Santa Monica Pier

On our recent trip to Los Angeles many mentioned visiting Santa Monica Pier. I was excited for a couple of silly reasons – seeing the famous ferris wheel that opens up Private Practice made me giddy! Silly, I know. More than that, though, it’s a good place to people watch, surf, do the tourist thing (including getting pick pocketed – we saw 2 men speaking to police…so be careful).

Interesting to note, the Pier was originally built to cover up a sewage pipe than ran Santa Monica’s waste out into the ocean. Sounds discussing, yet since they’ve stopped doing that, the pier is quite beautiful. Bryce snagged a picture of me walking back…can’t lose me in those shoes!

The pier at night is beautiful, yet busy during the day. If you’re looking to be a beach bum, get there early to find parking. Oh, and be sure you being all you need from the car, since it’s a long walk back to the car.

Pacific Park is free – you just need to buy tickets to ride the rides. Only the ferris wheel was open when we visited, probably because we visited on a random Wednesday night in October. Check out the Santa Monica Pier website for more information, hours, and fun stuff!