After last week's brutal heat, our weekend hike called for something super easy with guaranteed beauty and calm. Barbara and I headed out to Zuma Beach, one of the largest, healthiest, and most popular beaches in Los Angeles County. Located on PCH northeast of Point Dume, Zuma Beach has tons of paid ($15) parking or, depending on how early you arrived, a decent number of public spaces on PCH. We arrived around 9am and parked at the SE end of the beach near lifeguard station #2.  Our first discovery—Zuma Lagoon. Although Zuma is part of the Point Dume Marine Protected Area, no one talks much about the lagoon. We saw the sign. we saw a trail, so yeah we followed the roped path through a gorgeous sweep of tan and green brackish marsh. Apologies to the fluffle of adolescent bunnies we surprised. At seaside where the lagoon and Pacific meet, we photographed a flock of seagulls then left the lagoon trail for Lifeguard Station #2 to start our walk up the beach. The volleyball nets were up— Zuma Beach is home to the Waves, Pepperdine's national-championship volley ball team—but the beach was just beginning to come to life. A few boards in the ocean but no wave action. Trudging along three miles on sand is like doing three hours of leg work on a StairMaster (no thanks), so we opted to walk the concrete beach path on the way up then take the shoreline route on the way back. The morning vibe was slow and easy. The skyline—gray overcast above the gray ocean and dotted with seagulls—was striking. At the top end of Zuma Beach at Lifeguard Station #15, we caught a glimpse through the mountains at the blue sky in the SFV, before we walked down to the ocean and followed the shoreline for our return. A perfect escape.