Just Outside LA is a Dog Owners Beach Paradise

My first Ventura venture brought me to the mall, where I was helping to build a shoe store. The commute was a bitch for a seven to five work day and the mall food made me long for the taco stands of the big city. On one early morning my brother and I arrived bleary-eyed to the mall's service entrance to find ourselves stood up by the boss. He had worked late and slept in and we were going to have most of the morning to kill in Ventura.

Being new to LA, I had no idea what to do in Ventura. We took off down Main St. to find a breakfast joint, hoping to dodge another lunch in the food court. The strip was less than bustling, with dusty store fronts slapped onto fifties architecture reminiscent of Iowa. After some searching we found Pete's, a small diner with a large vertical "Restaurant" sign rising up from the turquoise awning.

This past weekend, I felt Pete's calling me back again. The top notch diner food next to the LA area's most dog friendly beaches had been neglected too long. We packed the car and drove an easy hour out to the coast for breakfast and beach bocce ball.

Being from the east coast and growing up in Iowa, I like things understated. I worked as a valet at an ocean side restaurant in Malibu and felt very sympathetic to the customers, who had to surrender their keys to go eat fish 'n chips. It was nice to be in a town that likely had no valet parking. The parking lot for Pete's is a potholed mix of gravel and cement where you can look across the street at a weird cowboy dummy that stands over a giant smoking grill to attract business to the local smokehouse. It's creepy and great.

Inside Pete's Breakfast House we are greeted with smiling staff and free coffee while we wait for our table. Like I said, it's a small place so you usually have to wait a few minutes. Free coffee though! I mean I thought they only did that at car themed establishments. You know, your dealerships, shops, oil change bays... We waited outside in the sunshine where there are cafe tables and benches. It was pleasant.

Then we ate. Honestly, I have no complaints about the place. It's great food, not gourmet, but great. It's simple and delicious, like what a diner should be. The prices are great, under ten bucks for most entrees and the service was awesome. If I said yes every time I was offered more coffee I would have had about six cups. I had to hide my mug behind the sugar caddy.

Then it was off to the beach. Dogs allowed! Pumpkin was brimming with excitement as we drove into the harbor and the smells of fishing boats wafted through the air. Venice, Santa Monica, Malibu, this is what they are missing. There are no fishing boats, docks, marinas. Funny how you miss these things. You never get to a beach and go, "damn, where's the boardwalk"? There are plenty of shops at the Harbor Beach but the beach itself is unspoiled. There's a big dune and then sand and water... and jetties. The way the good Lord intended. There were remnants of bonfires, driftwood galore, skipping stones and dogs. I had found an east coast beach outside LA. A perfect escape.