Ciao Bella! From Venice 100111

Surf Report: 1-2 feet

Winds: slight off shore to on shore

Atmosphere: Sunny!

Water: Cold, but the sun helps

Staying Local

I woke up nice and early, looking forward to a day in the Ocean.  I knew the surf wasn’t epic, and Matt was on NG duty, so da boys were all staying local to get some surf in our hometown.  As I woke up, the dawn was still dark, and I did my yoga stretching in the dark.  I took a poop in the dark, and brushed my teeth in the dark.  As I wrapped up my yoga stretches, the sun started to peak through.  I went downstairs, ate some cereal, filled up the water jug, and took my dad’s car out for my van was in the shop for the day.

The Wedding on the Sand

I drive down to Manhattan Beach to find that a lot of roads are closed, including roads leading to 26^th Street.  I maneuver around the orange road blockades and get to a packed 26^th Street parking lot.  I double park at the exit and get out to see what the crowd factor was in the Ocean.  Only a few heads were bobbing up and down in the line up.  The surf looked dismal.  But, there was a chapel set up right in front of 26^th Street, and there was a crowd of people surrounding a couple dressed in white and black.  A wedding was taking place.

I called Khang, telling him I might head to Huntington.  He told me to make the call.  I watched the surf, looked at the tides, looked at several surf reports, and decided against surfing outside of LA. 

As I pulled out, I called Khang back and told him I will stay local, and that the parking situation was dismal.  I went down to 15^th Street, and found a police blockade too. 

“Sorry, you can’t park here today,” a female officer with beautiful eyes told me.

“What’s going on here today?  All the roads are closed.”

“It’s a 10K marathon.  You’ll be lucky to find some parking now,” she replied.

OK, so now I have to get the fuck out of here.

It took me around twenty minutes maneuvering around the blockades to get out of Manhattan Beach.  I made the call to head to Venice instead, and told da boys where I was heading.  They all said they would meet there (minus Dave, who, half-asleep, hung up on me, called me back, and opted out of coming out to watch us surf.  He had forgotten his wetsuit and the board was still being repaired.) 

I parked in the residential area and skated to the beach.  I saw an empty line up with the low tide pulling the shore far out.  There weren’t too many waves to be had, but I saw some potential, so I skated back.  On my way back, I saw Christina getting changed into her wetsuit, and skated passed her.

I started to get changed too when my bladder acted up.  I had to pee.  So, with my wetsuit half way up, I let loose.  The pee sloshed in my crotch area.  I had to pull down the wetsuit around my thighs for the piss to flow down my legs and exit to the grassy area where I parked. 

California Gold

As I walk down, I saw Khang and Dais pull up.  I asked them to hold my keys for me, and that I will see them down there. 

Christina was stretching out on the sand and gave me a big hug.  We chit chat about the week, her surf on Rosh Hashanah, where we should paddle out, and made our way out to the empty line up.  The sun was baking our flesh in the black suits. 

The water was cold, but the sun helped a lot.  The waves were weak, but it felt nice just to be in the water.  I felt all my stress knots melt away in the clear Venice water, and I felt back at home again. 

Christina got some waves going straight on her foamie.  I asked her where her Becker was.  She said she wanted to stay on her foamie while her knee was still “unstable.”  I wanted to say that she should stay out of the water if her knee feels “unstable,” but I refrained from voicing my worrisome, precautionary self.  By winter time, if her knee doesn’t feel stable, she really should reconsider paddling out, for the Ocean will always be there, and the waves will always come.

Khang and Dais made their way out too.  Da boys (and one girl, but she’s part of da boys) were all here today.  It was an ok day, but the tidal push was to bring some waves to us. 

I didn’t have too many notable waves near the Pier today.  It wasn’t really that epic.  I suppose the Jetty and Venice Breakwater was happening, since we could make out some gnarly, long rides from south of the pier.  Even Rick was over there, surfing with his brothers.  We stayed in our small circle of comfort, and made the most of it. 

I met a girl in the water today, named Alessia.  A guy next to me on an orange board yelled out “Buon Giorno!” to her, and I looked at Christina, thinking that he knew she was Italian.  Alessia, with her sun-baked tan hair and bony arms greeted him back.  I immediately asked her in Italian, “Are you Italian?” 

She answered yes. 

We talked for a few minutes in Italian, regarding where we were from, and where we surf.  It was really nice to speak Italian to someone.  I told her it’s a shame that they named Venice after the great town of Venezia since the comparisons of the two cities are like night and day, and she chuckled.  I kept my distance away from the orange board dude and Alessia not to bother their chat time, and to focus on my surfing. 

Again, not too many waves to focus on today. 

I saw Khang take some waves, but they didn’t look too spectacular.  Dais was the same story.  Nothing crazy or gnarly today.  Just laid back, home-cooking, Venice waves.  Christina still got some waves on her foamie, as she should.  But, we still had tons of fun surfing and being in the water. 

It was just another day at Venice beach, our home break, a pretty crappy place to surf, really.  A place known for the Boardwalk and the Crazy People running around, trying to earn a quick buck from tourists.  A place known for its history of the Dogtown Z-boys, and the absolute dismantling of the town by the yuppies.  A place where I first caught a wave on a bodyboard with Khoa and Khang when I was still thirteen.  A place where I always meet new people, from all walks of life. 

Venice Beach

At the end of the day, I was still stoked, not from the waves I surfed, but from the people I met through my journey to the Ocean and out of the Ocean.  And I always find myself back home, humbled and stoked.  If you open yourself to people, thinking and believing they are all teachers, then you open your whole world wider than ever before.  

Mahalos Mother Ocean.