Sunset in Santa Monica 2.12.2011

This morning, I went to my spinning/yoga class. I've been doing this for a week and so far have loved it. Over the last year I lost a fair amount of weight, but wanted some added motivation to tone up and decided to join a class. They have a variety of yoga only, spinning only, or combo classes (spinning & yoga, spinning & sculpt). We normally do thirty minutes of spinning followed by twenty minutes of yoga. Every spinning class is different - I have a favorite instructor, but she does a different mix of music each class and the actual work out is very tied into the beat / mood of the song (which I enjoy quite a bit). During slower songs we do "uphill" climbs, adding resistance and pedaling slower. For faster-paced songs, we normally stay seated, decrease resistance and pedal a lot quicker. It's certainly a workout, but I've really enjoyed it. The yoga afterwards is a nice way to stretch out the muscles and chill. I always feel really great after every class. (On Sunday mornings, the Studio City Farmer's Market is outside which is something fun to hit before/after class!)

I explored the area of Ventura Boulevard by Laurel Canyon Drive (about a mile west of the apartment). There are a variety of stores and restaurants/bars. The weather was gorgeous today - clear blue skies, sunny, and 80 degrees.

I ended up out in Santa Monica at the Third Street Promenade. This is a larger shopping area I had heard about, but had yet to experience. I realized that I had yet to watch a sunset at the beach since getting to L.A. It was something I wanted to do, but just hadn't made the time. Living in the valley, we lose the sun fairly early (it disappears over the hills). I got out just in time to walk out to the beach and watch the sun for the half hour before it set. There were tons of people around watching it, walking and running on the beach. There was an overlook up the hill where some people were even painting. Santa Monica is a really pretty area (it's almost a separate city size-wise), but the traffic both there and to/from there was absolutely insane. It's much more manageable in/around Hollywood.