Malibu - the other days.: Day 1 - Sea
Mountain Ranch - Our Arrival
Day 2 - Discovering
Malibu's Beaches
Hangin' at Our Favorite Malibu beach. Morning
brings us sun and a great view of the Pacific Ocean stretched out before us some
3000 feet below. We enjoy our breakfast of famous fried rice, coffee, and pastries.We're
torn between hanging out here for the day or going down to Malibu Beach. Malibu
wins out. There's still things to explore there and Pat wants to walk on the beach
of the famous Malibu Colony.
Make
a reservation at Sea Mountain Ranch.
Back in Malibu we hit Ralph's market to pick up
the makings for a lunch. Then we head over to the Adamson House. Today we're staying
local. No big driving. 
The
Adamson house is just sevral blocks away. It's operated by the State of California
and was formerly owned by one of the daughters of the family who once owned most
of the Malibu coastline. I'm not much for museums but I loved this place. In a
very small space the operators of the Adamson House have created an excellent
display on the history of Malibu. And it's a fascinating history. I'm not going
into it here. Click on Adamson
House to learn more about tours and hours. We loved the tour of this beautiful
beach house and we learned that the grounds can be rented for weddings. 
Imagine
getting married on a grass lawn overlooking world famous Surfrider Beach with
the unique Adamson House in the background and adjacent to the Malibu Lagoon,
which swarms with birds.
From the Adamson House its' a short walk to the
beach access. Even though this is October there are about a dozen surfers out
in the water. All but one of them is wearing a full wet suit. The water temperature
is in the high 50's, maybe low 60's. The sun though is making us feel quite toasty
as we walk along the beach towards the Malibu Lagoon and the Malibu Colony. The
surf is small today but the break is excellent. It's the best I've seen in ages.
The surfers are getting long slow easy rides on the waves today. At the entrance
to the Malibu Colony is a tall chain link fence with a warning sign. 
"Private
Property. No Trespassing." Of course that isn't exactly true. You can walk this
beach if you stay below the mean high tide mark. Pat decides that is exactly what
she is going to do. The tide is low but I don't want to go. Even though I don't
think people should be able to block access to public beaches, I do feel that
the people who have homes here are deserving of privacy and I don't want to intrude.
The odds are that no one is even home today. Few people actually live here. This
is just another getaway place for celebrities. Johnie Carson has a house here.
We part ways here for awhile. 
Pat
goes walking up the beach and I go back to the lagoon to watch the pelicans.
The Malibu Lagoon is so neat I can't believe it
exists here so close to L.A. If I didn't know I better, it would be easy to think
that it was man made by a Disney type person but it is natural and the home of
hundreds of birds. Today, the pelicans are the dominant bird. I can get within
about 100 feet before they take off in mass, swoop out over the sand, surf just
over the wave tops and then circle back to land in the lagoon about 100 yeards
from where they took off. 
I
wonder how many people drive Hwy 1 and have no idea that this oasis exists within
a 100 yards of them?
About an hour has passed and I see Pat coming back
onto the public beach. Apparently she has eluded arrest. I say that jokingly because
what she did was legal. But I had told her that some celebrity might have hired
goons to harass anyone walking along the beach in front of the Malibu Colony.
The sun is getting low in the sky now and it's getting too cool to be on the beach
without a jacket. Back in our car we stop at a KFC to pick up dinner. Then it's
back up the mountain to our aerie in the sky.
Before eating our dinner of fried chicken we first
go to the sauna. Fifteen minutes there to get warm and our pores opened up and
then it's to the Jacuzzi for one last soak beneath the stars. We have a hot tub
at home and we love it. We live in the mountains and our hot tub is under the
stars as well. But the Sea Mountain Ranch spa has a setting that stirs your senses.
It's dark now as we let the jets massage out bodies. Then we turn off the jets
so we can just listen to the quietness of this place. Sleep comes quick to us
tonight. We are totally relaxed and away from the world.
Make
a reservation at Sea Mountain Ranch.
The sun is with us again this morning. We enjoy
our last breakfast overlooking the pool and the ocean below. We say goodbye to
Dewey and thank him for being a great host. Instead of driving back via Malibu
we go down the other side of the mountain to the San Fernando Valley. We're back
in the heavily developed valley within 15 minutes. Looking back to the mountains
it's hard to believe that Sea Mountain Ranch exists up there, a totally different
world from the busy environment we have just re-entered.
Malibu - the other days.: Day 1 - Sea
Mountain Ranch - Our Arrival
Day 2 - Discovering
Malibu's Beaches
Visit the Sea Mountain Ranch
web site.When you book a suite at the Ranch for a weekday visit, tell them On
the Beach sent you and you'll get $100 off the standard weekday rate.
Make
a reservation at Sea Mountain Ranch.
Meet other beach lovers
at: Beach
Lover Personals.
Click on the search button
to look for more beach information.
