As my second year in junior college progressed, I became more deeply engaged in surfing and the surfing sub-culture. I covered the walls if my bedroom with surfing posters and pictures torn out of Surfing magazine. On the weekends I went to Bruce Brown surfing films like Endless Summer. Or went with Chris Jones and his surfing buddies in his VW camper to Santa Cruz. We surfed in our wetsuits and slept on the ground. We shared the gas money so it made for cheap fun weekends. We all yearned for the surfing paradise of Southern California.

Laguna Beach

As Easter Week approached, I organized a trip to Laguna Beach. I would drive my 56 VW bug with our surfboards tied to a cheap rack on top. John Gill and a mutual friend from the CSM cafeteria hangout group would join me. In those days, it was almost 500 miles from San Mateo to Laguna Beach.

We left early and headed southeast to hit highway 99. Flat, straight with little traffic, 99 ran down the middle of the San Joaquin Valley. Only April, it was already hot in the valley. We made good time through Bakersfield then headed for the Grapevine. As we began to climb, our speed dwindled from 60-65 miles an hour to more like 35-40 miles an hour what with 3 guys, 3 surfboards and the rest of our stuff. Even the big semis zoomed past us.

Once we passed Tejon Pass at over 4,000 feet, we began to pick up speed hitting over 70 at some places. Once through the Grapevine, we cut southwest for the coast. Once hit highway 101, we began to see some of the magical Southern California surfing spots like Malibu. After nearly 12 hours we entered Laguna Beach.

The motels were both sold out and way out of price range so we continued south on highway 1 to Dana Point. A quiet little undeveloped town, we found a cheap motel and crashed.

Next morning we headed for Laguna Beach, had breakfast at Denny’s and asked around about surfing spots and parties. Turns out we were already close to one of the classic Laguna surfing beaches: Thalia Street. The water was so warm we didn’t even need our wetsuits. While hanging out at the beach, we got a some to some party action that night.

Late afternoon we headed back to our cheap motel in Dana Point, showered and changed. After dinner at Denny’s coffee shop, we went in search of some parties. It didn’t take us too long. You could hear rock and surfer music blasting from a house just off Pacific Coast Highway. We climbed the stairs from the highway up, to the house. It was packed. A couple of bucks got you a large cup and access to a keg. The sound system was awesome and the girls were amazing. We had never seen so many cute, sexy, tanned college girls. Everyone was dancing and talking a mile a minute.

I danced with one girl after another and was really having fun until I danced with Laurie. A tall athletic girl with long straight blond hair and a golden brown tan. A greater dancer, it turned out she was from Pasadena, went to Pasadena City College and was a lifeguard at Cal Tech. We partied till after midnight, exchanged information and agreed to meet the next night.

I connected with John and Dennis. John had found a partner for the night, so Dennis and I drove back to Dana Point.

Summer in Full Swing

So that was how the rest of the week went: sleep late, breakfast at Denny’s, surf at one of several great surfing beaches in Laguna, head back to Dana Point to clean up, dinner at Denny’s and connect with the girls. Laurie was fun and we had a great time. It was one of the most fun weeks I had ever spent. I fell in love the Southern California, the weather, the beaches and the laid back vibe. The week flew by.

Back on the road again for the long drive home, all 3 of us were flat. 99 north, Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley were ugly and brown after Laguna Beach and the Southern California beaches.

School was less interesting than ever. What saved me was nightly phone calls with Laurie. We quickly made plans for me to visit Laurie in Pasadena. The first visit, I flew to LAX and took a bus to Pasadena where Laurie picked me up at the Green Hotel in downtown Pasadena. I stayed at her house. We hung out with her friends. Turns out the Rose Bowl queen and her princesses all come from Pasadena City College. Her best friend Nancy was a Rose princess. Stunning was an understatement. Nancy’s Dad was a successful architect. They had a beautiful home in Sierra Madre.

And so went the rest of my semester. I could not afford to fly so I drove my 56 VW bug the roughly 400 miles from San Mateo to Pasadena a couple of times a month.

My friend Chris Joneses dad was a senior vice president with Standard oil and got me a summer job in the oil fields between Bakerfield and Taft. The money would be great and Bakerfield was only a little over 100 miles to Pasadena. Besides, some weekend Laurie could stay with me in my apartment in Bakersfield. The coming summer held all kinds of exciting possibilities.

My surfing trip to Laguna Beach had opened up a whole new world for me. From the time I was a little kid with my first two wheeler bike, I‘ve always had this drive to see what lay beyond the next block, the next town. Now here I was at 19 with a tall, sexy, athletic blond girlfriend from Pasadena over 400 miles from my home in San Mateo. My life was starting to get a lot more interesting.

Thank you for listening.

As always, I wish you and your family the very best of health.
Joe