The first item googled was “hikes near Santa Monica”. It was my last full day in town and I was determined to make the most of it. I looked for something around 4-5 miles with moderate difficulty and ended up coming across the Escondido Falls. After stopping off at the Wednesday market at Arizona & 2nd, I got a text from Zack, the hitch hiker, and invited him and his dog along on the hike. I mean, it probably would have been nice to do my last hike solo, but I felt like having the company.
The drive along the coast from Santa Monica to Malibu didn’t disappoint. The hike itself seemed much shorter and less strenuous than the article promised, though we did stop at the lower falls. We decided to stop for a snack before venturing up the mountain and as we were sitting there, eating peas & hummus, drinking beer, groups of people started coming down the mountain covered in dirt. In typical Keegan fashion, I was wearing cut off jean shorts, the ones where my ass hangs out the bottom. So I was absolutely not about to climb up there and then have to basically slide down on my bare ass. The people we asked also confirmed that it wasn’t worth it, being that the drought had cause the waterfall to dry up. So we chilled at the bottom where some guy busted out the trumpet, and we shared a song: Summertime.
After the hike, we cruised on down to Venice beach where I met up with Astrea, my kindred spirit, whom I’d met last September at TIFF. We caught up over coffee and I walked her to a barre class, which I learned is a new form of exercise, not a flare bartending class.
And, after a nice hot shower, Peter and I grabbed a bite at Scopa. It was the perfect way to end my last day in town; great food, great cocktails, great company.