In L.A. it is currently award season. In honor of the season I created an award, "Best Sight L.A. to See Skateboarding Without a Skateboard". And the award goes to the a little over four months young (grand opening was October 3, 2009), infant, Dennis 'Polar Bear' Agnew Memorial Skate Park on the beach in Venice, California (official address, 1800 Oceanfront Walk) aka Venice Beach Skate Park.
If you have been following "Bjork's Best" articles, you know there is a method to my madness with the sights I have chosen to honor. I've put a mini-tour (if you will) together which I dubbed "The Hotel California Tour", as the Hotel California in Santa Monica is an award winning sight in my "Bjork's Best" series.
In case you haven't been following, we just learned a travel tip from a brown pelican while at the rock pile landmark on the beach in Venice. We are about to turn left from there to see where it takes us.
Truth is on my turn left trek, I made a b-line past this even if you aren't a skateboarder you will admire and respect the design artistry of RRM Design Group in collaboration with Wormhoudt, Inc. and the construction effort of California Skateparks, Inc. that went into this multi-million dollar use of concrete fashioned into a skate park, which was funded with Quimby developer fees and the Venice Area Surplus Property Sales Trust Fund to name a few.
As I wrote previously my cousin, Eric, is a BMX trick biker. So, I walked to the adjacent concrete where the BMX bikers were riding to watch them for a while.
There were also some skateboarders in this area. One of my very first articles as your L.A. Sightseeing Examiner was about the skatepark in Hawthorne, I lovingly refer to as Skatepark 90250, where I was denied filming of the skateboarders. So I was concerned someone might deny me filming at the Venice skate park. Thankfully, this was not the case.
Watch the video with this article. Note how well these skateboarders get along. Note how the skateboarders at times seem to defy gravity. Note one of the skateboarders is female. Note how there appears to be some sort of magical, energetic field between feet and skateboard, which keeps the board from falling from their feet.
Note #58 with the white/black checked cap. Watch him in the thick of the riding area. You would swear from his form he is riding a skateboard. Watch him end his ride jumping off the wheels under his feet...seemingly skateboarding without a skateboard. Amazing!
When I finished filming, this "wiz on wheels" was nowhere to be found. Okay, nowhere that I saw. Unable to ask him about his wheels, I tried every Google search my brain would conjure so I may report about his wheels. I found nothing.
One thing is for sure, I enjoyed the show. The show, I mean skate park is open from dusk until dawn.
Just in case you were wondering, this 16,000 square foot skate park is the only one in the world located on the beach. Kudos to Venice, who along with Santa Monica is considered to be pioneer skate boarding territory.
Ahhh! It feels good to celebrate the sights of L.A.
Note: If you wish to see some still photos of #58, click here to be directed to my Flikr presence.
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