It was featured as a Chicago city street in the 1975 motion picture "The Sting" through the use of matte photography, if that gives you any idea of its styling. Though much of what was left of the original Pacific Ocean Park has long since either eroded into the sea or burned down to the cement foundations. It's been quite some time since a coaster pounded over the slats and sent riders zipping over the surf.

That was all being changed with the opening of Pacific Park. With a new amusement section that sprung up in place of the old penny arcade and Arabian decorated restaraunt, you can ride a Sea Dragon or take a spin with the Sig Alert bumper cars. We discovered that the Santa Monica Westcoaster wasn't yet operating, but were informed that the coaster would traverse the park at a speed of 35 m.p.h., undulating in graceful arcs and presenting some scenic views before climaxing in a double spiral. This year, we hope to bring you the update, until then, you must know that after hanging out with a very cool German artist who is working on a sculpture involving the underside of the pier, we removed ourselves to the car once again and with a serious hankering for seafood, we began the night journey to Santa Cruz.