Montana Avenue on Saturday
 | The American Cinematheque also runs another theatre besides the Egyptian Theatre . It is the Aero Theatre on Montana Blvd in Santa Monica. And usually I consider that alittle to far for me to drive for my volunteer work. But today was the Montana Ave Sidewalk Sale, and the idea of sitting out in the fresh air - not to far from the beach - sounded like a great way to spend the day. |
I parked about 4 or so blocks away, up on Margarita just north of Montana . And walked through the pretty residential area to get to the Aero Theatre. It so peaceful and quiet. The streets are so wide, and the lawns are so nice - its such a big change from East Hollywood.
I got there alittle early for my volunteer shift, and walked around a bit. I hadn't had time for lunch before I left so I had stopped at McDonalds along the way, which I was regretting because of the calories.. But once I got there, I was glad I did - because there were no food vendors. I guess I was expecting more of a Street Fair with the Lemonade stands, Kettle Korn, Sausages and all the other treats.
Well, this was a Sidewalk Sale. All the merchants and stores had their items out on the sidewalk for a Sale. And in this area of the city, a Sale is still to expensive for me.
As I was walking around I overheard an upscale dressed woman saying "Oh, Montana Ave is my new addiction. I used to be addicted to Melrose ...."
And I really wanted to stop and eavesdrop on the rest of her conversation, but on the sidewalk we were packed in like sardines moving along in one huge clump and I had to keep moving with all the other people
All the stores are really Cute ... and seem to mainly cater to Women. Clothing Stores, Stationery Stores, Shoe Stores, Bath & Beauty Supplies, and Fancy items for your Home. All very nice and pretty.
And Montana Ave was filled with adorable babies, cute dogs, and alot of upscale woman who looked like actresses. A fun place to People Watch.
My volunteer shift was basically sitting at a table in front of the Aero, and asking people to sign up for the theatre mailing list. It was fun because I got to chat with alot of people. Mainly about Movies. And the afternoon was perfect, sunny - but not to hot. It was a nice relaxing day sitting outside in the fresh air. It was a really nice day. I ended up getting a blue berry muffin from the Wild Oats Market across the street.
At 6 pm, after my shift was over, one of my friends met up with me. She had been walking around shopping and our plan was to grab dinner together somewhere along Montana Ave. So we went walking. I stopped and got some Misticks incense at a store called "Hey Kookla" . The incense really smells yummy - I got "Vorange" which smells like Vanilla and Orange - and "Mango Mango". I like the fruit scented incense, and this is the best smelling incense I have used in a long time.
Then as we walked up and down Montana, we realized that there weren't that many restaurants - and the ones that were there were already closed for the evening. We thought about going into "Rosti" but it was to crowded, probably because it was the only large restaurant opened.
After walking west for a while, we decided to walk back east to theatre because we were getting hungry. We ended up at alittle french restaurant Le Marmiton Bistro and Deli right across the street from the Aero Theatre.
I got a very healthy and light green salad with a salmon fillet on top, and a light vinaigrette dressing. That makes up for my lunch of Mcdonalds. My friend got the onion soup - which smelled so good, I was thinking of ordering it, but stopped myself.
As we were walking back our cars, I said "Oh, lets stop at the Peets Coffee so I can get a Decaf for the ride home" It was getting alittle chilly.
The Peets was closed ... It was only 8pm. So was the Coffee Bean and the Starbucks .
At 8:00 on a Saturday night... almost everything was closed on Montana Ave.
As I was driving home, I took Wilshire Blvd and spotted the Starbucks on Wilshire and 26th. Yes, this is section of Santa Monica was happening on a Saturday night. I got my Starbucks Decaf for the ride home.
It was just weird being in the section of Santa Monica. Back in 1979 my first apartment was off of Wilshire and Yale. Pretty weird to think it was that long ago. I lived in Venice for around 12 years and would always come up to this part of Santa Monica to attend the Santa Monica Vineyard when it was on Washington not to far from Lincoln (and which is now the Westside Vineyard ).
I think this Starbucks used to be a Bagel Nosh, and I remember how I would go there many a Sundays way back then.
Its really weird to be in a place where you used to live ...a very nostalgic feeling .... from almost 25 years ago.
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