Westbound Boarder

I’ve lived in LA for five months now… And I continually ask myself, why don’t I spend more time at Venice Beach?!  Well, this past week (in the 80 degree winter weather we’ve been having here in SoCal, mind you) I asked myself that question once again.

When you think about a winter weekend getaway to SoCal, you typically think of “Hollywood,” “Beverly Hills,” or “Graumen’s Chinese” – The somewhat cold and windy beach is probably the last thing on your mind.  However, winter is one of the best times to hit the sand!  Not only does the cooler weather make for smaller crowds, but the vibe is much more meloncholy and tranquil than in the hot summer sun.  And, if you’re tough enough to brave the cold ocean, winter is the best time to surf!  Venice is a great beach for beginners (I’ve surfed there a few times, myself, before I graduated to the .0025% bigger waves at Zuma )  

If you don’t want to surf, though, there are still plenty of things to do in Venice Beach: There are lots of great places to eat, both sit down restaurants and food to go (pizza, hot dogs, etc.); there are several vendors that line up along the boardwalk, similar to a small, quaint European town; and there are groups of fun street performers to watch and large drum circles.  And of course, plenty of hippies!  During my day in Venice the other day, there was this crazy (and hilarious) group of street performers doing flips, etc.; it was seriously nearly as good as Cirque du Soleil!  (And 100% free Though they will hassle you for a tip if you don’t give one).  

I would go on and on, but I saw this blog post in LAist that pretty much sums up winter on the LA coast for you. (And see some of our own pics below!)  Thinking about taking a vaca yet?  Venice Beach is about as close as you can get from the real Venice without even leaving the US!

Hey westbound boarders;

A quick note to our readers – As promised, Danielle and I created an events calendar highlighting various boardsports competitions and events around the west coast.  While the calendar is still in its infancy (we plan to spend the next few days updating) it is now live here (or click on our events tab to access).  Our goal in creating this calendar is to provide information about cool events from all over in one central, easy-to-find location.  We hope you find it useful!

If you’ve heard of any events that aren’t already highlighted in the calendar, feel free to shoot us an e-mail and we’ll add.  Hopefully you have the chance to make it to at least one of these events this year!

-The girls of Westbound Boarder

This is awesome, and if you’re a female boarder in SoCal check it out: Today, Mt. High announced that it is partnering with Roxy and Snowboard Magazine to put on Sunset Sessions, a new series of evening park clinics for girls in January and February.  There are two four-week series available – one in January and one in February – and the Roxy Team and certified Mt. High coaches will be on site to coach and ride with participants.  Cost is $99 per session and lessons take place Wed. nights from 7-9pm.  

“At Mountain High we’re always looking for new ways to encourage more girls to get involved with snowboarding,” said Laura Johnson, Marketing Manager at Mountain High. “Last season we launched a successful 30+ women’s learn-to-ride program and look forward to adding Sunset Sessions for the 16-29 year old demographic. We’re excited to have ROXY and Snowboard Magazine as partners to add to the experience for the girls.”

As a lady who learned to ride the park on a team of women – with a female coach – I can personally say that the best way to learn the ins and outs of park riding is to do so with a group who can give you support and encouragement along the way.  

Though sessions will teach girls how to rock the park, they will be fairly beginner, geared towards “girls who are comfortable on green and blue runs.”  So if you’re looking to master 5′s this season, Sunset Sessions might not be a good fit for you.  However, if you’ve never taken formal sopestyle lessons but want to, this sounds like a great place to begin.

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