His parents had given him a brand new Toyota Celica, automatic with an 8 track, Aloha racks and a Chevron gas card.
Nothing like a friend with a car at that age.
My Parents gave me 2.00 a day back then, not much but you could feed two at Taco Bell or Der Weinerschnitzel for 2.00 and you might have .25 left over for wax.
I would wake him up on Saturday mornings with a few rocks to his window. Arlen liked to sleep. I did not. Not when a friend has a car and Trestles is 54 miles away. For two years or so, I got him out of bed every weekend with rocks, promises of good surf, maybe a donut.
And we would head south, always south out of LA. Trestles was the go to though we often hit Swami's, Cardiff, D street and other North County breaks.
And that 8 track...
We had Ten Years After, Ted Nugent and Stevie Wonder...and that's it.
Yes, I know all of those songs still.
We turned that little car into a surf mobile. The trunk started smelling within weeks, the interior had sand in it from San Diego to Ventura County Line. I learned to drive from the passenger seat so when Arlen got tired, I could more or less take over.
Good times till he discovered chicks.
Prick.
By then I had my own...a 1971 VW Westy named Thumbelina. From then on, my Bus rocked the Coast every weekend. If not a contest somewhere, we were off to any spot we hadn't surfed before. We put 22,000 miles on her that first year. Not bad for a Junior in high school.
And we dawn patrolled. You had to be at the bus by 4 am most weekends, endless drives in the predawn to Huntington, Seal, San-O, Swami's, O-side. It's not like we didn't like surfing around LA, we just knew there were better waves some where.
And there was.
Trestles back in the early 1970's was empty at dawn. Uppers, Lowers, Middles...an early morning playground.
Remember Sea Slugs? Gone now but common as seaweed then.
I loved the wide open and wild feeling of the place. The waves were good too. I honed a few skills there, especially in bigger surf.
Miss it.
Where was I?
Oh, travel. Dawn Patrol.
I never lost that lust.
I am going a bit south today, Sun up is at 630...I am up at 330 because I can't sleep for the anticipation.
It's not that it's going to be epic, it's just that it's travel.
Dawn Patrol.
I know surfers in LA and other crowded environs still roll it.
Beat the crowd, right.
I remember cracking places like the 'Bu at 0400 and finding three others out already in the dark.
Any one remember the Bunheads, a group of Sikhs who surfed the full moon at the LA point breaks? Fixtures any surfable full moon at Topanga.
Where was I?
Dawn Patrol.
I have lunches made, my 10'0" gets back in the water today (missed that board), van is gassed, a few little fat girls rolled up...coffee in my left hand...
But no sign of the Sun for a bit so here I sit, burning CD's for the short trip...
Ah, music...and Dawn Patrols.
At 17, we discovered Cross Tops...and didn't do Dawn Patrols for a few months, just lots of all nighters...ah, to be young and dumber than I am now.
That 1971 bus lasted me till 1990, retired at 440,000 miles, 7 countries and who knows how many trips and Dawn Patrols.
Sunrises over surf breaks? It saw more than most for sure.
Upgraded to a 1979 after passing along Thumbelina, which I retired a few years ago at 300,00 plus. It's the infamous shit brown bus that used to cruise Oregon's coast daily.
If that bus could talk, I would be in prison till I died.
It lives in Eugene now, it's happy I guess.
And I bet the guy who got it passed along to him is still finding sand and smelly sea creatures embedded in the dash.
That's a cool thing about a bus or Vanagon, the dash, it's huge and just waiting for piles of memories. Melted wax, feathers, rocks, sea shells, bits of flyers, campground receipts, dead CD's, the flotsam of a surfer who travels.
My Vanagon, though newer, is clocking 260,000 plus right now, 5000 of that in the last four months.
Travel.
Dawn Patrol.
Where is that Sun?
Where was I?
Rambling.
But the Vanagon isn't a Bus though they do wave to me. No, the Vanagon is car like but with room. It doesn't like some roads, gets scared when it sees a City, hates hippies and seems to eat brakes.
And tires.
I didn't do any front end work on my first Bus till 300k, this Vanagon just got new tie rods ends, inner and outer. (40 minutes and then off to the alignment shop).
Why? Dunno, it's a VW.
I like but miss the simpleness of an aircooled and carburatored engine.
Oh well, whine...
Almost 0400...lessee, cruise at 45 mph...take an hour and 20 to get there, almost Sun rise...
Good enough.
Thanks for listening, got to go...
And I feel for all of those who are not doing what I am doing, still searching for that wave, those waves, any waves, different waves...instead...those people are going to work, school, daycare...maybe a few are doing what I am doing...hi Brothers...
Dawn Patrols.
Not the best thing about surfing but pretty damn close.
See ya kiddies, do the right thing, pass along some stoke, teach some one to surf, paddle hard, take off late and drop the leash.
And travel...
Into Dawn.
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