Many of Venice’s streets used to be canals, but are now home to murals, historic homes, and art galleries of all types.

The Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – The Completed Edition–takes a distinctive look at both the Venice of today and of yesterdays.

Spanning just over 4 miles, this walking tour highlights Venice’ history, architecture, beach, shopping, and much, much more.

Each of the Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – The Completed Edition’s 68 postcard size pages–tells many stories of a city on the precipice of both its revolution and evolution.

Complete with maps, a detailed history, and photos this walking tour starts and ends one block from the beach; but spans a city with a rich past and a energetic future.

Priced at only $4.99, the price of a couple of coups of coffee, you’ll bring a bit of paradise to you – for you to always enjoy.

Or how about doing some window shopping?

Or maybe you need to find a cool gift?

Have you walked along Abbott Kinney Boulevard yet?

Home to both home-grown artists and nationally recognized designs, Abbott Kinney is a mix of modern style and old world charm. Stretching one mile between Main Street and Venice Boulevard, Abbott Kinney Boulevard, as KCET puts it, is “a new Rodeo Drive with attitude.”

And that attitude is going to get much bigger this weekend.

On Sunday, September 25^th, from 10:00am until 6:00pm, the 27th Annual Abbott Kinney Festival is taking place.

With music, food, and over 100 participating shops, this year’s Abbott Kinney Festival purpose is “promote the vibrant creativity that makes the beachside community of Venice, California so unique.”

And this year’s Festival may be its biggest and best yet.

In addition, the Abbot Kinney Festival seeks to be an environmentally and socially responsible event. Following are just a few examples of what they are currently doing to reduce their ecological footprint:

1. We encourage food vendors to provide biodegradable utensils and attendees to bring reusable utensils, shopping bags, and beverage containers to avoid excessive waste.

2. We strive to be paperless as much as possible. Our registration is online and publicity materials are distributed electronically. Other items are designed with reuse in mind such as our festival program guides, which are printed using recycled newsprint and soy-based ink.

3. Everything that can be recycled is done so to the best of our ability. Bins are placed throughout the festival for use by attendees and vendors. Banners are either constructed using recycled materials or designated for recycling or repurposing.

4. We urge attendees to use greener modes of transportation. Use our bike valet stations, carpool with friends, walk from nearby parking lots, or take the bus.

5. Our music stages are powered with biodiesel generators.

The Festival sounds great, but don’t just visit Abbott Kinney one day a year. It’s meant to be savored on a regular basis.

Here are a few things you might see on any given morning:

However, if you don’t, you’ll definitely want to view Linnie Canal Park.

Here, you’ll find a small area that has been set aside as a resting and gathering place for the flying fowl.

The park, which is very small—when compared to others here— it has a fantastic gym set, a small walking bridge, and a few places to sit.

For toddlers–and others, it’s a perfect corner.

And after a day of touring the Canals, it remains a welcome spot to let loose a wee bit or energy.

Now it’s time to keep “Truckin’” and moving on, (Many thanks to the late, great, Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead, for such an appropriate and prescient term).

And this time, we’ll finally make it to the very spot where the Venice Canals begins–which is one of my favorite places here in Los Angeles–not just its entrance; but the Venice Canals in its entirety, as we’ll be soon rolling out our brand new E-book.

Fortunately, I’m able to spend much of my quality and needed time at the beautiful Venice Canals as many times that I desire; but each time I do–I see something that piques my interest anew because I didn’t see it before and it also catches my attention as well. (To be frank I don’t think my interest in the Venice Canals will ever be satiated; but until that time, which may be never, as you can see and very soon purchase, I’m a happy camper in the way things presently are.)

Here’s the Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 8:

Judging by how many more places I have on this tour, there will probably be at least three more articles before Travelin’ Local’s Venice e-Book is completed. And by judging by the tremendous amount of feedback we’ve received, it will be our denouement–as well as being totally cool dudes–to use parlance I learned from the locals there, and the line from actor, Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli, in the movie, Fast Times at Ridgemount High.

But I transgress–I hope you enjoy reading each and every one of our walking tours and purchase our latest ultra-hip and cool e-Book–which will soon be hot off the presses:

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 7

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 6

Venice (Canals Included) Walking Tour – Part 5

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 4

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 3

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 2

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 1

Among Hopper’s images and pictures, included are Los Angeles’ vast urban landscape as well as photographs of movie sets, gallery openings, and his co-stars including Paul Newman, and a myriad of co-artists that he considered part of his peer network.

Hopper came as a pioneering free spirit to live in Los Angeles, because he moved here from Kansas, making him part of Hollywood lore as a gifted actor that led to his storied life–one that blessed Dennis with boundless enthusiasm, dynamism and energy–and most importantly—one that embraced him as much as he embraced it.

Therefore, we come to see Hopper’s ongoing veduta motif–that he instinctively viewed LA as larger than life (both literally and psychologically); and because of that we also come to understand Hopper’s artistic and stylistic leanings–he saw Los Angeles as a living atavistic organism to be remembered on his camera’s film silver gelatin; making it transparent–so that we can easily see Hopper’s benevolent and warm heart toward his surroundings—art imitating life.

Interestingly, his friend, Painter Ed Ruscha’s images, are reflective of Hopper’s emotional interpretation of our urban landscape here.

From the beginning, Hopper took an early and in-depth interest in California art and artists—giving credence and impetus to his incredibly adept mind and eye—and as testimony to his innate knowledge to what was going on in his own backyard; ultimately with him, becoming its elder statesman and icon.

When you could count on the fingers of one hand Hollywood figures who bought modern art, Hopper completely committed himself across the boards without question to the work of the Pop artists. New; chilling; and as efficient as the electric chair; it was so contemporary hardly anybody could see it. Tony Shafrazi, Modern Art Collector and Gallery Owner

It’s obvious that Dennis Hopper was comfortable in his skin in all 3 worlds that he played such a pronounced impact and influence in—the Cinematic, the artistic, and being the artist.

Hopper’s eye level “found object” form of composition, was, at that time, practically non-existent.

In TASCHEN’s Dennis Hopper Photographs 1961-1967, we’re a witness to the historic preservation and perseverance of Hopper’s tremendous talent and body of work; including many images that hereto had never been published.

Dennis Hopper (1936-2010) was an acclaimed artist, actor, screenwriter, and director who first impressed audiences with his performances in Rebel Without A Cause (1955) and Giant (1956). He changed the face of American cinema with Easy Rider (1969), which he co-wrote, directed, and starred in.

Hopper went on to act in hundreds of memorable films and television shows, including Apocalypse Now (1979), Blue Velvet (1986), Hoosiers (1986), True Romance (1993), Elegy (2008), and the TV series Crash (2008). Hopper began painting as a child and started taking photos in 1961, after his then wife Brooke Hayward gave him a 35mm Nikon camera for his birthday. His paintings and photography have been exhibited all over the world, including the recent retrospective, "Dennis Hopper and the New Hollywood" in Paris. Dennis Hopper tragically and heart-wrenchingly passed away in an inordinate amount of personal suffering on May 29, 2010 in Venice, CA, shortly before the publications of both his signed TASCHEN compilation of the private book edition of his photographs, and shortly before the release of this TASCHEN Trade Edition publication.

Equal parts biography, curriculum vitae and a striking and vast archive of Hopper’s artistic photographs–partly an iconographic narrative–this book of Dennis Hopper’s photographic intimism, instantly infuses the reader into an immediate enthusiast of Hopper’s oeuvre during his exciting heyday as a Hollywood up-and coming enigmatic movie star—as well as a viewer of Hopper’s passionate contribution to California art and his dedication and participation to its art scene–which he gave freely and devoid of self-consciousness of ego but rather his boundless energy-cum-vision as if his life was one giant set-take which Dennis altruistically poured his heart and soul into; borne from his love of art, and his photographs were then shot by him as art for art’s sake.

For most of us—simply put– we call it genius. Hopper had an insatiable lust to carry his camera with him at all times and record everything and everyone that he encountered creating a form and content both avant-garde and as his automatism of the same.

An auto-didactic genius, Hopper’s photographs featured in this dynamic book, are a record of Hopper’s contagious and boundless talent and energy–which he put to movies as well as to his acting career.

His early dedication to both art and his art–and his association with many contemporary artists and art dealers and critics of his time, including—Andy Warhol, Billy Al Bengsten, Marcel Duchamp, Ed Moses, Ed Kienholz, Robert Irwin, Craig Kauffman, Walter Hopps, David Stewart, Roy Lichenstein and Ed Ruscha—are emblematically striking in that we come to understand and appreciate Hopper both as an artist and a free thinking photographer–creating modern art through his photographs that comprise a compositional methodology of his use of both forms and subjects-objects that were incorporating trends far ahead of his time.

His continuous representation of what he saw he immediately photographed.

Interestingly, Dennis Hopper first started taking photographs at the urging of his friend, James Dean. They had met and worked together in 1955 on the movie set of Rebel Without a Cause—Dean was 24 and Dennis, 18, forming a deep teacher-pupil friendship to the set of Giant in the plains of Marfa, Texas. Dennis’ roles in both pictures were small, but his ambitions were as big as the Texas sky. Jimmy Dean’s angelic looks, meteoric talent, a spellbinding method of acting had an undeniable impact on everyone who worked with him. Dennis was quick to recognize the sheer genius and power of this new style of acting—one without preconceived ideas, living in the moment, and performing as a “way of being.” aka “method acting.”

From this—it’s not a huge leap of faith to understand on a deeper level how and why Hopper’s natural photographic genius emerged from this genesis.

Dennis Hopper – A reluctant icon captures a decade of cultural transformation.

During the 1960s, Dennis Hopper carried a camera everywhere—on film sets and locations, at parties, in diners, bars and galleries, driving on freeways and walking on political marches. He photographed movie idols, pop stars, writers, artists, girlfriends, and complete strangers. Along the way he captured some of the most intriguing moments of his generation with a keen and intuitive eye.

A reluctant icon at the epicenter of that decade’s cultural upheaval, Hopper documented the likes of Tina Turner in the studio, Andy Warhol at his first West Coast show, Paul Newman on set, and Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
From a selection of photographs compiled by Hopper and gallerist Tony Shafrazi—more than a third of them previously unpublished—this extensive volume distills the essence of Hopper’s brilliantly prodigious photographic career. Also included are introductory essays by Tony Shafrazi and legendary West Coast art pioneer Walter Hopps, and an extensive biography by journalist Jessica Hundley. With excerpts from Victor Bockris’s interviews of Hopper’s famous subjects, friends, and family

This TASCHEN volume is an unprecedented exploration of the life and mind of one of America’s most fascinating personalities.

And to be sure, she isn’t alone in her thoughts and desires. Venice is truly a distinct beach town, and not a day it seems doesn’t pass, without a new and stylish restaurant, boutique, or ultra-modern building being built or finished.

And because of its distinctiveness, its sublime Venice Canals, fresh air along with so much more, it truly is a one-of-a-kind place–which is why I keep going back.

When we last left our Venice (Canals Included) Walking Tour, we were in Windward Circle, admiring the rich history and iconic architecture here.

Now, we’ll be making another stop before we plumb the intriguing beauty and admire the residential areas of Venice.

So, let’s get started:

To enjoy Parts 1-5, of the Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour, here are the links:

Venice (Canals Included) Walking Tour – Part 5

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 4

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 3

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 2

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 1

Although this tour totals a little over 4 miles in distance, it’s jammed packed with all things Venice, which is long enough for the mind, body and soul to absorb and to make you fall in love with this little place of paradise, to the point that you too will probably be saying that that’s “where you want to live.”

It’s the heart and soul of Abbott Kinney’s vision of bringing Venice, Italy to California.

While on our walking tour of the newly redeveloped and gentrified Venice, it gives us a glimpse of Kinney’s original plans for Venice that he conceptualized 100 years ago, when many of its streets were canals traversed by both boats and gondolas.

Now, Venice has a population estimated to be over 40,000 with and a median household income $67,057, making it one of Los Angeles’ most vibrant and eclectic neighborhoods in the country.

Today’s Part 5 of Travelin’ Local’s Venice (Canals Included) Walking Tour was created to provide even more information and background about Venice’s history and architecture:

If you’d like to see Parts 1-4, here’s the links:

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 4

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 3

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 2

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 1

Next, we’ll include Part 6 of this eclectic, exciting, and informative post about one of our city’s more interesting neighborhoods and reminder of our cultural, historical, and physical heritage that’s been able to grow and prosper right alongside the rest of LA.
]]> http://www.travelinlocal.com/venice-canals-included-walking-tour-part-5/feed/ 0 http://www.travelinlocal.com/walkways-are-streets-in-venice/ http://www.travelinlocal.com/walkways-are-streets-in-venice/#comments Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:27:47 +0000 Lisa Newton http://www.travelinlocal.com/?p=25022 Part of Los Angeles’ charm is the various “streets” that aren’t really streets at all.

For example, if you’ve ever been to the Music Box Steps, which isn’t just the name of the stairs, but also the name of a “street,” you’d discover houses that are only accessible via the stairs.

Venice has something similar to this, but in this case, the “streets” are actually walkways.

Because the smaller streets are “walkways,” I’ve highlighted a few of these via the walk in the map below.

View Untitled in a larger map

Based on my personal experience, walking is the best way to enjoy Venice, especially as you’re able to traverse the walkways which are close to the beach.

If you decide to drive here to enjoy all that Venice has to offer, street parking is available, especially on Main Street and the neighboring side streets.

It has a rich history dating back to before the turn of the century, complete with dreams of bringing art and culture via a 1200-foot-long pleasure pier with an auditorium, ship restaurant, dance hall, and even an amusement park.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at Part 4 of the Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour:

If you’d like to visit the Parts 1-3, here are the links:

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 3

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 2

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 1

At this point in time, I’m not completely sure how many parts it will eventually include, but whether it’s 5, 9, or ten posts, you’re guaranteed to have fun reading and participating in our Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour.

I originally visited them while I visited and wrote the small map, and now I’m in the process of creating the Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour.

On Sunday, however, there’s going to be an annual special event. Even though it’s in its 29^th year–I’ve never attended, but this year I am, so why don’t you?

It’s more commonly known as The Annual Holiday Boat Parade “– Light up the Night”

Just imagine, colorful lights of all shapes and sizes, lining the bridges that crisscross the Canal, and the neighborhood houses, with trees flickering and their lights, reindeer crossing someone’s yard, and magical Santas watching over everything, just waiting to be seen.

And the lights don’t stop with the houses and bridges.

This year, the Venice Canal Association, is also encouraging everyone to light up of the hedges. With the lights as part of the Parade, as their reflection upon on the water is certain to be a wonderful experience, I can hardly wait.

If you’d like to see it, the House and Bridge Decorating Contest will be held on Saturday, December 11^th, at 6:00pm, and the Boat Parade will be held on Sunday, December 12^th, at 4:00pm.

The Parades starting location is at the corner of Carroll and Grand Canal.

So far, we’ve completed about ½ a mile of the total part of the approximate 4 mile walking tour. At this point, we’ve looked at interesting architecture, public murals, and also learned a bit of Venice’s history, but we still have a lot of ground–not to use a pun–to cover, a lot more places to see, and more local areas to check out.

So, let’s get to the heart of this unique place; its color, its character, and its charm–that can only be found in Venice CA:

And for those who haven’t followed all of the Venice (Canals included ) Walking Tour so far, here’s our first two installments:

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 1

Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour – Part 2

And stay tuned, Part 4 is already in the works.

Unlike today, it wasn’t raining, and it was still fairly early, but the activity was still in full swing. Venice has such a unique vibe to it. Each time I go, I discover something new.

And this weekend morning was no different.

I’ve already written about my discovery of a new mural, Venice-kinesi, which is replacing Venice Reconstituted, both by well-known muralist, Rip Cronk.

However, the new discoveries dydn’t stop there.

Even though I’ve been to this location several times and seen the artwork on the ground, I never noticed this particular part where the name VENICE is spelled.

Of course, on any given day, you might find someone feeding the various fowl that inhabit this section of the beach:

This gentleman has quite a following, just look at the size of his bread bag.

Of course, on any given day, you’ll find the Venice Graffiti Artists in full swing.

Everyday on the Venice Art Walls, the Graffiti Artists create new images that are full of color, images, and life. After all, how many places can you go and watch the artwork unfold right in front of you?

And what are all of these people looking at?

The Venice Skate Park of course.

This is the first time I had the opportunity to visit the Park, which just celebrated its one year anniversary last month. It’s fun to watch the various skateboards and what they can do.

In addition to the activities listed above, on any given weekend morning in Venice, or weekday, you’ll find an endless array of things to do and to keep you busy around here–swimming, surfing, biking, walking, shopping, eating, and having a ton of fun once a month at Venice’s First Friday ion Abbott Kinney.

And this little story of mine was about how I spent my weekend morning in Venice in the very small section of it, just west of Windward Circle, right under the Venice sign.

First painted in 1989, and entitled Venice Reconstituted, the mural was commissioned by SPARC, and the Social and Public Art Resource Center.

The artist responsible for the mural is long time Venice artist, Rip Cronk, who was assisted by: Juan Burgueno Jr, Elizabeth Tenchavez, Bruce Smith, Dimitree Kadiev and Mishell Caldwell.

Here’s what the original mural looked like, which is courtesy of Cronk’s site:

Standing 21’ high x 100’ wide, Venice Reconstituted, is:

a frenetic pop-surrealistic portrait of the Venice Boardwalk in 1989. It is a parody not only of the Botticelli masterpiece, the Birth of Venus, but of the earlier Venice pavilion mural, Venice on the Half Shell. Parody provides a way to interface popular culture and art history. In the process, each validates the other as relevant in contemporary society. The ideals and values implied in the mural Venice Reconstituted are substantiated as the extension of a larger historical process that includes Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. Source: RipCronk.com

In 2009, this is the photo I took of the mural:

But unfortunately, you can see what the taggers did to the mural. I guess that’s what and why they call it “tagging,” but it’s totally disgusting.

But thanks to Cronk, the mural is undergoing a rebirth. When I visited Venice Beach on Saturday, I saw Cronk putting a few touches on the totally revamped Venice Reconstituted:

Standing 3 stories high, and with the gray space at the bottom, taggers might do their dirty work, but they will not be able to reach the art above unless they carry a ladder in their back pocket.

Although estimated to take a few more months to be complete, Venice-kinesis, the new name of this mural, is sure to be another fantastic addition to Venice Beach. Indeed, I’m counting the days when I can see the finished product.

Be that as it may, you can already see what the finished artwork will look like:

Taking into account the original 1989 version, previously you could only have seen a few feet of the top of the mural–but now, it’s nothing short of incredible.

Last week we shared with you a small portion of our upcoming Venice Walking Tour Part 1 of the Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour. and for today’s Part 2, we’ll take a closer look into the heart of Venice, along with some of its vaulted and interesting history.

In case you didn’t know it, Abbott Kinney Boulevard is named after the founder of Venice. In fact, over 100 years ago, Venice, wasn’t actually named with its moniker, rather it was called Ocean Park–and that was how it all got started.

Since Travelin’ Local’s newest Venice E-book tour will be finished soon, we’ll let you enjoy this part of the Walking Tour work its magic:

Part 3 of the Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour will be published later this week.

From the rich to the poor, its tattooed hipsters and its white guys playing B-Ball who can’t jump, Dogtown and Z-Boys skateboarders, alongside its senior citizens mingling around town; Venice has it all.

There’s a uniqueness about Venice that you won’t find in any other city.

According to Wikipedia, as of 2008, the Venice’s population is around 40,885, and its median household income is around $67,057, making it one the wealthiest neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

The racial and ethnic composition in Venice is:

White: 63.9%
Latino: 22.2%
African American: 5.6%
Asian: 3.7%
Other: 4.6%

But, enough about the demographics, let’s get to the good stuff.

Over the next few weeks, Travelin’ Local will be featuring a series of articles which will, in the end, make up our newest E-Book–The Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour.

The Venice Walking Tour, will not only feature its beautiful and intricate layers of canals, but will include over four miles of Venice’s culture, architecture, history, and will take you from its local beaches, to the heart of Abbot Kinney Boulevard.

Here are the first four pages of the Venice (Canals included) Walking Tour, to give you a flavor of this little gem of an E-Book:

Its purpose ostensibly is to highlight the free artistic spirit of Venice, and the Crawl will be the new monthly venue to assist in that endeavor every Thursday of each month.

A long time area for artists, freethinkers, and with its new influx of the creative class, Venice has a long history of being an artist’s haven, and the Art Crawl will feature both traditional galleries and pop-ups. Most of the action will take place between North Venice Blvd. and Westminster Avenue along Speedway and Ocean Front Walk.

For further details, here’s a rather creative map:

Not only do you get your choice of food trucks and music, you’ll also support the work being done by Achievable–”a community nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of life for persons with developmental disabilities by providing support to help them live more independent, productive lives.”

Tickets are $5.00, all the proceeds are for a good cause, and the following benefits below are what you can expect:

Westside Food Fest Features 14 food trucks:

Fishlips Sushi – Fresh sushi on the go
India Jones Chow Truck – Gourmet, authentic Indian food
Komodo – Street food with a gourmet twist
Munchie Machine – Sandwiches, salads, s’mores and other munchies
Mandoline Grill – Traditional and vegan Vietnamese treats
Dosa – South Indian street food with an LA twist
SliceTruck – Hugely delicious pizza
Phamish – Vietnamese comfort food
Vizzi Truck – Fine, coastal inspired cuisine
Del’s Frozen Lemonade – Soft, frozen Italian fruit ice
Ahn Joo – A mobile take on the Korean pub
Papas Tapas – Delectable Spanish appetizers
Sweets Truck – A gourmet bakeshop and coffeeshop
Maui Wowi – Fresh fruit smoothies, rich Hawaiian coffees and other authentic products

4 musical groups:

The Cowsills, Hanah Moon, Rio Wyles — MC SoulShocker, and Arrest My Sister

Plus, amazing raffle prizes, a marketplace and a community resource fair. So, on Saturday, July 31^st, head over to Venice High School from 12:00-4:00pm.

You can also purchase your tickets ahead of time right here.

During my bike ride in Marina last week, a family asked how me how to get to Venice. At the time, I was on a side street off the beaten path, and really wasn’t sure how to answer. In fact, I told them I thought Venice was about 4 miles away. Then they pulled out a map, which showed it was much closer. I was surprised. After all of us consulted the map, we figured out the best way for them to get there was via Ocean Avenue.

However, I wondered if there wasn’t a better and more scenic way to get from Venice to Marina del Rey—and vice versa. As yours truly loves to do Travelin’ Local’s research, this project was no different.

Is it possible to go from Venice to Marina del Rey via the Venice Canals and Ballona Creek?

Because I was totally new to this section of Ballona Creek, and have only been to the Canals twice before, I wasn’t completely knowledgeable about the best course to get from one place to another–but, I quickly learned.

After you enter the Venice Canals from Venice Boulevard, take a break and enjoy a walk through the canals. If it’s your first time here, you might want to look around as well. If you’re just going to Marina del Rey, just keep heading straight.

Once you reach Washington Boulevard, you’re faced with two choices–the obvious one is taking the trail to the left, but there’s also a trail on the right. Take the one to the left:

As you can see by the construction material in the photo, the ongoing restoration of the plant ecosystem is being heralded by volunteers. Here’s a photo taken on June 26^th, via the Ballona Institute’s facebook page:

If you noticed the trail on the right side, you can walk it for a while, until, at the end, you’ll find this:

I admit, this is a beautiful scene, except for the end of the sidewalk–it would be great if a walking bridge was built here connecting this trail with the trail on the other side of the lagoon.

But, by following the trail on the left as mentioned above, you’ll discover this trail also ends, sort of. After you pass a high rise apartment building, the trail turns into Via Dolce Street.

Turn right here and follow the sidewalk. You can’t see the canal, but Via Dolce leads right to the orange house at the far left of the photo above. That’s where the trail starts up again, leading past the beautiful scenery, bird habitats, and wonderful architecture.

From here, you can see where I made my earlier mistake:

See the sidewalk that ends on the right– I was standing there a few minutes ago.

To help you retrace and show my hike from Venice to Marina del Rey, I traced my steps and put them in the map below:

View Walking from Venice to Marina del Rey in a larger map

What will you find once you reach Marina del Rey or in the alternative what will you do once you reach Venice and its beautiful canals?

Amazing that each of the two beautiful spots are less than 2 miles away. To make a day of it, take your bike along and do the Marina del Rey Biking Route. Just be ready to walk your bike for a while. No bikes are allowed on the Ballona Creek Walking Trail.

What can I say? I love living in Los Angeles!

Baby Blues BBQ doesn’t take reservations, and the wait can be long if you show up at night. Maybe 30 minutes, or more.  However, I hear the lunch hour is not too bad. Be patient, come prepared to wait; I’ve always seen people waiting out front when I drive by, which is usually the mark of a worthy restaurant. They opened in 2004, and I reason that if a restaurant can keep ‘em coming back and waiting on Lincoln for years, it should at least be worth one try. Parking can be tough: but you can park in the Fox parking lot across the street which will save you time and energy of cruising around and looking for street parking.

Even after you’ve gotten a table, you’ll still have to wait, but good food should take awhile, and the decor of the place offers enough to entertain. According to the menu, the fastest thing you can get is the beef brisket or the pulled pork sandwich, which took about 20 minutes to show up when I ordered it last Saturday. It was delicious, and I was eating before the people at the next table over had finished dissecting their ribs (I was eyeing them when we first sat down at our little table, complete with what appeared to be a church pew reupholstered).

The vibe is good, the music is loud, and the beer is in cans.  The service has always been outstanding, which might have to do with the fact that the servers are trying to keep the ravenous masses under wraps while waiting for their ribs. Water and sodas are tended to so well they’ll never get half empty, and the roll of paper towels on every table is indicative of the mess that’s about to happen to your face.

One of the best parts of the BBQ isn’t just the dry rub (that’s slow cooked for hours), it’s the sauce. On every table there’s 4 different kinds of home made sauce, that vary in degrees of spiciness and sweetness. I recommend not committing to just one until you’ve tried them all. And the brisket is a great way to test them out.

So what type of BBQ is it? Well, the sauce is described as inspired from the west side of North Carolina, while the ribs are Memphis-style, dry-rubbed baby back, or Texas-style beef ribs. The menu is pretty big, but obviously it’s not a place for vegetarians to graze at, however there are meatless sides to enjoy. That mashed potatoes are pretty standard, but the mac n cheese is definitely something to try, along with the blues on the cob and coleslaw, etc.

It’s not uncommon to see large groups show up, and that’s because it’s such an easy way to feed a lot of people (and it offers a good chance to try a little bit of everything on the menu). "The Feed Bags" on the menu offer possibilities for 6-8 people ("The Teaser"), 10-13 people ("The Beggers’ Banquet") and 15-20 people ("The Extravaganza"). Although I haven’t personally partaken in these large feasts, I always stare jealously when large plates of BBQ are placed on tables that seem to bow under the weight.

If you don’t feel like waiting, you can order take out, and they also deliver (free to many parts of the west side), although I recommend just dealing with the wait to get the whole experience. Listening to Lynard Skynard while wiping sweet bbq sauce off my face feels so right sometimes. Although I must digress, I think anyone who eats at Baby Blues BBQ too often would have little chance to be as svelte as their cartoon poster girl. I know after I finished my pulled pork sandwich I needed a change of clothes, a face wash, and a nap.

With the help of the community– this small patch of brown went to green in a short period of time.

Here’s the before Photo:

And here’s the After Photo!

For the Bethel Tabernacle Church of God in Christ, with a fresh coat of paint, new landscaping and freshly planted grass, and a cool circular labyrinth is a wonderful achievement. I was able to cover the initiative from beginning to completion, and the end result is one of success–as the neighborhood and the Church’s patrons now have a park where there once was barrenness.

In the photo above, the people who attended its Grand Opening are walking around the labyrinth for the “Walk as One at 1.”

That concept is meant to achieve the effect of a rolling wave of a labyrinth walking as the earth turns. It’s amazing what happens when one person spearheads an effort–in this case, Robin Munez was the “Green” instigator, and the church’s parish, the neighborhood, and Venice will be forever grateful.

I know I’m lucky to have played my small part in just reporting about it. When Travelin’ Local, sometimes being in the right place at the right time means everything.