As people pursuing careers in entertainment, and thus, destined to live in LA forever, Damien and I like to focus on the positive features SoCal has to offer. We frequently hit up the beach, are constantly exploring dive bars throughout the city and love to bust-a-move at some of LA’s lesser-known, less-douchey clubs. We aimed to incorporate all of these passions into the challenge to prove that you don’t need wads of money or name-dropping skills to have a good time in Los Angeles.

Enjoying LA’s scenery

Since we live two blocks from the beach in Santa Monica, Damien and I decided that the first part of the Challenge would be spent riding our bikes along the strand that runs parallel to the beautiful Pacific coast. If you ride South, you will pass the famous Santa Monica pier and Ferris wheel, and eventually hit the Venice boardwalk—an amazing spot to people watch. You’ll find drum circles, muscle builders, an array of carnival food (kettle corn is my favorite!) and plenty of spots to buy cheap t-shirts and accessories. If you head North along the strand, you’ll have a more peaceful ride and be able to marvel at the scenic mountains and coast of Malibu.

This particular Saturday, we chose the more peaceful route and rode our beach cruisers through NorthernSanta Monica. We stopped at some rocks that jut out to the water and carefully navigated our way to the end to feel the spray of the water and enjoy the sounds of the seagulls and waves. When you live in the busy city of LA, it’s nice to flee the sounds of traffic and find a spot like this where you can enjoy nature, especially with someone you love.

Eating and Drinking

Eventually, we had enough beach and sun and headed home to clean up and change clothes before hitting up one of our favorite places to get quality food and beer without the usual inflated LA prices—Back Stage Bar and Grill, located at 10400 Culver Blvd. in Culver City. During the week, Back Stage features a quality house

band, and on the weekend, the spot offers karaoke with a large array of popular songs. But we didn’t come to this spot for the entertainment—to us, the main attraction was the restaurant’s famous sliders and selection of beers on tap.

Damien and I each ordered a plate of 2 Back Stage sliders ($7 each), shared a basket of garlic fries ($4) and ordered two Blue Moons on tap ($4 each). And then, much to the crowd’s entertainment, Damien took the stage and appropriately sang his rendition of “Cheeseburger and Paradise.”

Entertainment

After our bellies were full, we had $14 left to spend and were ready to change clothes once again before hitting up our favorite dance club in Los Angeles—Bootie LA, held once a month at the Echoplex in EchoPark. The club features a handful of DJs each Saturday who mash up popular songs together so two to three songs are playing on top of each other at the same time. The result is a killer beat and an amazing time for the dancers on the floor.

For the frugal folk like us, make sure to arrive before 10 p.m., because then cover is only $5, as opposed to $10 each after 10 p.m. And also make sure to stay until midnight, because that’s when the Bootie dancers come out—sometimes they’re throwing out freebies, sometimes they’re dressed up in gold lycra suits, and occasionally they’ll

feature a Lady GaGa lookalike. With its mixes of multiple genres of music, quirky dancers and a group of chill people, Bootie LA is a gem for people looking to let loose and have a good time, for a nominal cover price.

By the end of the challenge, Damien and I were exhausted from our active date and still had $4 left in our pockets. We hope our challenge inspires others in LA to enjoy the amazing weather and scenic views that our wonderful city has to offer, seek out the dive bars and avoid overpriced cover charges at dance clubs!

Related posts:

1. Randy and Ashley’s Los Angeles $40 Date Night
2. Chris’ Los Angeles $40 Date Night
3. Los Angeles $40 Date Night Challenge
4. Greg and Anna’s Los Angeles $40 Date Night