Mike Bode, Paul Jonason, Peter O'Sullivan and I made the round trip from Malibu's Surfrider State Beach to Topanga State Beach. When I think back on today's adventure, it was not so much the occasional shower that comes to mind as the fact that the rest of the people in LA County were nowhere to be seen. At Surfrider Beach there was only one other guy in the parking lot when we got there. During our 10 mile paddle we did not see any other kayaks, surfboards, or boats of any kind on the water. It was like we had discovered our own private ocean today.

The only people I saw along the way today were the ones looking out of the windows of the restaurants with ocean views.

I was more fortunate than Peter and Paul, at one point they looked up to see someone mooning them out of one of the houses. Normally they would have cheered such an outlandish display, but the size of this moon over Malibu was enough to make even a sumo wrestler blush.

It really was a great day on the water. Yes there were a few showers. But the wind was mild, the temperatures were comfortable, and the surf was benign. It was a day to be savored. We paddled at a conversational pace which afforded us the opportunity to enjoy the scenery of the coastline from a perspective that few people know about. For excitement we occasionally detoured through some of the rock gardens. No carnage or heroics to report, but we did have a lot of laughs along the way.

What a wonderful way to start the New Year.

Patrick Martin