California Dreaming

I've been looking for the title of this movie since San Luis Obispo County made Unocal clean up funky little Avila Beach. It seems a pipeline under the street from their oil terminal was leaking oil under the stand. This led to Unocal buying up most of the downtown and then selling or trading properties.

Back to how I found it. It played last year on one of the premium channels, but I couldn't recall the title. Then last week I saw Seymour Cassel co-starring in TV's new "HEIST" show on one of the networks. I recognized his face, but not his silver hair. It was blonde in California Dreaming, so I checked his bio and found the film.

I agree, I thought it was an early seventies film, not 1979. But then the old central coast town of Avila was timeless. Small beach, volleyball court sloped to the ocean, unpainted building on the corner where he lived was an abandoned property owned by an eccentric who held on to everything he owned.

All of the old Avila Beach is torn down now. Even the only historic building in town--the Custom House. The name now exists as a new restaurant down the street at the foot of the pier.

For those who want to see what a small California beach town once looked like, rent or buy "California Dreaming". It's all that's left of the once funky town of Avila, where no one has ever drowned playing in the local surf. Reason? There is very little undertow. The waves crash and take you back to the beach. Board surfing is non-existent.