#BestSongIHeardToday • Volume 15

Pacific Beach Sunset, our Shangri-La

My running routine before I head out includes turning off my iPhone for about 20 seconds and then restarting. I do this to clear out any of the digital cobwebs that may effect my GPS running app or my Amazon Music App. As I get out the door and away from my home wifi, I then turn on the music app, go to my ever growing library of 32,709 songs (just checked) and then hit the shuffle icon.

About 60% of the time, music that finds its way to this 'Best Song' playlist, come from those songs shuffled from my runs. Every now and then the digital gremlins do appear. On one run last month, I realized after listening to a few songs that they all began with the letters "Sh" like, Shaky Town, and Shame, and then settled in for an extended happy stay on song titles with "Shangri-La" in the title.

Sometimes you just have to roll with it. I decided that all the Shangri-La songs that serenaded my run that day, and even a song I found on the Tubes from the sixties girl group, The Shangri-La's would frame the playlist. I also have the big hit from "The La's" in the late 80's, There She Goes to start the playlist. In fact the 80's, 90's, and Blues all emerged as sub-themes running through out the playlist this week.

Speaking of a lost horizon, it ironically made me think of the time Mary Kit and I had a little Shangri-La "Staycation" on the Pacific Beach Crystal Pier cottages just about 20 minutes from our home. We were able to book the last cottage on the pier (pictured above) with an unobstructed view of the Pacific Ocean, simply paradise... until nightfall.

In full transparency... we only got that last cottage because it was February. A storm came in that night with high surf and crashing waves pounding the pier pilings right under our bed. We pretended we were on a pirate ship in a rough sea having a wonderful adventure nevertheless. And as they say, "Don't come a knocking when this pier starts a rockin."

Note- The Shame song I mentioned above was a Randy Newman tune, but when I got to YouTube to find it, I found his I Love LA which was fitting nicely into my 80's co-theme and Shame was replaced. That happens about the other 40% of the time.

Enjoy my friends!