Manhattan Beach In Los Angeles Is A Beautiful Beach For Locals
October 20, 2023
A longtime goal of mine was to spend several days in Los Angeles seeing the sites and photographing my journey. We have been to L.A. for only hours at a time before, so this time I was going all-in on my trip. My plans included Manhattan Beach at sunset, Malibu at sunset, a couple studio tours, and plenty of hours of plane spotting at LAX, Los Angeles International Airport.
Manhattan Beach
I stayed at a hotel in Manhattan Beach, just 8 minutes from the beach itself. On my first evening I parked two blocks away and walked down the strangest street or sidewalk I’ve ever seen. There are large walkways that run downhill to the west and are lined by homeowners’ backyards. By backyard, I mean patios that would normally be private and behind someone’s house. At this beach, they are almost on top of each other and provide a great way to access the Pacific Coast.
As I strolled south on the pedestrian walkway with the Pacific Ocean to my right, I marveled at the naturally hilly landscape juxtaposed against the multi-million dollar homes that line the coast. For the next 90 minutes, I explored the Manhattan Beach Pier, the free Roundhouse Aquarium, and the sunset. It was a great way to end an extremely long travel day.
I then spent 30 minutes photographing the underside of the pier as well as the sunset at the beach. I had brought flip-flops but failed to remember shorts. With many waves in, I was soaked with warm ocean water up to my knees. I was careful to keep my camera out of the water and was able to capture some cool shots. Nothing was groundbreaking, but they were shots that I wanted.
The next day I made my way down to the beach for a pre-dawn walk before heading to Palm Springs for the day. It was a calm, beautiful morning where I only saw maybe 30 people. Getting up early on vacation has always been something I do. My love of exercise, especially on vacation always excites me. Combining the two on the coast of my favorite ocean made my day. Off the Palm Springs, I went.
