9.06.2010

Goodbye Summer

Summer is over before it even began. This was the coldest LA summer ever! Here's to hotter days.


This is me on Redondo Beach Pier with Jack, the neighbor's kid.

In the summer my family would go to the pier every week for steamed crab and corn on the cob. We'd bring our own dip (soy sauce, minced raw garlic, and vinegar) and dine on the stone tables overlooking the boats in the marina. When we'd finish, my parents would pacify me with quarters for the Fun Factory, an dank arcade styled after a Coney Island boardwalk.

Insert quarters into the quarter balancing on the ledge game or the ancient Pong cabinet. Take a spin on the Tilt-A-Whirl and risk throwing up your meal. When I was feeling brave, I'd give fifty cents to Morgana, the fortune telling machine. Morgana was a disembodied mannequin head with an animated face projected onto it. She had cat eyes like the evil queen from Snow White. She'd tell your fortune, but it was impossible to hear over the din of the arcade. But maybe you're just not suppose to know your fate.

Since I checked last summer, Morgana, Pong, and the Tilt-A-Whirl were still at the Fun Factory.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I experienced all these things and loved them, especially Morgana! It kind of reminds me of Coney Island on the West coast...

Anonymous said...

Do they still have the awful Space Invaders mosaic on the outside of the building?

Raina Lee said...

Emily, it sort of is Coney Island on the west coast, except it has faux Coney Island decorations! :)

Anonymous, I think the Space Invader is still there.

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