SURFIN' SAFARI SUMMER ONE - DAY FOUR - June 29, 2019

  

 

Friday started out crappy and held form through the hours. So, with $20 to our name and just under a quarter tank of gas, we launched a 4 p.m. Surfin' Safari to Venice Beach, the famously funky seaside district of Los Angeles. The surf spot is known as the Venice Breakwater. Here the golden boys of SoCal's beach towns give way to Che Guevara surfboards, Mexican flag rashguards, South American soccer player haircuts and such. People talk about the breakwater as this gritty, no nonsense, urban play space, but I suspect that is because there are so many brown-skinned people surfing it. The vibe is very chill and the waves break far out, and are long, so more than one person can get on, eliminating some of the competitiveness

 

natural to surfing. There are more women, by far, than at any other surf spot I've been to and, I suspect, a diminished quotient of aggressive masculinity at the breakwater has something to do with it. I love watching women surf. But I digress. The waves were literally ejecting my board forward and the sound of it speedily spitting seawater left and right swept away the stresses, which is the idea. Homebound, we stopped for "al pastor" street tacos (four each) at "El Junior #1" (Venice and Centinela) that were worthy of mention. We had two "Jarritos" Mexican soda pops to wash them down and got change back from the $20.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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