ShopEatSleep

This is the first post by filmmaker (and my boyfriend!) Rory Delaney. This video was shot and edited by him.

If you’re like me, you’re always on the lookout for cheap excursions in LA. And since I’m a beach guy and a dog guy, a combo of the two packs the perfect punch. Unfortunately, LA city officials couldn’t agree less and forbade dogs from Santa Monica Beach all the way down to Redondo. (If you have a rebellious streak and press your luck, know that if you and your pooch get busted it’s punishable by a $600 fine). And while there are official dog beaches in Long Beach and Huntington Beach — Maya and I used to frequent Huntington’s Bark Beach when we lived in Anaheim once upon a time — the last thing I want to spend my free time doing is battling Orange County traffic with two revved-up pugs on my lap kicking my bladder repeatedly.

So I started taking Sushi and Zelmo to Malibu. And though you can still get stuck in traffic on PCH, at least you can stare out at an ocean view instead of an industrial panorama of Downey or the Wilmington oil refinery. The first beach I took them to in Malibu was El Matador Beach, a relatively secluded spot on the northern end of town past Pepperdine University. And while technically El Matador also forbids dogs, there have been several other pooches roaming free whenever I’ve chilled there. The catch with El Matador is you have to walk down a series of steep stairs to get to the water so if your dog is spooked by declines, beware. But when you do finally get down to the beach your reward is a bunch of cool rock formations and miniature caves where your dog can explore with little risk of any surprise police encounters. However, if you do get busted, don’t come to me looking for six hundred bones because I’m pleading the 5th.