Q. What is it supposed to be on the show? A. A stretch of beach. Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show? A. Somewhere in Miami. Hannah says the location is "Close to one of the ports. I remember big ships unloading." Q. When did we see it on the show? A. In Episode 5, of Season 7, "Swim Deep". Hannah has told the police that her late boyfriend (Wayne Randall) killed a couple and buried them next to a small motel. When this scene opens, we see police dogs searching for the buried bodies on a beach, while Hannah fans herself in a car, and Dexter & Angel talk about how hot it is. Hannah comes over and strikes up an idle conversation about Dexter's job, and its bloody side. Later in the same episode, we see the beach again, as the police recover the skeletal bodies of the buried couple. Dexter examines the remains, as Hannah watches curiously from a distance, as if anxious that he might discover something. Dexter says that the shower curtain they were buried in helped preserve the bodies. He says that Wayne started with the male victim, stabbing him several times. Dexter then looks at the female victim, and says that she was also stabbed multiple times, but that she was straddled by her killer. What he doesn't say aloud is that the attacker was smaller than Wayne - which means that Hannah most likely killed the woman. But Dexter hides this from the police, saying that he won't know exactly what happened until they get back to the lab and run some tests. Hannah, however, realizes he is on to something, and goes to talk to him. He tells her Wayne didn't kill the woman, that she was killed by a smaller, less experienced person, with a different knife, who got carried away with the frenzy of killing, and cut her palm - noting that Hannah has a scar on her palm in precisely the right place.

He tells her he knows she was lying. But she brazens it out, saying "That's my story and I'm sticking to it."

Dexter then realizes that she has been given immunity for her crimes on that killing spree.

As Dexter is leaving, he spots Isaak nearby, watching him from a distance.

(He leads him to the Columbian bar.)

Q. What is it actually in real life?

A. A patch of sandy land, near a channel.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. This scene was shot on a tiny patch of what looks like a beach, but is actually little more than a stretch of sandy, barren soil that happens to border on the Los Cerritos Channel, in Long Beach, CA.

It's where the channel juts in west to form the top (north) side of the small Cerritos Bahia marina (at 6291 Pacific Coast Highway), and just south/southeast of the Belmont Shores Mobile Estates (at 6230 E. Marina View Drive).

The channel gave them the chance to show water (and boats) in the background. The Los Cerritos Channel empties into the Alamitos Bay, just to the south.

That same mobile home park can be seen in the background of the fruit vendor scene from Season 5 (which was shot on Loynes).

You also see the tall smokestacks that are  visible in the earlier crime scene where Mike Anderson was shot.

They appear to have added a few palm trees to the shore.

If you look closely, you can  also see part of the Best Western/Golden Sails Motel in the background, at 6285 Pacific Coast Highway, in Long Beach.

They may have intended for this motel to be the one that Hannah mentions (although she says it's a single-story motel, and Golden Sails is about four stories high).

It's not an easy place to reach - or photograph.

The first time I tried, I wound up on the south side of the marina, and found myself prevented from going any closer by a fence.

Finally, I found a narrow driveway off Loynes Drive which leads back to the north side of the marina. Park there, and it's a very short walk to this "beach".

I shot the photos below in November 2012.

Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?

A.  In the early seasons, I usually had to hunt down the locations after viewing the episodes, using clues from the various scenes.  By the now, though, I've developed a small group of fans, spies & tipsters who kept an eye out for Dexter filming in their neighborhoods, and would let me know in advance when something was about to film there.

Between those reports, my own personal reconnaissance around town, and a few new resources I discovered, by the time the first episode airs, I already know most (but not all) of the filming locations, and only need to watch the episodes and match up the scenes with the correct locations.

This group of helpful fans includes Rick, Ellen, Elaine, Mia, Joel, Susan, Eric, Jeff, Kerry & others. My thanks to all of them.

This tip came from Rick.  (Thanks, Rick!)