Malibu Beach House Birthday

My beautiful and wonderful friend Carolyn belatedly celebrated her birthday by renting a house on the water in Malibu and it was absolute perfection!  Despite the clouds and rain, it was still wonderful and relaxing to spend hours watching the waves crash and walking along the sand.  Also, if you've never sat in a jacuzzi next to the ocean, I highly recommend it!

Being with a group of people that you don't have watch your words with, that you can tease and joke and laugh until your entire body hurts...that's magic.  I feel incredibly blessed that I have kind, genuine, incredible people who have made room in theirs lives and hearts for me.

Morning Marine Layer Pt. 1

I will never not love spending my Sunday morning watching the sun rise along the coast.

I headed up PCH, stopping at Piedra Beach, Zuma, and a stretch of beach a couple miles north of the Malibu pier.  The ocean was dotted with surfers, waiting for the perfect wave and the only sound I could hear are the waves crashing.  Dark and moody driving soundtrack provided by Sleeping at Last.

Also Piedra Beach is slightly terrifying, as I had to climb across a stretch of the earth only a few inches across with my camera in tow and all I could imagine was accidentally hurling my body down the cliff and dying. Normal thought, yes?

El Matador

Today I headed up PCH to visit the beach of El Matador for the first time.  It's about 10 miles north of the Malibu pier, and a little bit of a hike down to the shoreline.  It has been dubbed "the most romantic beach in Los Angeles" and I can definitely see why - the coast was dotted with couples with picnic baskets, couples walking hand in hand, and waves crashing against lovely rock formations.  The sunset was simply beautiful - the tide getting low and the sun reflecting off the water, creating gorgeous oranges and shadows among the rocks.  As the sun lowered into the ocean, new blues and pinks spread across the sky, forcing everyone on the sand to stop and absorb the beauty of this place.   It was ones of those days that made me fall in love with Southern California for the millionth time.

I took this solo trip as an exercise in manual mode, trying to stretch my photography muscles (so please forgive the lighting).




A Malibu Drive

It's simple, quiet moments I enjoy the most.  A little drive with the best company.  Listening to the waves crash on the rocks over sips of coffee.  Walking hand in hand with someone you adore.  Talking all day, saying nothing at all - savoring all the time you have.

On the way to the Malibu pier, we stopped at a couple places on the coast in the Palisades.  Watched the surfers, the birds, and the sun lower into the ocean.  It was a memorable day of doing nothing in particular.  It had the perfect ending as well: oysters at Santa Monica Seafood; it doesn't get much better.