This is a post about my experience with racism in Malibu at Matador Beach. I ended up having to walk the Pacific Coast Highway alone late at night.
California Bucket List Series
P.S. This is a post in my California Bucket List series. Here is the complete series:
Malibu Itinerary: The Best Day Trip to Malibu: A One Day Itinerary
Malibu Racism: My Experience with Racism at El Matador Beach
L.A. Bucket List: The Ultimate Los Angeles Summer Bucket List
I never thought I would be a writing about my experience walking the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in the middle of the night in Malibu. In all honesty, I didn’t really think it was that big of deal. But now that I look back on that experience, I can definitely see how I managed to suppress it. What I went through was traumatic. Period. This isn’t even something I would wish on my very worst enemy. But, apparently, because of the color of my skin, I was at a much bigger disadvantage in Malibu when it came to asking for help.
How I Ended Up in Malibu (racism in Malibu)
I took a trip to Malibu in 2021 while I was on vacation in Los Angeles for a week. My decision to go there was also influenced by a conversation I had with an Uber driver.
Since I didn’t have a car in LA, I booked several rides on Uber to take me to where I needed to go throughout the city. In fact, it wasn’t until I had a plan to go to Venice Beach that a conversation about Malibu developed with my Uber driver.
To bring you back to that moment, I told my Uber driver initially that I was planning to visit Venice Beach during my time in L.A. It’s one of Los Angeles most popular beaches so I figured why not check it out. However, since my Uber driver was a local in the area, he had a few thoughts about my choice.
For one thing, he mentioned that Venice Beach is one of the most unkempt beaches you could ever visit in California. Mostly due to the fact that many people who are experiencing homelessness in L.A. tend to set tents there as a form of alternative housing. Because of this, Venice Beach is usually crowded with many tents around the area, affecting the tourist experience. So, as an alternative, he recommended I go to Malibu to visit a beach. He told me people who are experiencing homelessness are not allowed to set up tents there and the beaches are very well kept.
So, after my Uber driver dropped me off at Venice Beach, I decided that I would take his recommendation into account.
On the last day of my trip, I made a plan to visit Malibu before my flight departed. It was leaving really late in the evening that day (10pm), so I figured I would have the rest of the morning and the afternoon to soak in the Malibu sun and lay by the beach.
My Trip to Zuma Beach (racism in Malibu)
After checking out of my Airbnb, I took an Uber to Venice Beach to catch the 134 bus to Malibu. The 134 bus makes a lot of major stops along the Pacific Coast Highway, including the Pacific Coast Highway/Morning View stop which stops right in front of Zuma Beach.
Once I got off at this stop, I did what any normal tourist would do and walked towards the beach.
Once there, I will admit, the beach definitely gave off different vibes than I expected. The sand was pristine. The water was blue. And yet, I didn’t see a lot of people on site, which I might add, made the beach even 10 times more relaxing.
After tanning on the beach for a while, I took a stroll along the water and noticed a cliff in the distance. I wasn’t exactly sure if it was something I could get to but I decided I might as well walk closer to it to find out.
Once I got closer to the cliff I noticed there was a trail all the way to top. The trail was called “Point Dume Walking Trail” so I figured the cliff had to be Point Dume. For those of you who are not familiar with Point Dume, it’s a promontory on the coast of Malibu. It clearly juts out into the Pacific Ocean on the beach, which is why it’s regarded as a famous tourist attraction.
So, like any other tourist, I made my way to the top of the cliff and took pictures at the top. I even made sure to capture a video too as a keepsake.
After spending some time at the Dume, I noticed the sun was about to set just around the corner. In fact, although, my energy was already spent at Zuma Beach. A part of me, still wanted to see the sunset up close.
So, to kill my curiosity, I decided to check and see what other beaches were nearby on Google Maps.
Matador Beach, surprisingly, stood out like a sore thumb.
So, I guess you can all expect what happened next…
I booked a Lyft from Point Dume to Matador Beach and the rest was history…
My Trip to Matador Beach (racism in Malibu)
Once I arrived at Matador Beach, I noticed that it wasn’t the average beach one would expect. Not a lot of people were suntanning on the beach. In fact, instead of suntanning, people were taking photos, LOTS OF PHOTOS.
So, in order words, if Instagram had a beach, this would be it. Matador Beach, the beach where no one suntans and where everyone is looking for the next photo op!
However, although this wasn’t the ideal place for me to suntan, I still wanted a picture of the sunset at the beach. So, like the curious traveler I am, I walked all the way to the right of the beach in hopes of finding the perfect spot for a pic.
I found a spot at the very end of the beach where the rocks became boulders and the beach looked like a mermaid spot. I then sat down in a little cave far from the shore as I waited for the sun to come down.
In fact, although I was pretty far from everyone else on the beach. I wasn’t alone. There was a woman that was also there at the far end of the beach taking some swimsuit pics with her photographer.
A few hours later, the sun finally came down a little so I took some pics. There were very gorgeous to see on camera and in person. But, what I wasn’t prepared for was how high the sea level would be as the sunset got closer..
At first, while I was sitting down on the beach, the water came up to my knees. In fact, the water so high that it even took my carry-on bag with it as well as my flip flops. I was in shock. Immediately, I started to run after my bag since the ocean swept it away. I was lucky I caught it in time but when it came to my flip flops I was not so fortunate.
After the tide died down, I could only find one of them. Which was obviously pretty useless since I had two feet. So, I did what anyone else would do in this situation and I let the other flip flop go. In fact, I’m lucky I had my carry-on bag with me since I had my Vans in there as well as a clean pair of socks.
However, when I opened my carry-on bag after it got swept by the ocean, I was surprised to see how sandy it was. And when I mean SANDY… I’m talking about sand all over my clothes, sand in my socks, sand on my laptop and even sand on my charger. I was shocked. I mean I know my bag got swept away by the ocean but I didn’t expect all the sand to get stuck inside.
It was all less than ideal.
So, as I got bummed out about everything, I decided now was the time to hit the hay and head back to the airport.
No Uber or Lyft in Sight (racism in Malibu)
Standing in the parking lot of the beach, I decided to request a Lyft to take me to the airport since it was getting darker than ever. However, when I opened the app to request the ride, there were no drivers on sight. Which was a little unsettling in my opinion…
If a Lyft dropped me off at this beach, how am I not able to find another Lyft driver to pick me up. But, instead of freaking out, I just remained patient as I waited.
However, as time went by, I was watching more and more people leave the beach by car. In fact, it was at that moment that I wished I knew I how to drive. It seemed like everyone got here by car but no one took a Rideshare option here like me. So, as more people left, I started to feel anxious.
Lyft and Uber were completely useless when it came to finding me a driver and to make thing worse, the sun was also no where in sight.
Looking back, a part of me now wonders what would have happened if I just would have asked someone for a ride. Although, I was a stranger and I didn’t know anyone at the beach at the time. I was desperate and this wasn’t how I expected my last night in LA to go.
However, by the time it was 8pm, I was the only person in the parking lot.
Meeting The Racist Park Ranger (racism in Malibu)
A few minutes later, a couple of park rangers came to the parking lot to close up the beach. Since I was the only person left in the parking lot, I knew this was my only shot to get help.
I went up to the female park ranger as she was locking up the gate and I told her about my situation. I essentially said that I was having trouble booking a Rideshare from the beach to the airport and I needed a ride back to LA. In fact, I even went so far to tell her that my phone was almost dead since having Uber and Lyft open was draining my battery.
However, to my dismay, she told me “no”.
The reason why she told me “no” was because it wasn’t a medical emergency. In fact, she even went so far as to say that that was only way I could get a ride.
I was in total disbelief.
So, even though I am a young woman stranded in a beach parking lot, you’re telling me you can’t give me a ride because it’s not a MEDICAL emergency???
Someone please make this make sense…
Since my emergency isn’t a MEDICAL emergency, I was automatically disqualified for help.
At this point, all the park ranger could do was tell me to walk the Pacific Coast Highway to the nearest bus station, which was Trancas. It was a 5 minute drive away by car, but by foot, it was about an hour.
In fact, since she felt SO empathetic about my situation she even gave me two waters for the road.
What a slap in the face….
I can’t give you a 5 minute drive to the bus station because it’s not a MEDICAL emergency but I’m willing to let you risk your life by walking the PCH by yourself at night.
Like how is that even logical…
And being a woman of color, this situation also had me thinking… if I was white would you have helped me. Because the female park ranger I spoke to was white… and so was her partner.
At this point, it was moments like this that made me wonder if there was any humanity left in this world.
Please tell me why you would ever encourage a woman who is traveling by herself to walk on a highway. That is so dangerous!!!!
What if I got hurt or worse raped?
But it seems like that female park ranger had little to no care about my well-being.
Walking Along the Pacific Coast Highway by Myself (racism in Malibu)
As I walked along the Pacific Coast Highway by myself, I couldn’t help but feel so scared. All of these cars were just driving past me at night and I had no idea what would be ahead. All I knew was that I needed to catch my flight and walking the PCH was the only way to do it. So, to keep my spirits up as I walked, I started to contemplate on only positive thoughts. And when I mean positive thoughts, I’m talking about God-positive thoughts.
Halfway through my walk along on the PCH, I also came across some RVs parked on the highway shoulder. The area seemed really quiet at first until I heard someone scream “THIS WILL BE YOUR LAST TRIP” twice.
Looking back, I’m still not sure if that person was talking to me but even if they were, I wasn’t going to let it discourage me. I had a flight to catch and nothing was getting in my way.
My Trancas Miracle (racism in Malibu)
An hour later, I finally made it to the 134 bus stop at the Trancas County Market.
In fact, not only was I relieved but I was also proud of myself. The last bus to Los Angeles just arrived at the bus stop so I made it just in time. However, as I was looking at my phone, I also noticed Uber found me a driver back to LA. So, this left me in a position to decide whether it would be faster to take the bus back to L.A. or Uber.
With the time I had left remaining, I decided it would be better for me to take the bus back to LA. The Uber I originally wanted to take was still 20 minutes away and the bus was already right in front of me.
Plus, your girl was tired. I needed the instant relief.
All in all, I got on the bus hoping that I would make my flight.
Missing My Flight (racism in Malibu)
A bus, an uber, and a world of traffic later, I finally made it to the airport. But, unfortunately, I got there 30 minutes after my departure which was deeply disappointing. In fact, even though I knew I had quite the journey, I was still hopeful.
I walked up to the check-in counter for Spirit to check in on the status of my flight but it was too late. They told me that I missed it.
So, I did what any female solo traveler could do in this situation and I rebooked. The fee was about $100 out of pocket to do so but I didn’t mind. It was the cost for missing a flight.
The only thing I wasn’t expecting was when I would fly home.
They told me the next flight to Boston wasn’t for another two days and that it was all they could do. So, like the champ I was, I took the ticket and decided to stay at the Courtyard by Marriott Los Angeles LAX Hotel for the next few days.
My Happy Ending? (racism in Malibu)
All in all, even though I missed my flight, staying in L.A. for an extra couple of days wasn’t so bad. I was already dealing with a lot of sh** at work back then that staying longer gave my mind the mental health day it needed.
So, in a weird way, missing my flight was my happy ending. I had an excuse not to go back to the toxic job I hated while also taking the time to enjoy my last In-N-Out frenzy.
Therefore, if you ask me, I’m grateful for this story. Not only, does it demonstrate my strength through tribulation but it also symbolizes the faith I have in the unknown.
So, if you ever find yourself in a predicament like this as a black female solo traveler, keep your head up.
Not only are you a survivor, but you’re also a warrior!
In addition, for the love of God, please please get a car if you ever visit Malibu. This is the best piece of advice you could ever get and it’s the biggest lesson I ever learned.
Overall, I really hoped you enjoyed this post about my experience encountering racism in Malibu. Please let me know in the comments below which part surprised you the most. I would love to hear from you!
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