Planet Malibu

I was greeted by seagulls on my fifth step on the beach. 
Not a lot of shore in this cove and the seagulls knew it and took their space flaunting their beauty. I got their message and walked where I belonged - a few steps away on the entry of the cafe. The world of Take-Out has blossomed during 2020 and this 50s style beach front cafe is no exception. I can spot the manager from the corner of my eye, counting his customers, and hence - his register. 

I faced my first dilemma: A milkshake or... a milkshake? The choices are limited in this back-in-time spot, and I finalize my decision on a (surprise!) milkshake and don't call out the barista on the duplicated item on the menu. It's a tough year after all, we all make mistakes.  

I pay the gentleman with my phone (another travel in time - this time to the future with apple pay finally entering our lives) and he hands me a black square pager - a kind I haven't seen in a while. I am reminded of New York - when I used to hand these out to people waiting in line at a popular meatpacking restaurant.
Was I a hostess there!? I don't recall. The years and THIS year have created a vacuum in my memory.
Oh well, what is in the past - is deep in the past it seems. This is one mystery I will not solve and it doesn't bother me one bit. 

I take my sentimental pager with me and scope the area.
There are seats separated more than six feet apart for the world we're in and they have front seats view to the show of the year: the pacific ocean and its entrancing tranquility.
There is a pier to the left, and a cliff to the right. The ground is 'Sand Meets Rocks': the ultimate beach combo, and there are about three dozen people occupying the beach. Keeping their distance, of course. For a moment - one can forget the reality we are in at this majestic spot.

After an hour or so of sipping my milkshake and lazying on the sand - the real show begins: The Sunset. 
Though it seems something is off about the show tonight: the sun doesn't set directly in the center of the ocean. Nope. Here, the sun sets to my right behind the cliff. And if that doesn't weird you up enough - the moon is appearing to the left almost above the water.' Woah, it's like being on another planet'  I think to myself.

For some, this wouldn't be an exciting feature, but for me: a woman who has seen countless sunsets in Tel-Aviv - which go down smack in the center of the Mediterranean sea - a sunset on the side of the ocean is an unusual sight. A sight that transports me to Mars, or somewhere even more mysterious. (considering all the Mars we've seen in Hollywood movies, it just isn't the most exotic planet I can think of, ya know?) 

So here I am, seeing the pinks and the oranges and the purples light up the waters and the moonlight showing its presence, and I am looking at the unusual sight, and feeling a bit chilly on this Saturday night of November, and I think to myself 'What a wonderful planet, this Malibu planet.'