We went to the Silver Stand in San Diego. As I said, actually seeing the grunion was secondary for an excuse to party. And you are correct, many do not believe it when you tell them about it. Something like a snipe hunt.
We went to Venice Beach, and it was after they dredged out the marina and reconstructed the sand portion of the beach. That made it ideal for the grunion.
My brother had a house right on the water, literally, and there was no sand beach at all, just a long rocky shore. What a shock it was to arrive one day and find a beautiful sand beach. Brother sold that house and bought one in Redodo — sorry, Redondo Beach.