The Beginning of the End...

Prologue:

I have been planning on a SOCAL surf trip for some time now, having had to cancel a previous attempt due to my truck needing $1000 worth of work done to it...so, I was a bit antsy to get my self down there and inserted into some liquid fun.

My schedule was a bit hectic, since I had only allotted one week to get it all done: get my MRI done on the bad shoulder at the VA hospital in S.F., spend a night in Sac visiting friends before heading out the next day to LA LA land to deliver a Velzy board to a friend who had purchased the board from a mutual friend up here, drive down to Encinitas to hang with surfer bloggers Valerie (surfmama) and Michelle (surfygrams) and surf with them before heading up along the coast to surf with other surf bloggers along the way (Matt aka Donny Duckbutter, Jeff aka Goofy Kook and Christian aka Beer Can Beach) while visiting with some old friends from my UCLA days. My eventual destination was to be Santa Cruz, then back up over to Sac for some quality time with friends there before heading back up to NORCAL.

Well I made it to SOCAL, with the planned stops along the way...but once I reached my first surf spot...Encinitas, things got a bit more complicated.

First Leg:

Loaded up the truck with the boards, strapping them to the racks atop of the truck cap. Decided to play it safe and leave at 1 am to S.F., in the hopes of avoiding traffic...my VA appointment was at 8 am, so it made sense to leave pretty early.

Had only one problem on the drive: the boards kept shifting from their position, moving off to one side of the truck and hanging over the driver's side edge. I had to stop 3X to fix the problem.

Made it to the hospital with time to spare and decided to take a nap in the truck while I awaited the appointment.

Once all was good, repacked the boards to ensure adequate stability and headed out to my next destination: Sacramento.

I decided to take a brief detour to Four Wheel Campers in Woodland. They make decent pop-up campers for Toyota Tacoma's, seeing that I would like to eventually do a surf safari to Baja in the next year. Enjoyed the tour of their facility and got a good idea of what kind of camper I would get. Then it was off to Sac to stay the night with friends.

Had a great time catching up with my Sacto friends and great tastin BBQ too before I was off again, at 4 am this time, to LA LA land.

NOTE: I HATE DRIVING THE I-5 CENTRAL VALLEY route!

Too long, too desolate and too SMELLY...stinky chemically-laden pesticide smells, intermixed with the occasional cow shit odor, forcefully permeate the nostrils whilst attempting to drive that lame stretch of road.

Made it to LA LA land in time to drop off the board at my friend’s house and have brunch with him and his wife before moving onwards to Encinitas and Valerie's home, where I was staying until Monday morning.

NOTE: I HATE LA LA TRAFFIC!

Crazy and frenzied drivers, weaving in and out of traffic, moved around me as I tried to figure out how I even survived living here while attending UCLA between 2004-2006. Too many people!

It was very refreshing when I arrived at my destination and met Valerie's husband Vincent and their adorable children, Valentin and Victoria...or the family V for short. I was given the royal treatment and wonderful accommodations that Valerie's husband had built himself in their backyard.

Valerie was out surfing when I had arrived, so Vincent and the children entertained me until she got back. Though I would of like to have gone surfing, the traffic delayed my arrival, as well as a quick detour to San Clemente to visit some surf shops...looking for a nice board to possibly buy. Got some good ideas while stopping in at the Icons of Surf shop. Happened to stumble upon the Dewey Weber surf shop by lucky accident and bought a hoodie while drooling over the classic longboards hanging in the rafters.

Anyways, once Valerie arrived home she and I went out to see the surf spots and visit with another fellow blogger friend, Michelle...who was camping with her female surfing club at a spot not far from Valerie's house.

Got to see Swami's, the Cardiff Kook, who happens to have his own website (http://thecardiffkook.org/) so look him up for the whole story of this very funny but vital part of SOCAL surfing culture, and of course Michelle and her fellow female stoke warriors before heading back to Valerie's for dinner and some political talk-shop with her husband Vincent and his friend.

Decided that I would get up for some Dawn Patrol fun at Swami's on Sunday, before surfing later in the morning with Michelle and Valerie...so off to bed I went.

Here b da pics: