I don't know if you can tell how much beach got swept away over the last few days -- the tips of the kayaks are peeking over a two-foot drop.

Some people here say it's surprising for this time of year, that much erosion, but when I scroll back through years of photos it turns out to be not that unusual. The warm water temp right now? Definitely out of the norm.

A week ago it was still raining; boy that was nice. Lots of talk now about the gathering El Nino, will it or won't it be strong enough to take the edge off the drought. Some consensus -- it'll affect us here in SoCal. Some cautions -- unless it hits the northern reaches of the state, no real drought relief. The LA Times says we have cause for optimism.

Meanwhile, that morning marine layer is keeping things cool--

...with a bit of drama.

And the sailors in the Cove are sleeping in.

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Fog, lots and lots of fog here at the coast keeping things cool and a little bit drippy. Here's the sun setting the other day as the marine layer, held at bay all day, rolls in to take over the night.

I almost forgot, since most of our storms come in winter (when they come at all) how summer rain feels. This morning it's post-storm humid here, muggy, a little buggy, and with a cyclone-driven swell rolling through.

Gracias, Dolores.

Is that a fishing boat in the Cove?

Get a little closer and look -- it's a research vessel.

The RV Pacific Storm from Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute, to be precise.

The vessel and her crew have tracked blue whale migrations and, more recently, aided an Ocean Observatories Initiative to place buoys loaded with scientific instruments for the long-term gathering of ocean data.

Not sure what has brought them to Paradise Cove.

Mid-July already? Although heavy traffic on PCH says summer is here, the cool and breezy temps at the beach tell a different story.

One of the few pleasures left in flying is the chance to shoot photos from above. Here's Marina del Rey, just before the plane banked and rose and we got swallowed up by the persistent marine layer.

Meanwhile, 450,000 of you visited Malibu over the holiday weekend.

Deck access granted only after a pat on the head.

Celebrating with a few photos of one of the most beautiful buildings in the US -- the Library of Congress.

Hot inland but so far, temperate here at the coast. We've had raindrops, rainbows, and evening light so pretty, twitter has turned into a non-stop sunset gallery.