Pico Boulevard, Conquered!

(UPDATED Monday morning with new links to more recaps and pics! If you've written something up or posted pics, let me know, and I'll add you to the roster!)

My legs are sore. Blisters are forming on a few toes. I could use more sleep.

Yet I can't wait for next year.

The Second Annual Great Los Angeles Walk took on Pico Boulevard on Saturday. More than 70 people joined me as we hiked nearly 16 miles, from the historic Coca Cola Bottling Plant (at the corner of Pico and Central) straight to the ocean in Santa Monica.

Not all 70 walked the entire way... but at least 40 did. (Others joined late, left early, or had some help along the way.) Great Los Angeles Walkers who made it from end-to-end got to experience, along the way, the bustling (even at 9 in the morning) fashion district; the Convention Center (currently home to the Auto Show); the Central American-dominated Byzantine-Latino Quarter; the city's shortest street (Powers Place); the beautiful old homes of Alvarado Terrace; a slice of Koreatown; the gut-busting food of spots like Oki-Dog and Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles; the sight of a massive crane that tipped over (smashing the roof of a yoga studio) in Mid-City; the closed (for the Sabbath) Jewish shops and restaurants west of Fairfax; the Fox lot; dodging golf balls next to the Rancho Park golf course; the cool ocean breeze once we hit Santa Monica; and much more. One group even stood by to help as a homeless man fell and required an ambulance.

Some pics of sights on Pico:


And they're off!


The shortest street in Los Angeles: Powers Place. Yes, that cobblestone stretch is the entire street. And yes, that's next year's Great Los Angeles Walk, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 9 a.m.


Beautiful homes on Alvarado Terrace -- at least the ones, like this, that weren't stuccoed at some point.


Scarface watches over Pico


Arnold Schwarzenegger: Exist. Poofy.


"Sorry, no physicians are currently on duty. Consume this pastrami burrito at your own risk."


There it is -- the grease bomb known as Oki-Dog's pastrami burrito.


Oops. Pico was shut down between La Brea and Fairfax because of this mishap, but the cops still let us hike on the sidewalk.


"City of Los Angeles -- Made in Mexico"


Winner, worst pun on Pico


One group of walkers, hitting the ocean around 5:10. (Another group made it earlier, while a third group made it there around 5:30.)

The walk began around 9:15 a.m.; we broke for lunch around noon and hit back up at 1:30 (although some had resumed by 1); and the first crowd made it to the end by 4:45, which the majority arriving by 5:10. Victory jerk chicken enchiladas (not to mention booze purchased on the way at the Santa Monica Trader Joe's) was consumed at Cha Cha Chicken, near the finish line.

I'll be posting walker accounts (and their photos) as they hit online. An early list of recaps:

Will Campbell's recap and his 165 pics (including the one above, of the crowd taking off at the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant).

Scott Trimble's recap and his photo gallery (including the one above, of the Byzantine-Latino Quarter).

Atwater Village Newbie's take on Favorite Pico guy here and his large collection of photos (including the one above, of a crazy row of mannequins in the garment district) here.

Check out Don Hosek's amazingly detailed post about the walk; Don has a lot of info especially about Pico on the west side. And check out some of his pics (including that shot of the ocean at 5:30) here.

N at Pico and the Man has a nice wrap up here (including the pic above).

Raul says the walk reminded him "that there are innumerable wonderful people who make up this city who truly and proudly call themselves Angelenos." Check out his recap here and his pics (including the one above) here.

Great recap here by Davey G., who, I'm jealous to say, stopped at El Parian to try one of the birria tacos (something I'll have to do on another trek to Pico!). Check out his full photo set (including the shot of a tortilla worker at El Parian, above) here.

Meeko and SeanYoda have some great pics here, and have also started a Great Los Angeles Flickr pool for everyone to deposit their pics here.

Check out Graham -- G12 The Outsider -- and his writeup here and some pics (including the cool B&W shot above, of someone filling up their stationwagon with junk from a recycling bin) here.

Joni had a lot to do on Saturday... but decided to chuck it all and join us instead! Glad she did; here's her post from the day.

Yeah, not so sure I'm ready to do it again next week, but I may just join other walks being planned for the future. And don't forget to clear the Saturday before Thanksgiving next year, for the third Great Los Angeles Walk!

One more note: I'm still figuring out why the Great LA Walk T-shirts aren't appearing on Cafe Press. I'll let you know when that issue is resolved.

Now, head over to Franklin Avenue, where we've got a great recap by walker Margaret Cherry! And more to come.