Time to go south

I previously rode a bike north all the way to the edge of Venice Beach , this time I’m heading south . Only this time I’ve decided to walk . Gotta week off from classes , so it’s time to tick the next box . You see , I keep looking to the rising headland of Palos Verdes , thinking I’ve gotta check it out . There’s a building on the horizon with some kind of rock wall , but I also know there is a surf spot called Haggertys . On the rare occasion there’s enough swell I’l look across and see small white balls rolling along the raised cliffs … and wonder ? I ‘ l get there sometime . Today’s the day . It’s actually very cold , 16 degrees , sunny with a bitter ocean wind . Very Melbourne . The headphones are on and I’m listening to Jj . It’s a real treat ;Hunters and Collectors , Missy Higgins , Boy and Bear ,Painters and Dockers and a host of Aussie 80s and 90s pub bands . It’s weird , it’s 10 am here and I’m listening to music played on the other side of the world at 4 am there . You walk along the coast of California while music humms through the early hours of a balmy Aussie night . Joggers , walkers , bike riders . You look at them : do you know what I’m listening to ? Can you see what I’m looking at . It’s the Ocean , it’s beautiful but you can’t see it . You’re too busy . I’m daydreaming , transplanting myself back to the early hours of Aus , thinking I’m in the pub . The same time I’m transfixed on the waves ; jumbled, messed up , but occasionally I’m seeing myself out there . That’s when I see it . A buoy broken off its mooring , it’s white triangular shape bobbing and disappearing in the waves .I lose it , get lost in the music , and then another dude rides past . But hey that face is familiar ,I know it , he catches my eye and his lip curls up . Who is that fucker ? Nah , it’s not him , or is it ? I could be wrong , but that bloke with the sunnies on and hoodie looked like ….. fuck was that just Denzel Washington?? Shit , I don’t want to declare it , but I reckon I just caught the fucker out hiding under his hoodie , going on a sneaky bike ride , thinking he’s flying under the radar . He knew he might’ve been caught out but he was gone…. rode off . It’s not like I could’ve or would’ve run after him and taken a photo , fuck that . Little things happen when you look carefully , that’s when I noticed the people with their phones taking pictures of the shore . I stop , that’s where that buoy was . Wasnt it ? No …. you dumb fucker , it’s a whale ! Now it all becomes obvious ., the buoy is in fact a small whale , rollicking in the shore breaker . If you look hard you see things , today’s the day . Eventually I keep going , now I’ve gone further than I’ve gone before , the path ends and it’s just sand and rising headland . I’m nearly there . just a little further . The cliffs rise . Decrepit , landslipped , broken and under developed . So typical Californian , don’t need to do it properly . Can’t make it look good or spend the right money on making it proper . Fuck regulation or procedure . Finally I’m within range . There’s the rock wall . The building is a yacht club , prime water frontage , but like everything else here ; old run down and woefully under utilised . You imagine this place jazzed up , with cool restaurant and beer garden ,looking over a rugged headland , with a classic surfbreak and rugged Pacific backdrop . No , don’t want to upset the locals , they’l probably sue . Everyone else does .Finally I’m here . It feels like I’m at the southern most point of MtMartha beach , except there are waves and surfers . I adjust several times before I get the prized shot to complete my journey ….only for my phone to shut down ….. the battery has gone flat . No !! Fuck it i’l have to do it again . I did see a whale …Denzel Washington …. in California …….. beat that