Kirsten Anderberg's URBAN ADVENTURES: Malibu

Paradise Cove in Malibu
I only know about Paradise Cove because we went there as kids. Our family used to load up the station wagon with kids and then we would go to Paradise Cove. The parents went into the restaurant/bar and the older kids watched the younger ones on the beach. Paradise Cove is a private beach, and there are lifeguards on the beach provided by the restaurant. The restaurant also delivers "to go" orders from the restaurant to you on the beach on your blanket! You buy 4 hours of free parking and beach use with a receipt of $25 or more from the restaurant. You can also eat on tables, in chairs, on the beach, during the day or at night, dine on the sand while listening to the crash of the waves! What could be nicer than that?!

Malibu Beach, 2008

Malibu, CA is located on Highway 1, on the Pacific Coast, in Los Angeles County. It is a beautiful place, still full of undeveloped canyons and with views that are amazing. Malibu hosts many upscale restaurants and hotels, as well as many private beaches that are rivaled by few other beaches for beauty...white soft sands, reasonable waves, gorgeous sunsets...Back in the 1800's, the area which is now known as the "Pacific Coast Highway," or Highway 1, was lined with train tracks for the Southern Pacific Railroad. (There is a big rock with an historic plaque, and some railroad ties, at Pacific Coast Highway, opposite Potrero Canyon.) By 1900, the railroad tracks were overgrown with brush.

Malibu looks out over the Pacific Ocean, with Topanga, and many other canyons, across from the ocean, leading out over the Santa Monica Mountains and into the San Fernando Valley inland. Malibu is home to Pepperdine University, a prestegious Catholic college with a campus overlooking the ocean. One of my favorite places to go on the way into Malibu is the Self-Realization Fellowship Temple and Ashram Center Lake Shrine. "The ten-acre site, with its gardens and natural spring-fed lake, is home to a variety of flora and fauna, including swans, ducks, koi, and lotus flowers." It really is an amazing place. Another interesting treasure in Malibu is the Getty Museum in Pacific Palisades, next to Malibu. The Getty Villa is The Getty Villa is "modeled after a first-century Roman country house, the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, Italy." The Getty Museum also has a fabulous garden on site as well.

Do you need some relaxation and peace? Check out the Serra Retreat in Malibu, run by Franciscan priests. It is named after Father Serra, founder of the CA Mission system. The Serra Retreat is "located atop a hill" and "is embraced by the protective arms of the Santa Monica Mountains, 30 miles east of Los Angeles. Looking out over a glistening Pacific Ocean panorama, the scenic walks and gardens provide the solitude and serenity conducive to inner peace. The center offers four conference rooms and 99 beds." The Franciscans also offer a similar retreat in San Luis Obispo.

20th Century Fox Ranch - MASH, F Troop, Kung Fu, Planet of the Apes, Swiss Family Robinson, and more...
We used to go to the 20th Century Fox Ranch first for parties with our parents, but soon the older teen girls in our family became friends with the people who lived in the house on the property and they let us go in and just wander around whenever we wanted. My older sister Jan, and I, used to cut high school and go to "the ranch" where we would play in the sets leftover from the Planet of the Apes, MASH, and more. The place was mysterious due to the streams and odd rock formations that ran through it and you would walk up the streams and stumble on more sets. We were usually alone (and smoking pot, it was the 1970's) and that gave us a surreal feeling in sets like Planet of the Apes. My sisters were given MASH 4077 coats from the MASH set at "the ranch" and we used to wear them to high school. This history-rich property is now owned by the state and is located in Malibu Creek State Park, where all can walk around the place that is shown in the opening shot of every episode of the TV series MASH. There is an informative article about this ranch at http://travel.latimes.com/articles/la-tr-malibu21oct21. This is also an excellent place to camp and hike.

Favorite Malibu Restaurants
* Paradise Cove

Santa Monica Conservancy, Malibu, CA - 2008

Malibu Hills Nature Trails by the Ocean
Malibu has some beautiful public nature trails (such as the trailhead above) throughout the Santa Monica Mountains and foothills neighboring the Malibu Colony.

Pacific Ocean at Malibu, CA - January, 2008

Malibu Resources
* Malibu: A Century of Living by the Sea
* Beach Houses: From Malibu to Laguna
* On the Trail - Malibu to Santa Barbara
* Main St. to Malibu: Yesterday & Today
* Malibu History, Disasters, Attractions, and more...MalibuComplete.com