Gypsy Mom Ready to roll – NOW

Can you believe we boondocked in Malibu for a month? I can’t believe it’s even possible.. Just outside of Zuma Beach on  PCH, they allow overnight parking. We also enjoyed spending time at the tidepools and caves at Leo Carrillo State Beach

This was the longest we’d stayed in any one area during this trip and even then we drove into the San Fernando Valley to visit with family while we were there, so it wasn’t a continuous stay in Malibu. But still.. close enough.

It was close enough that I got used to hearing the waves lapping at the shore while I slept. In fact, after just a few days, I was missing the sound when we left.

Have you heard of Binaural beats? They’re sound waves that you play with headphones. Different frequencies are played in each ear and when they get inside your head, they can target specific parts of the brain for relaxation, energy, mental focus, even sexual stimulation. Listening to the waves must have had an effect on my brain because the way it felt to allow the rhythm of the waves to sink into my being was a huge experience. Being there just.felt.right.

One thing I felt strongly about when I first envisioned life on the road was that I wanted to really lay down a couple roots in every place we went. The time we spent in Malibu was really special.
We got to know the rhythm of the coast.

Every day, around 6 am when the sun rose, the local surfers would come by. They would arrive in their wetsuits and carry their boards out to the sea. When they finished up, they’d return to their cars, sometimes stripping down naked (without knowing about the psychomom in the RV watching them) and changing their clothes for work around 8 or 9 am. It was then that the morning fitness people would arrive. These are the runners, the joggers and the dog walkers. These people were usually locals, too. Locals park on PCH and tourists park in the parking lots. They would arrive between 10am and noon, setting up their camps on the beach with umbrellas, radios, colorful towels and coolers filled with snacks. Many of them would slather on a ton of sunscreen and head into the water or bathe in the sun, depending on their preference. Around 4 or 5, the beachgoers would leave and the fitness crowd would return. As they dwindled away, the sunset-gawkers would arrive. Sometimes you could feel them counting down until the sun dropped behind the sea and more than half of them would leave when the sun was no longer visible. Don’t make that mistake. I’ve learned that some of the best colors, cloud shapes and prettiest shadows come when the last remaining fragments of light begin to fade.

I always intended to play in the ocean, but every time I felt my feet getting numb I’d change my mind. That water was COLD.  I can’t wait to take my kids to the gulf coast of Florida so we can play in that water, from what I remember it’s so warm and clear. Hopefully the BP thing hasn’t ruined it.

Anyway, we familiarized ourselves with Malibu, deeply. We shared the community’s mourning of a local grocery store. Their land was bought out by the Wal Mart family and they’re replacing it with a strip mall.

We were lucky to have stopped into the Malibu Gardens Nursery, although their business card says Trancas Canyon Nursery and the owner tells me that their land was part of the buyout. A new nursery would be built on the site, but only after everything is graded down and started from scratch.

Malibu is one of the more expensive areas to live. Celebrities live in Malibu. We saw Cher’s house (which, incidentally, is the new Hannah Montana House) and we got to stroll the beach behind The Colony, where Pink lives (I totally would have asked if she had a trapeze in her house and begged to play on it if I saw her, but alas…)

Anyway, I just can’t believe how lucky we were to be able to spend a month in Malibu. I tried to have a beach party, but very few people could all make it out the same day. We found ourselves entertaining quite often anyway. Brandon’s friend from Jr High came out for a visiit with his beautiful family. Our family friend Diane came for a visit, she was the mother of one of our high school friends, so she had a bunch of fun memories to share with us (and DAMN, she remembers everything). I was ale to visit with my friend Teresa (it had been over ten years) and Mike Hedge, a badass photographer, came out to visit, here are the pictures he took that day.

Anyway.. Summer in Malibu… Surfing, tanning, wave play, tide pools, pier fishing, restaurants, night clubs and $5 a day for public transportation into Los Angeles.

Wow. I got through that entire post and never once complained about all the sand in the motorhome. You know why? Because it wasn’t really that big of a deal. Whenever I found myself cleaning it up (and it was a daily chore), all I could think about was how lucky we are to be here. Life is Good