I mean Venice, CA, silly!
http://www.laparks.org/venice/venice.htm
There is one beach I think of for summer time "color"- Venice Beach, CA. It's southwest of Los Angeles, between LAX airport, and the Santa Monica Pier. (Check out the map! http://www.venicebeach.com/n_images/vbmap.html )
You might have heard of it as "Muscle Beach". http://www.musclebeachvenice.com/ Think "The Terminator" for a second. If you're into bodybuilding, you will find this a popular hot spot for lifting weights, and no doubt lots of men hoping their muscular builds will attract the ladies! It's been a fixture at Venice Beach since 1954, and has seen the likes of people such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbo and Dave Draper.
If you're not into bulking up, you will have a great time checking out the various restaurants, tobacco shops, tattoo parlours, and vendors selling everything from palm reading, caricatures, toe rings, and more. I can just about guarantee you'll find something to do here! Oh.. be on the look-out for street dancers, story tellers, and the (in)famous guy on roller blades, who plays his electric guitar. He's got a parrot on his shoulder, and wears a turban on his head- so you won't miss him!
And if none of that sounds like your bag of chips, at least there's the sand and the waves!
Don't live in California, but want to peek on the natives for yourself? Check out the Venice Beach cam! http://www.westland.net/beachcam/ or http://www.westland.net/venice/
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