Santa Monica Pier, then and now...

       I used to go to the  pier once a week, during the summers. My dad would drive  , my sister, my little brother, and our  assortment of friends from the valley. We'd be sweltering  in the valley heat, (no air conditioning in the car) until we topped  the grade at Mulholland on the 405 and breathe a sigh of  cool relief.  My dad would park  right next to the  pier,  lay down his towel and turn on the ball game. Vin Scully would blare out of the transistor radio, while we put on Bain de Soleil.  The second  thing we'd do is  go to the Hot Dog on a Stick stand to get our  dogs and lemonades. I still have an addiction to those.
     After the required half hour (bogus) of waiting, we'd jump into the ocean, ride the waves, and play frisbee.
It wouldn't take long to get hungry again, so  we'd go to Daddy and get some money, then go up to the pier. Candy apples, cotton candy, sno cones were cheap, and we got our  change worth.
     My best friend, Linda, and I went to Madame Dorena to get our  fortunes told.  She was  wrong that day, but years later, I went back to her, with a friend, and she was right on.  The first time must have been a bad  vibe day for Mdm. Do.
    We were getting too old for the  merry go round, so we'd skip it, but secretly, I always wanted to ride.
    Now, the businesses are  different, and  Madame Dorena is no longer  there.  People  write your name on a grain of rice, churros instead of candy apples are for sale, and  the  Ferris wheel  is a light show. Not quite the same hominess, but still full of life and  candy for the eye.  People are still fishing off the end of the pier, and  the Arcade is filled with  kids screaming for toys.
    If you haven't  visited  Santa Monica Pier in a while,  go on, it's a kick!

Not such an old  photo. I saw the first  Cirque Du Soleil  next to the pier about 25 years ago.

I remember Sinbads.

Look at those long boards. I guess they are going back to the long boards now.

A little overdressed for the beach?!

This is kind of how I remember the  pier, back in 1960, but I think this photo is  older.