Prime I know State Beach well. My college beach. I played volleyball 'till I dropped. We built our own mini surf boards and called them Belly Boards. Life Magazine took pics of us belly boarding some State Beach storm breakers one December. No wet suits just white T shirts. The term Belly Board went world wide. My high school summers were spent at Sorrento Beach just south of State. Grammar school years were spent at Muscle Beach. I remember filling water melons with Myers 151 Rum and bringing them to State.
I also had amazing beach time around the world and sailed both the Mediterranean amd Caribbean. I may never see the sea again and thats OK with me. I now enjoy the lakes and streams of Arizona's White Mountains. I saw a giraffe give birth.
Life has been amazing.......
My parents had a place in Beverly Hills and later in West Los Angeles, State Beach was a short trip from our home. My mom would have the house in order by 9:00 a.m. then we'd be packing the Caddy up with our beach stuff and off we went. We were both so tan, we looked Indian accept with blond hair and light colored eyes.
When I was in my teens, my parents bought a small weekend horse/hobby farm (an acre) in Encino. There was an Olympic size pool with diving board in the yard. The beach trips were much less frequent when we lived there. When I was in High School, most of the kids I hung with went to Zuma Beach. I missed going to State Beach. As soon as I was old enough to drive and my parents bought me a car, I was headed back to State Beach every chance I got.
When my mom and I went to State Beach, I'd sometimes hike all the way down to muscle beach, because even as a kid, I wanted to be built like those fella's. Muscle Beach being at on end of Santa Monica and State Beach at the other, I am surprised my mom let be go this far....hmm, maybe she was trying to get rid of me. LOL!
I live in Oregon now. The beach here is nice but the water is freezing even in the summer. The weather at the beach is generally sunny in late August and September. Any earlier than that, you never know what you will get weather wise after driving 80 miles to Cannon Beach or Seaside. I don't get down to the beach very often these days.