It's the first day of summer here in Malibu. After an ardent three-month love affair with their beaches, Angelenos have turned their attentions elsewhere and, for the people who live and work here, a holiday vibe has set in. Daily life is more relaxed. More parking and shorter lines. The supply of bear claws at Diedrich's Coffee lasts until noon. Can it be that PCH, our perpetual metronome, already ticks more slowly?

The deserted beach is no illusion. A high tide swept in last night and smoothed away all signs of the summer vacation. It spackled the shore with fine sand, broken only by strands of sea grass and the footprints of a snowy egret.