30 March 2008

malibu, 90263

So we were in Santa Monica today, and because we weren't sure about the traffic situation on the freeway (there had been a closure due to an accident earlier), we took PCH back.

I'm a bit reluctant to admit this, but, really, I don't know what the big deal is about Malibu. Sure, it's nice out there. But I think the beaches I saw in Carmel and Pacific Grove up north were a hundred times prettier. Or Kailua Beach on Oahu. Or Waimea Beach on the other side of the island. Now those are truly beautiful beaches.

You need nice shops and cafes by the beach? Carmel's got them. So does Pacific Grove. Sure, these beaches are farther up north and Malibu is considerably warmer, at least much of the time, but weather can't be the only thing people look for in the beach, is it? Or is it?

It must be all that hype with the celebrity population that makes Malibu attractive, because, although the drive along PCH is nice enough (I admit, it beats driving on 101), there are miles of ugly houses on the ocean side of the road, and hundreds of feet of parked cars to look at that kind of take away from the joy of driving by the sea. There's also -- it seems always -- some type of construction going on that makes the area visually unappealing to me.

So there. I've said it. I'm not particularly crazy about Malibu, and if that deeply offends someone's sensibility, there's nothing I can do about it.

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