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Urban Hikes — Los Angeles — Chapter 2
This walking adventure is an encore in Los Angeles. The first walking course followed the beach trail from Marina del Rey to Santa Monica. The coastal communities in L.A. offer abundant sunshine, cool ocean breezes and plenty of people watching opportunities. The entire course this time is in Santa Monica, close enough to call it an L.A. urban hiking adventure. Sun, sand, cool water, and hints of suburbia all mesh in the small coastal enclave bordering Los Angeles. The city is a popular destination for travelers arriving from all points around the world. In the small next door neighbor to Los Angeles find world class hotels, James Beard winners and Michelin star kitchens pepper the town.
If fancy and elegance isn’t your style, there are numerous small family operated hotels, and hole in the wall dining options. Santa Monica has it all in an 8 and half square mile area. The city offers three distinctly different shopping areas, to the south, Main Street exudes California cool. A long straightway, south of interstate 10 is lined with boutiques, breakfast al fresco, stout coffee to late night vibes. It’s the best destination for night owls in town.
Just north of the interstate is a shopper’s mecca, the open-air 3rd Street Promenade, at the south end is the upscale Santa Monica Place shopping mall. On the promenade, it is closed to cars, pedestrians saunter…
