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*Beth* · Dec 21, 2022 at 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shakespeare47

Los Angeles. I've been there twice before, but I never even stayed the night on those trips. I saw the Chinese theater and Hollywood walk of fame back in about 1986, and I went to Venice Beach back in 2006.

I was at Port Hueneme for training before my deployment to Kuwait in 2006. The Navy gave us some free time to spend with our families... my parents, my wife, and my sister and her husband came out to see me. I rented a convertible and we drove south on highway 1 with the top down. I remember stopping in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara as well.

Oooh, hiway 1! Magnificent! I hope you have an absolutely wonderful trip.

Venice Beach was always one of my most beloved spots of all the places I've been. But I haven't visited since the late '90's and by all accounts it has changed dramatically. California now has the highest homeless population in the nation, with L.A. being one of the top cities, Venice Beach being the top. The entire situation is tragic. The economy is in a horrendous state, addiction is out of control, dah, dah, dah...and of course, the Calif coastal towns/cities are ideal places for unhomed people to live. Certainly not much is being done to help them. My son is politically very liberal, lives in San Francisco, he and his wife pay over $4,000/month for a small flat, and he's so frustrated (as about everyone who lives in the city is) because he bicycles around and says his tires are caked with human sh-it...people living in the streets have no facilities. No blame, it's just

Anyway, sorry. I went on a rant. As a native of this gorgeous state and as a humanitarian, the homeless problem is both frustrating and heartbreaking.

BUT! There's so much that's great here. I can't wait to hear about your trip when you return!