Social Distance Road Trip: An Escape to the Beach in Malibu

The hope this year was a return visit to Hawai'i, and we probably would have been heading there this weekend. But then, alas, COVID got in the way. So instead, we drove to Malibu and found a less crowded part of the beach to enjoy the outdoors. The water was cold, alas, so it's definitely not Hawai'i. But the Blogger Kid 2.0 and I still waded in it for quite a while. And both kids (above and below) had fun chasing the waves and making various sand creations.

The big highlight, however, was the dolphins. We saw an entire school of them, and they put on a show for us — leaping out of the water, swimming through waves, going back and forth. Definitely made the $15 parking worth the price of admission. It was hard to capture the dolphins in photos, but you may see a few in the ones below.

Endless Summer in Southern California

Yes, the Blogger Kids are back in school... but with the temperatures still as high as they are, we finally hit the beach for the first time this summer. We generally head to Manhattan Beach, where the parking gods always smile on us. A tip: go in the late afternoon, as the crowds clear out. Stay for the sunset. Eat dinner in town.

A Visit to Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach is one of those places you like in theory, but there's honestly no real reason to travel all the way down to the south part of Orange County to see. (Especially having spent plenty of time there in the 1990s.) But we happened to be at a gathering in Irvine a few weeks ago, so we took the opportunity to explore.

What I enjoy about Laguna is the almost island vibe you get, as if you were walking around Lahaina. Of course, the promise of Laguna as an artists' colony has long ago been replaced by extreme wealth (as celebrated on MTV's "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County"), but its location has allowed it to retain a small town charm.

Franklin Avenue's First-Ever Trip to Miami: The Fountainbleu, South Beach and the Art Deco Hotels

As you may have seen me mention, a few weeks ago I flew to Miami to attend the television business' annual NATPE convention, now held at the famed Fountainbleu hotel. (Above, that was the view from my room. I know.) I got a chance to moderate panels with legendary writer/producer/director James L. Brooks and Bravo's "Watch What Happens" host Andy Cohen (videos are still pending); I've already shared the pics from Endemol's event featuring the unusual mix of Pitbull, Ja Rule and Courtney Love. But I also had a chance to briefly explore Miami Beach -- here are some pics, including several of the famed South Beach art deco hotels.


The Fountainbleu.


Another view from my hotel balcony.


Looking the other direction from my room.


The view, looking west, from the Fountainbleu.

Art deco Cadillac dealer.


"World Erotic Art Museum." You lost me at "OWNER."


"No Firearms... EXCEPT AS PERMITTED UNDER FLORIDA LAW." So... then everywhere?


Economic recovery? There was quite a bit of building in South Beach -- tear downs, rehabs and completely new construction.


A cool 70 degrees on Jan. 29 in Miami Beach.


The famed art deco hotels of South Beach, starting with the Breakwater.


The Congress Hotel.


Hotel Victor.


Leslie.


The Carlyle.


The Cavalier.


The Penguin Hotel and the Crescent.

A Tar-Filled Day at the Beach

I'm not a big beach guy. Don't get me wrong, I love the beach, and would spend more time there if I could... but living on the East side (yes, I live East of the Los Angeles River, so I'm saying that right), we just don't make the trek to the shore often enough. Nonetheless, having lived in Hawai'i, I know what great beaches are all about. So allow me to be a little bit of a snob and complain about beach tar.

This Sunday we traveled down to Manhattan Beach, and the water was chilly as usual -- but at an acceptable level to get inside. But not acceptable was the amount of tar washing up on the shores. The stuff sticks to your skin, and it takes a great amount of baby oil and scrubbing to get it off.

Tar? On the beach? Yes, it's a Southern California tradition.



Heal the Bay explains what's causing all that tar:

"Natural oil seeps are present in the Santa Monica Bay off the coast of Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach. They are a natural geological occurrence and are not caused by any human activity. On average, about 10 barrels (420 gallons) of oil from the seeps reach the sea surface daily in Santa Monica Bay. Surface oil generally drifts northward, towards the shore, reaching the beaches from Redondo Beach to Malibu in a few days. Tar on Santa Monica Bay beaches also comes from natural seeps in the Santa Barbara Channel. Geologic activity, like earthquakes, can affect the flow of natural oil seeps."

The tar is much worse in Santa Barbara; I remember staying once at a beachside hotel and wondering why it smelled like an oil refinery.

Whatever Happened to Beach Bonfires?

Whatever happened to the legendary Southern California trend of beach bonfires? You know, the pivotal scene in countless beach movies, from Annette and Frankie to Gidget. As the Los Angeles Times' Gale Holland writes, years of regulation have dramatically decreased where and when you can hold a beach bonfire -- including a current battle in Newport Beach:

The real reason for the proposed ban is that some Newport residents want the beaches to themselves. It's the same crowd that is trying to stamp out the beach town's historic honky-tonk flavor: witness the squeeze city fathers and mothers have put on Balboa Fun Zone, the raucous playground of my youth.

No one seems to know exactly how or why it came to this. As a child, I remember my father digging a hole in the sand and setting driftwood on fire. In my teens, I flirted with boys beside roaring bonfires. But by 1990, beach fires had been banned along L.A.'s shoreline outside of designated rings at Dockweiler and Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, supposedly because of an "explosion" in coastal visitors.

The ensuing years have seen sporadic fights over beach fires up and down the state, with the exception of Santa Cruz and San Diego counties, where, despite some skirmishes, they have kept their place as civic treasures.

Holland notes that there's a reason why fires are still allowed at Dockweiler: "Straddled by a refinery and a sewage plant, and crisscrossed by jets screaming out of LAX, it's the least pristine beach in the L.A. Basin. There are no homeowners around to complain that outsiders, with their clanking coolers and folding chairs, are invading their turf. Nearly 800 houses on the cliffs above Dockweiler were removed decades ago because of the airport racket."

Beating the Heat in Manhattan Beach

Now that we've found free parking in Manhattan Beach, just a few blocks from the beach, it's become our go-to spot to hit the sand. (The 105 is also a lot less crowded on warm weekend mornings than the 10, as folks driving to Santa Monica and Malibu clog the freeway).

Where do you hit for a quick few hours at the beach? Let us know below.

Did KNBC Show A Little Too Much Nude Beach Footage?

Reporting on the potential shutdown of the San Onofre Nude Beach, KNBC ran a clip of a guy, in the buff, hitting the waves.

I was watching the Channel 4 news in standard definition, and so the guy was pretty blurry to me. But Nanette, who was watching in high definition, says she saw, well, a little bit more. Yep, his junk, right there in high def.

Nanette says she might not have noticed it, had anchors Chuck Henry and Colleen Williams not reacted so strongly to the video.


"Was that what we thought that was?!"

Weatherman Fritz Coleman actually asked the obvious question: Why would you want to bathe nude so close to a nuclear power plant? Seems like that's a bad combination.

Yes, This Is Why We Live L.A.

It was one of the final perfect days on the coast. As a matter of fact, you would be hard-pressed to find a more perfect day to hit Venice (and Santa Monica) beach than Sunday afternoon. The temperature was right. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, which was clear enough to see far beyond Malibu to the north and Rancho Palos Verde to the south. Sailboats dotted the horizon. And, most importantly, the crowds were manageable. Hope you made it out there.