This past Saturday, with three other hardy souls, I completed the second leg of my hike along the City of Malibu’s entire coastline, from Leo Carrillo Beach to Topanga Canyon Blvd., a length of 21.5 miles. On the second leg, we went from the tip of Pt. Dume to Moonshadows Restaurant, about 10 miles, where the high tides prevented us from finishing our trek. We will do the final two miles in early July.
Nowhere on our journey were we prevented from access along Malibu’s coastline below the mean high tide line, although, at Duke’s Restaurant, a waiter told us we shouldn’t be there. I replied that I was filming him for television and would he like to make a statement. (We are doing a half hour film for local television of our trip.)
One disturbing thing we encountered was the gang graffiti which has been spray-painted in two places on the rocks of Malibu’s most beautiful beach, El Matador. This obscenity must be dealt with by the law enforcement authorities of the City of Malibu and the State of California (it is a state beach) so that it will never happen again. The message must go out to the gangs of Los Angeles that they are not welcome in our city if they are to pervert “visitor-serving” in this manner.
Ted Vaill