SURFIN' SAFARI SUMMER ONE - DAY TEN - July 25, 2019


There. We've already hung a ten-spot on the summer and it's only July 24. As with everywhere else, it was very hot in Los Angeles and as soon as my work story was done we headed for Marina del Rey. There was harsh traffic, but we know some alleys and side streets and

skipped all the snarl to arrive at 6 p.m. It was not a day to get geographically adventurous, just to seek relief. I brought my new board and surfed for about two hours as the sun took it's time melting behind the Santa Monica Mountains. The waves weren't that good. I actually haven't had a good day since Kook's Corner (Surfin' Safari Summer Day 6). But that's how surfing is. The ocean doesn't

care that you want to use a fiberglass tablet to harness its energy for a buzz. The conditions do not come together all the time. But it was hot so I didn't need a wet suit or rash guard, just board shorts, which is pretty liberating. The waves were breaking too close to

shore so that there was nowhere to go. But it was summer festive. We put lemon juice in our hair. A seal popped up right in front of me. We went to Leo's Tacos, which is very popular, its location in the Sinclair gas station, where La Brea and Venice cross,

notwithstanding. It is not on the way home from the beach, but further into the city.  Since Anna became disabled and my career status downgraded we find ourselves less indispensable to people. The need to be somewhere "next" that drove us for decades is absent and sometimes we drift across the city without a desire to get anywhere specific, together, quiet in the night, wondering. Wesley says Leo's is overrated; that people line up because Buzzfeed did a post about it. We think Buzzfeed was right. Diagonal across the intersection was

another stand, a "caffe" by its own lights, selling Spanish-style churros with strawberry jam and caramel for dipping. The five dollar bag gets you two free coffees. Right now in L.A., five dollars doesn't get you the bathroom key. The coffee was like nothing we've ever tasted and we've tasted lots. You don't get out, you don't find out.
 

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