and can be a bit loud at times, but after a while you become accustomed to their sleeping bags littering the streets with human lumps each night. When Vivek and I arrived home one night, two lumps were sleeping in the space between the car next to Vivek's parking spot. One sleepily moved his grocery bag out of the way as we parked and I hopped out the driver's side.
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I was happy to have taken enough time to sleep and ground when I arrived, because the next three days would be action packed. I'm connected to a DJ that lives in Venice Beach named Dave Sweeten through a mutual affiliation called Dreemworld. He was holding an event that night called 'Demon Cleaner' at a secret spot somewhere in the city. There was no address posted. You had to call a phone number to receive the location of a downtown parking lot and wait for a shuttle that would take you to the destination. Wait a minute, you are saying, that sounds like a -- yes, a Rave! And old-fashioned secret-spot-abandoned-warehouse-renegade-rave, bespattered with Burning Man. I've always been more of a club kid than a Raver, but still, how fun! We reached the secret parking lot spot and climbed into the unmarked shuttle behind two burners dressed in goth-esque garments and white face paint. 'Wow', said Vivek, 'I didn't know it was a costume party!' At a burner-esque event, my virgin friend, anything goes.
The space was huge and decorated with couches and red lighting. There was a bar on one side of a wall and a DJ booth on the other. We headed over to grab a drink and say hello to the lovely and talented ladies dancing with hula hoops . Vivek jumped in showed us his hip shaker. He also found a scary mask to sport! But decided on a look that was far more fitting and fun. I said hello to Dave Sweeten and thanked him for the invitation. I was happy to see that another Seattle resident was at the party. Novatron was booked to play his 'serious sonic wizardry'. I spent some time chatting with him and getting to know him a little better, something that can be tricky to do when hosting parties in our shared city.
The party ended around 6 am and we piled into the shuttle to head home. After much hoola hooping, dancing and conversations with locals, Vivek's first Rave was a smashing success. So enjoyable, in fact, that he was ready to do it again the next night. Rockstar! I made sure to sleep most of the day to prepare myself for another all-nighter.
More pics from Venice Beach and the LA Underground.
Stay Tuned for 'Venice Beach and the LA Underground - Part II' !
