clouds ain’t gonna scare crowds – santa monica beach in the middle of june gloom

it’s official: we’re leaving los angeles. parker was offered a position at a university in dallas, and we are headed back to texas in a few short weeks. what started as “westward, whoa!” (a very unsuccessful blog we started many moons ago before life took over) is now “tally, ho!” as we head home.

it is unreal to me that we have spent the last five years in this crazy city! i remember the night we decided to move to LA and try our hand at the big city. half a decade later, and it’s one of the best decisions of my life.

blueberry/lemon and grapefruit donuts – thanks, pinterest!

this past weekend we decided to explore a few sites of the city with our friends who have made these five years so special. all were invited as we took one last jaunt (westside on saturday and eastside on sunday) to explore some new places and return to some old favorites. the westside day started out at the beach with some homemade blueberry/lemon and grapefruit donuts (see above), courtesy of pinterest (yum), and a whole lot of june gloom (if you’re not from LA, it is the creepily prevalent gloomy mist that hovers over the beach cities for the entire morning in the months of may and june).

next up was a spin around the santa monica pier, which i’ve always found a little tacky, but let’s be honest, it was really fun (although i’m not sold on the safety of the roller coaster; there were a few too many bumps along the track while i was parallel to the pier).

ambiguously safe carnival rides at the santa monica pier

i purchased an “old LA” map from poketo last month that spotlights the vintage sights around the city. first on the list was the carousel on the pier and it did not disappoint (don’t forget to buckle your seat belt – apparently carousels are danger waiting to happen due to the high amount of injuries from children falling off).

the carousel at santa monica pier, open since 1916

we were ready for lunch at that point, and walked a few blocks north to the blue plate oysterette, a delightfully east-coast-ish oyster bar that i’ve been dying to try since kate spade and fathom added it to their los angeles city guide. one clam chowder, one peruvian ceviche, a glass of allagash, and a half-dozen east coast oysters later, i was sold. i’m not sure if it was the spicy fresh seafood or the crisply dressed waiters (not matching, but all in the same sky, navy, and white hues), but it made for a satisfying stop.

lunch at the blue plate oysterette on ocean boulevard

east coast oysters at the blue plate oysterette

a few blocks further north, we cooled off the at the bungalow, a much-too-cool yet i-can’t-get-enough-of-it bar set in a bungalow on ocean boulevard in santa monica. beautiful twenty-somethings wander from room to room (and patio to patio) wearing bright sundresses and crisp blazers playing games of ping pong or checkers while sipping on mojitos. love? love.

the bungalow at the fairmont on ocean boulevard

once the buzz wore off, we headed east to century city for the annenberg space for photography. i have been meaning to check out this place for years, and finally had the chance – oh, and it’s free (free!). i thought we were going to see a war exhibit, but instead we were welcomed with a retrospective of helmut newton’s strong nudes. lucky us! i used to love looking at newton’s photographs in vogue (i saved his obituary from vogue after he passed away, and still have the article – also from vogue – that sofia coppola wrote about his photo of charlotte rampling), and couldn’t believe we unintentionally arrived on opening day of the exhibit. what luck. you must visit.

annenberg space for photography

we ended the day at a westside institution, also listed in the old LA map: the apple pan. a burger bar in its simplest sense, we plopped down on the red bar stools, ordered burgers and egg salad sandwiches, cream sodas, and pieces of pie. simple, flavorful, classic, perfect. maybe the west side isn’t so bad after all.

the steak burger and famous dollop of ketchup from the apple pan

the apple pan

do you have any westside favorites i need to check out before leaving? please let me know!