second time around

Catching up on the rambling for those who really don’t care. Amazing how fast the the three weeks in Orlando passed. I loved visiting the peeps at work and realizing I’m not working. I tidied up some loose ends, got some Florida sun on my pasty white body in preparation, and got the tickets for Poe to come and meet me in New Zealand in November. I left with 44 pounds of luggage (a bit too much) deciding to take the snorkel fins and booties at least through the South Pacific along with a quart of sunscreen!! I had some butterflies leaving Orlando, back on the road alone for the long haul. Flew all day and tried to stay up at night to get the body clock reset. This morning was up at 6 anyway. I figured I would have a calm, relaxing, day of normalcy in LA before seeing the strange and exotic South Pacific, but I went to Venice Beach instead.

Cab or Bus? well in a cab you don’t get to meet the guy in the Robin’s egg blue tux with no shirt but lots of rhinestones, top-hat with feather and a skull tipped walking stick, or the family from Kansas with mohawks, piercings and really into trucks, so of course the Bus! The weather was perfect, 74 and sunny. I strolled the boardwalk and enjoyed the people watching. I saw the Iconic guy from Venice Beach on rollerblades with a long white robe and turban playing guitar, the ripped dudes at THE muscle beach outdoor gym, the Paddle Tennis courts,(small courts and a solid racquet with holes), handball, and lots of arts and crafts. The carnival atmosphere was fun, and the day was unique. There are mostly T-shirt shops, crafts, musicians, medical marijuana shops, and feather hair extensions. I was tempted to have my medical evaluation done, but was afraid of what they might find and especially how they might look for it! The Skateboard park had some impressive skaters, including one kid was about 8! and incredible. I sat and watched basketball for some time, at the Venicebasketball.com Saturday exhibition. First it was the “Legends” game with the guys who had been around for a long time, 50 to 65 years old and still had game. Then the “all-stars” game and these players had the moves. It was just for fun, so they were showboating a lot and didn’t really care so much about the score, but lots of amazing dunks and trick plays. The main event was the “Lingerie League” game. The ladies actually played tough basketball and were serious athletes, although the uniforms were somewhat unorthodox and “cheeky”.

By the end of the day I realized I was at peace with where I am, and that I am starting to chat at ease with strangers and to understand that every day in this life is truly a wondrous adventure not to be squandered. Tomorrow night is a long flight to the Cook Islands and more sights to see.

Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 23rd, 2011 at 10:49 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.