Happy Friday, and welcome to the year 2021. I will not waste much time by talking about what is happening in America and why this year is off to a false start. After all, this is a blog about a kook learning how navigate a salty sea life, not a platform for me to express my disappointment of a laughable situation. I am NOT here to talk about MAGA! Anyways, it is impossible to Make Aggro Guys Apologize!! It’s their spot, so beat it.
So, this post finds you after a day of looking inwardly into the depths of my personal quest that lead to a realization of sorts. I asked myself, why is surfing so fucking important to me and why did I alter my life to pursue something that is so mindless, and meaningless? Because its RAAAD barn! True! While I won’t go into detail of the essence of surfing and why it summoned me like Harry Potter’s wand summoned him, I will quickly explain what happened to me and what probably happened to you if you are reading this.
Stoke. Stoke stormed the capitol building that is your brain, threw a rock through the front window, and infiltrated your life, all while chanting “MAGA!”. Hmm, I guess stoke is begging you to “Make A Giant A-frame”? And you let your guard down. Now, if you are a late bloomer like me, you probably live somewhere coastal, and far away from anyone you know. This is what stoke will do to you. It will teleport you to distant lands belonging to enchanting cultures, where the ocean dances to a sweet tune along the soft golden seashore.
“Stoke stormed the capitol building that is your brain”
If you follow “Barney Tales”, I will later discuss in great detail how I flung off life obligations, like I would to dress shoes after a night doing the hammered moonwalk at a wedding, to disappear to the other side of the world. However, now I just live on the other side of the country, in the south of “The Golden State”. With that said, I had an epiphany while sitting and waiting in my old, off-white, 1982, Ford F-150 for my AAA service to arrive and tow me away. Although I have been surfing for only 6 years, had the adventure gone cold? I mean, why is there cell service, and why am I paying a membership fee, and why am I able to call, and get up to 100 miles of free towing? Why is it so easy? When my jalopy decides to be stubborn, shouldn’t I be hitching a ride from the beach into town, using my charm to negotiate, and trade some hours of work for a tow to a mechanic, and then blowing off responsibilities once its running again? I came here on surf adventure, and although I can surf every single day, and I do love it here, the whole culture seems manufactured.
Physically getting into the water to surf is the only way to step off the grid in Southern California. Suburbia literally spills over into the ocean. So what did I realize?
1. SoCal is a different beast.
2. Here you can be a classy beach bum.
3. The 400 dollars a year in beach parking fees are for maintenance.
4. SoCal does a great job marketing the surf travel lifestyle, and the crowds reflect it.
5. All the roads are paved.
Hopefully this was not a complete waste of time to read. I just want to encourage true surf adventure in its purest form. Living, and surfing here is great but the world is massive, people are different elsewhere, and waves are everywhere. I know, I know, shut it barn.. Have blessed 2021, thank you for the support and see you next week!