I can’t believe I went all the way out to Santa Monica Pier to trapeze (back in 2012? What?!), and didn’t spend the day there hanging out and riding rides.
Even though I have my various gripes about the 1,001 things to do in Los Angeles book, I like that it encourages me to get out there and do more within this city.
I started the day at the pier in the aquarium (since it closes earlier than everything else… also why not pick the thing out of the sun while the sun’s still out? ;)).
After the aquarium, I rode the carousel. It’s adorable just like all other carousel’s you’ve ever been to. There’s an old-timey ice cream shop inside the carousel building. I tried a couple of flavors, and it’s pretty tasty.
(But if you’re wanting something sweet, maybe save your sweet tooth for the funnel cakes. You can get ice cream anywhere, but how often are funnel cakes available to you?)
It’s pretty fun to ride the rides at night. They all light up so beautifully! My favorite is the pirate ship. It’s exhilarating! And I may or may not have ridden thirty times. (I’m kidding, but I did ride it three times, and I feel like I could do it thirty times!)
One thing I thought was funny was this circular thing on the pier labeled “ocean view port.” It said, “view the ocean here!” What? Look in this little circle to view the ocean? Are you aware I’m standing on a pier right now and can just walk like 15 feet and see the big vast ocean. So, that made me laugh.
I also thought it was really funny that they had people take pictures in front of a green screen before getting on the carousel. (But I sort of understand the idea behind it, as it would possibly be hard and/or weird to put cameras in the actual ride… Although it can’t be that hard because lots of rides have cameras. Although I guess carousels are more private-type rides, perhaps. So maybe people don’t want to be watched? I don’t know. I just know the green screen tickled me a little.
After riding all the rides, I went out for a walk to the end of the pier. I saw a bunch of people fishing… and, I saw a breathtaking sight. You can see stars at the edge of the pier.
In LA, there are lights basically everywhere, and it’s not often I look up at the sky and actually see the stars. (It was one of the coolest most jarring things about the Grand Canyon.)
But at the edge of the pier with nothing but water as far as you can see, look up and you see the stars. It’s pretty cool!