Dick on Malibu Beach, shooting pictures.

Personally, my favorite time at the beach is in winter when only the seabirds populate the sand. Several times a week, I enjoy taking four to six mile walks along the beach, inhaling the ions from crashing waves. Without the crowds, these walks become a meditation—an opportunity for inspirations to fill my mind.

It is a rare day when a TV or movie crew isn't filming in the area. Recently, when leaving the house for my walk, I found a film company had set up in our driveway for shots of an antique car driving down the street. I waited for them to complete the take, then proceeded past all the activity down the street, past a house where gunmen were chasing each other across a lawn—another film. Upon reaching the beach, I accidentally walked into a shot being taken for a third film. "Sorry," I said to the director. He smiled, shrugged and started over.

There is a local "no growth" policy, which assures the city will remain very rural, but it has blocked the potential of any new businesses which would help provide a more realistic tax base—something needed by a community that has as many natural catastrophes as we do: fires, earthquakes, floods, mudslides, and roads that tend to collapse or fall victim to landslides on a regular basis.

Tourists are often disappointed upon arriving in Malibu. I guess they expect to find something spectacular, and observe movie and rock stars eating in every restaurant. Hundreds of celebrities do live here, and if you look beyond your expectations, you'll find much that is truly spectacular.

Houses along Escondido Beach.

Malibu is also home to quite a few New Age authors: Jess Stearn, Shirley MacLaine, and Ralph Blume for starters. An East Indian guru lives on one of the mountain tops and has conflicts with his neighbors over the amount of helicopter traffic he generates. In Malibu Canyon, the Aswin Hindu Temple is a beautiful site to visit. My son Scott owns the "Malibu Shaman," the local metaphysical book and tape store.

The Malibu Shaman Metaphysical Store at the Country Mart -- Cross Creek Road and Pacific Coast Highway.

The population of Malibu is only 18,000 people, and we have no real downtown—no central business district. The shopping areas at Cross Creek Road are as close as we get to a downtown. The rest of our shopping is stretched out along the coast over the 27 miles. But beyond our borders, we're surrounded by limitless choices: Santa Monica is just down the coast. Twelve miles inland, over the mountains, is Agoura Hills and Westlake and Thousand Oaks are nearby. Above us is Oxnard and Ventura.

The view driving from Malibu over the Santa Monica Mountains to Agoura Hills where the editorial offices are located.

Click HERE
for Part 3 of
“Our Malibu”