Blue To Green, from the Rogue's notebook.

"Surfing just magnifies something that everyone is capable of feeling ... true clarity, true freedom."

-William Robertson

California dreaming down the Ventura/Malibu border, 8/17/2017.

   Few years back I worked a sales job traveling cross country. Hadn't been surfin' long, but always found it a wonder when I would be on the East Coast one week, the West Coast the next, and back on the East Coast again. Always watching for the next ride on the horizon. Been a while. Almost fifteen years. Different job. New position. Another trip to Cali. Ventura/Malibu. Walls of blue with patches of foamy, brown kelp mixed in; tops of kelp forests that form aquatic murals along the Pacific Coast Highway. A glimpse of the local surf style through the eyes of the various lineups spread out just beyond the break. Felt the longing to have access to a board. One crack at a stomach high swell I had yet to scratch. LAX on the breakfast menu.

   A week later cross-country. Standin' on the shores of my hometown, facing down knee to thigh waves...again. Greenish brown, semi-clean walls swirled with the sand sucked up as the bottom drifted up to meet the swell-line along the trek to shore. You now why our water's green vs. blue?

Evergreen...my Right Coast, 67th OCMD.

The diminished oyster population of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays caused by over harvesting. A natural filter exchanging oxygen and CO2 for water, over the history of Bays lack of regulation led to a state of near exhaustion. Lack of oxygen means more algae and bacteria. Mean green. But Watermen and local governments have worked together to spur a comeback to bluer seas. Once again, I digress. Caught me quite a few fronts, skinning 'em up here and there. Mid-tide. Light bump. Stoke filled session. Upper seventies water. Mid seventies along the sand. Nice night in the lineup. Grateful. Blessed.

Skinning the greenies. Holidays, 8/24/2017

   On the return trip from Ventura to LAX, stopped at Neptune's Net off the PCH in Malibu. On location for several movies including 1991's Point Break, and The Fast and the Furious. Delicioso fish tacos washed back with St. Archer Brewing's White Ale. Outta San Diego the brew poured a hazy gold with a less than finger head. Lacing was hard to see in the plastic cup required on deck. Traditional Belgian Witbier with aromas of pepper and orange in a Belgian yeast background. Tasted of coriander and orange...very similar to a Blue Moon (not a fan). Only 5% ABV so the 22oz. bomber didn't hurt. Light hop finish at 15 IBUs. Given the added local atmosphere, I rated the ale a B/B-. With surf paraphernalia splashed around haphazardly and a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean, it was a classic surf moment on Point and hard to beat.                                          

Brewers, artists, musicians, surfers, skateboarders, snowboarders...
the iconic Cali Coast.