Are You There God, It's Me...On the Beach, Happy To Be Alive.

It boggles the mind that some people actually live right here by the beach, people camp by the beach, people picnic by the beach, people play by the beach. Moni and her mom took off their shoes to walk in the warm sand and both picked up tar that seeps off the ocean floor.

No smoking please.

The waves come gently rolling in and it gives you a peaceful feeling.

Lifeguards watch so nobody gets in trouble or has an unnecessary accident.

That's kelp in the foreground.

What a great place for kids to frolic.

What a great place for kids to fly kites and build sand castles. Unlike Chicago and other places I have been, there are no parking meters or parking lots that charge you to park.

Monica and her mother told stories about how they would get camping permission each year. Karen loved taking her kids camping right by the water. When Karen wanted to make a reservation she has to go to Sears where they had a ticketron outlet a year to the day she wanted her camping permission slip. She and a lot of other ladies would line up before the Sears opened so they could rush up the stairs and register. On the day they camped at this Carpinteria beach Pat, Monica's dad, would drive up and set up the tent before he went to his job at NBC in Burbank. Pat just had a dream about not getting along with his coworkers and he woke up and was relieved he no longer worked there.