Flat Day Fun With The Dog

Day Three, We’re Cruzing

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The open air changeroom. Pic Shield

Day three dawned an unofficial lie-in. Seems like everyone got up at some point in the early hours, saw it was flat, and rolled over. Nothing was planned the night before, that’s just how it panned out. The Bloods were the first to rise, Noah deciding a swim might be the perfect lingering jetlag tonic, and somehow convincing the rest of us (myself, Mitch, Owen) to join. An early splash turned a little Lord of The Flies as we struck off down the beach, bareback in the biting cold. We skimmed stones, we talked shit, we found a huge, rotting seal on the beach a mile up, full of bite marks, a stark reminder of the large shapes that lurk below in these parts.

Looks like the dog from the Taco Bell ads. Pic Shield

Back in the buses we hunted and hunted and ended up in Santa Cruz, desperate for waves but knowing they weren’t in the hood. So we called local charger of mondo waves Ken “Skindog” Collins for advice. “You’re coming to my house, you can park the RVs, we’ll have some fun and a BBQ.” What a legend. After a small fight involving the local blackberry population that now sees one bus proclaiming “I ♥ (something that kinda looks like a lighthouse?)”, and the other offering “Free BJs” we rolled out to Mr Dog’s lovely family neighbourhood, and made ourselves known to the king of the ’burb. After analyzing internet maps, getting us into his Hybrid to check the local magnet, and ringing buddies up and down the coast, we felt we could can surfing for the day with a clear conscience, and were off to the local amusement park, on the Santa Cruz pier, as seen in The Lost Boys and a thousand other movies. Unless you were Mitch “I’m scared shitless of heights” Crews, it was a wonderful afternoon of rollercoasters, towers of terror, and dodge ’em cars. Did you know the Grand Dipper is one of the nation’s oldest wooden coasters, and is a National Historic Landmark? Neither did I.

Owen & Garrett goin' for a ride. Pic Shield

Mitch's death grip on the hand bar... Pic Shield

Upon our return to chez Dog, his lovely wife Annouschka  confronted us with a spread of pastas and meats, and our long lost friends from the vegetable family. There was even some beer, but only for those of age of course. As you could imagine from a guy who has 9’6s in his backyard, and framed covershots of himself at 12 foot Puerto Escondido on his wall, the Dog wouldn’t tolerate any sort of ill behaviour. After another day of reckless abandon in the US, it was no surprise that Ken and Annouschka’s two year old boy Koa was still up and terrorizing the house on his scooter long after the last of the Hot Half Dozen had gone to bed.

Let's hope there are waves tomorrow... Pic Shield

American hospitality is a thing to behold, and for the four boys in our party who’d never set foot in mainland USA before, this was a night they’ll remember for a long time. Thanks Skinny and A.

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