If you're headed to Santa Monica, you will most likely end up spending some time at the Third Street Promenade--a three-block stretch of all your "favorite" mall stores (Gap, Banana, B&N, Apple, Express, etc.), coffee shops and some sub-par restaurants.
We don't want to lie to you and so we won't: The Promenade, while convenient, sucks. It's always crowded and dirty and the random street performers don't make things any better. Seriously: Is there a need for a father-son gymnastics duo here? Also, there are tons of parents who like to pimp out their kids on the Promenade by making them do "acts" like playing the keyboard or singing over a Lauryn Hill tape.
It's not just sad; it's annoying. Tourists who think these kinds of acts are cute crowd up the sidewalk making it harder for us to get the hell outta the place.