One key location that’s synonymous with Southern California is the world-famous Santa Monica Pier. I was excited to tread its boards!
The walk from my hotel at the northern end of Venice Beach, along “The Strand” towards Santa Monica was exactly what I had anticipated Southern California to be like – palm trees, endless beach, beach volleyball courts, joggers, cyclists, skateboarders, VW Camper vans in the parking lots loaded with surf boards, cool cars. I quickly fell in love with that two-mile walk to Santa Monica Pier!
Santa Monica Pier holds a unique place in American history and has appeared in countless tv shows and Hollywood movies, most notably as the finish line for Forrest Gump. It also marks the end of Route 66 that connects Chicago to Southern California. (More on that shortly)
The pier first opened in 1909 and unlike many pleasure piers, its original purpose was more practical than recreational. Santa Monica Pier was originally built to carry sewer pipes out into deep water and away from the beach. In 1916, the pier’s original design was modified and the Looff Pleasure Pier was incorporated into it. These combined structures make up what we now know as Santa Monica Pier.
The first time I approached the pier I was filled with child-like excitement. I was finally visiting Santa Monica Pier!
Having climbed up the wide steps leading up from the plaza at the lower east end, I was greeted with a more familiar “boardwalk” feeling than I had experience in Venice Beach.
One of the first buildings I came to houses the pier’s historic carousel. It appeared to be closed and I never saw anyone riding the beautifully painted carousel on any of my visits. Not far beyond it is the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant and gift shop famous for its Forrest Gump theme. (I resisted the lure of that particular gift shop until my very last visit)
Stretching ahead of me was a beautifully chaotic boardwalk scene- amusement arcade, street entertainers, various gift and souvenir shops and stalls, Pacific Park amusement park and the pier’s famous Ferris wheel, the Pacific Wheel.
At the very end of the pier there’s a lower-level fishing pier that felt like an oasis of tranquillity after the buzz of the main pier. I stood at the railings gazing out across the Pacific Ocean. Next stop from there is Hawaii, some 2448 miles to the west if the sign outside the most westerly gift shop on the pier is accurate.
Pigeons rather than seagulls are the feathered pests of the pier. They’re everywhere! I fell into the habit of walking out to Santa Monica Pier for a late lunch/early dinner most days (I became rather partial to Smashie burgers) and when I sat down to enjoy my meal there would be pigeons nearby grudging me every bite.
Every visit to the pier, a bit like the Venice Beach Boardwalk, was different. On one visit there was a music festival in progress. On another, there was a tightrope walker walking from the western end of the pier across to the Pacific Park corner. I frequented the various gift shops, debating what souvenirs and gifts to take home and ended up purchasing keyrings, pens, fridge magnets, tees, and a tote bag. I’ll be honest, I had gathered quite a collection by the time I came to pack my suitcase at the end of my trip…oops!
Near the start of the pier is the famous Route 66 End of the Trail sign. (There’s another older Route 66 sign round near the entrance to Pacific Park.) The mother road, Route 66, is celebrating its centenary this year. Is the signpost the actual end of Route 66? No, but it is the symbolic end. The actual end is in Santa Monica itself.
As the end of my California adventure approached, there was still one thing that I hadn’t done at the pier. I hadn’t ridden the Pacific Wheel!
On my penultimate trip out to Santa Monica Pier, I decided that that was the day to ride the famous Ferris wheel. (It was 2nd July and I figures that it would be quieter than on 4th July when I planned to pay a final visit.) I stood in line at the ticker desk to buy my ticket ($15 to ride it!) only to be told that there were no single riders allowed on the Pacific Wheel. The girl behind the desk said that the only way I could get to ride as a single rider was to speak to the ride operator to see if he would let me share a gondola with some other riders. I’ll admit, initially, I was gutted by this but I’ll confess to also being a bit “hangry” at the time. Sulking, I went to get something to eat and sat gazing up at the giant wheel as I ate my burger (Yes it was another Smashie burger) I hadn’t come all this way to be thwarted at the last hurdle!
When I was finished my meal, I went back into Pacific Park and spoke nicely to the ride operator, explaining my dilemma. He understood and went to speak to the young couple at the head of the queue of ticket holders who were waiting to climb aboard. Luck was on my side! The first couple he spoke to agreed to share their gondola with me! (They were a lovely couple form Kentucky who had been touring California for a week. It was their last day before flying home.) The views from the Pacific Wheel were fabulous! I felt as if I realty was on top of the world as I gazed out along the California coastline to the vastness of the Pacific Ocean beyond.
On my final trip to Santa Monica Pier (more on that in the final blog in this series) I finally succumbed to the lure of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co gift shop and bought myself a tee that says “Life is like a box of chocolates” on the front.
Santa Monica Pier had certainly been a box of delights!
Coral McCallum 