Beautiful San O, a longboarder's paradise. Sunday was kind of great, big & clean and happening, until the tide got too high. But even so, it was all the way excellent. These nice vintage photos do nothing to reveal the grandeur that was. I just like the cars.
San Onofre has a scary nuclear power plant, right there about 2 inches away from the state beach. Well actually it's in the state beach. Yeah that's how they like to roll here in SoCal.
But you do what you have to do and imagine what you have to imagine in order to deal with the fact that you may be either slowly getting cancer, or might just happen to be in a very bad spot if the fucking thing ever goes haywire. Which is totally worth it because nuclear power is so cheap!
So I noticed a surfer in the water who was exceptionally talented, WAY beyond anything I've ever seen in person. It was really fun to watch him do his crazy beautiful turns and whatnot on his ginormous stripey board. Not just any old clown can do this, my friends. A gifted longboarder is a wonder to behold. It almost doesn't look real, what they do.
Anyway, turns out this gifted guy is also really nice. Not arrogant or mean, not emanating bad Darth Vader vibes like lots of the choads out there. I guess he saw me catch a big old wave, but with a really wobbly start. I never learned to pop up correctly, yet ironically my other skills have improved beyond that one thing. But that one thing is crucial. I can make overhead waves regularly now, even with late takeoffs if the wave is not too pitchy, but that fucking pop up is holding me back. Which homey totally noticed, because he then offered some excellent advice to remedy my situation. Of particular note was the fact that he found a way to do it that was utterly respectful & thoughtful, without a trace of condescension. I was like, whoa, brother from another planet, I am happy to receive your teachings. Plus you look familiar, why is that?The answer to that question is because it was 3 time US Longboarding Champion Josh Baxter! Correct!
If you don't want to be a stubborn, DIY chump like me who runs before they can walk, go to Josh's surf school. I can tell he's a great teacher.