A Day in Surf City

I was asked to meet some old friends in San Diego recently for a premiere of a surf movie my friends have been working on and have a “boys” weekend. It was kind of last minute and my wife was a great sport to let me go with little notice. We had a great group of guys that ranged from a few of my childhood friends to my buddy’s college roommates that I had never met. We got a place not too far from the beach and walking distance to food and beer. The town was also having a surf festival where you could try out new boards and check out all the vendors new stuff. It was pretty cool event. As we walked into the event we were greeted by the “Kook”. In surf language, a “kook” is a person that thinks they are a great surfer but really doesn’t know what the hell they are doing and are a danger to other surfers. This beach found it necessary to celebrate this and they even decorate the kook!

The waves were pretty small and super crowded but everyone seemed to be having a good time.

A few good surfers were out and lots of people just floating around trying to be a part of the lifestyle.

We didn’t surf, we were just there to party and hang out with the boys. It was fun to check out the beach and enjoy the scenery.

I love watching little kids surf, they do it with such energy and enthusiasm.

After we got our fill of the beach we went off for beers and food. We did a little sightseeing and explored some of the old haunts of the locals that made up some of our party. Then in the late afternoon it was time to walk back to another beach. The best sunsets in the area are at a beach called Swami’s. It was named after a very strange cult like compound on the edge of a cliff at the surf spot.

After a short wait we got what we came for!

Watching the sun fall into the Pacific was a great way to end the day.

Aside from the sunsets a highlight was seeing/meeting a few surf heroes from my youth and the lead guitarist from Steel Pulse who played live over the beginning of the film.

The whole weekend still seems like a dream and reignited my stoke on the surf industry. Other than some movie swag, stickers and a hangover, I didn’t bring anything back except great memories. If you ever get the chance to visit some of the coastal towns of San Diego, I highly recommend it.