The 9th of June saw our first trip on the freeway. It was interesting, although a little scary. We went to Santa Monica - a coastal city just north and west of the city.

We parked in a carpark near the pier, which cost about $9 - our first shock on the cost of parking. Most attractions have parking nearby, with the majority of them charging a fee.

Santa Monica was good - shops, pier with fairground, Muscle Beach (with people using rings (like at the Olympics) on the beach), interesting architecture, and a nice view - except it was very hazy and one could not see far at all - so we'll have to go back and take more photos on a clear day.

Some of the shops certainly had interesting things for sale - one called Noteworthy had some products worth noting : a book called "How to Make Love in the Bush", heaps of fride magnets, and little red plastic buttons with "Panic" on them. We also saw the Camera Obscura, which was mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide to LA, and we had not seen advertised. It was in a drop-in centre, and according to the Lonely Planet guide, one just walked in and asked for the key. So we did and a kind woman gave us the key and pointed us in the correct direction. The Camera Obscura is a blackened room with a huge white disc in the centre and a lense and mirror arrangement in a small turret in the roof. By rotating a wheel in the room, the turrent was rotated and we watched the view from the turret projected on the disc. It was fascinating.

We walked our feet off - we were very sore by the time we got home at 7pm, but we did see a lot and had a good time.