LC on Ten Dollars a Week - Two hundred forty-three dollars, and eighty-one cents later...

Good news for the one percent

It's Thursday, December 15, 2011, and I still have about five days to go. I have spent $243.81 since my last confession. Add that to the $77.73 from the first four days, and you'll see I ran out of money and fell into the red about $71.54 ago. Prescriptions, expensive dog food, emergency shower repairs for your daughter, it all adds up. Not to mention the beer and wine. The good news is I managed a 7 day surfing streak for free. Fifteen hours worth. Sure it included paddling the sup from LC to the north and back one day, and yesterday was nothing to write home about but.. I don't know? Can you write about glassy perfectly shaped waist high lefts with no one out? I just did. Well.. It is certainly no reason to stay out of the water especially after being dry three days straight earlier in the week.

Obviously not the same day

The rest of the days were average. (average waves, not spending) But an average wave at that spot just north of here is still pretty dang good. And average waves this winter, are starting to look better than ever. One day I paddled out into head high sets with just a friend and a sup guy out. Normally that sup kook would have pissed me off but something special was happening here. It didn't last long, but the best part of that session was paddling back out after we'd caught the first few waves of the set, and watching 3 or 4 more roll though unridden. Sweet. Won't forget about that for a while. I remember being very nervous sitting out there wondering what was going to go wrong. Instant crowd? More sups? Get hit in the head with my board again? Southwind? Yep, fucking southwind! Seriously, I would have gladly taken another sup... It only lasted for about 40 minutes before the wind turned south but I stayed out another hour knowing that the southwind looks offshore from LC...

99 cents worth of xmas lights

Anyway... I made about  $100 in dog sitting money, so over-budget yes, but still not completely broke, though I had to turn down a chance to see "X" tonight. I guess that is the cost of freedom. Financial freedom. I did manage an excellent surf and birthday lunch with a couple friends (not my birthday, Kims) Saw a movie about the haole royalty of Hawaii, drank plenty of good beer and cheap red wine, food made slowly, saw both daughters, got a free student edition of Photoshop, a handmade coffee mug, and took a trip to the 99 cent store, where I made the mistake buying only 99 cents worth of xmas lights instead of the $1.98 I needed. Also if you live around here you might have noticed, it's been pretty dang cold prompting me to go out and by two pair of polar fleece sweats for a mere $4.31 for the Carpinteria Thrift Store, along with at least one bundle of wood from the bag-less Albertsons.  Only one pair of the sweats worked out so if anyone needs a sweet pair of medium Patagonia sweats hit me up. Two bucks.. Just kidding you can have them.

Blurry pelican sunset with dogs.. No Charge

LC on Ten Dollars a Day - The Weekend

Ahhhh...

Picking up where I left off on day two. "Over budget, no problem, don't need much tomorrow." Well, on day three, it turns out I needed gas. $15.00 worth, and a few more groceries... Umm, ok wine. $10.81 So there ya have it. Three days, $27.90 over budget. I know what you're thinking, there goes the dog sitting safety cushion money, and hey, "How much gas can you buy for $15.00 anyway?" Not much. But it does bring the needle on the fuel gauge out of the red zone about a quarter inch. 4.2 gallons to be exact.  That's roughly 75 miles worth of gas give or take. Probably take. Maybe five or six trips into town if I'm lucky.

Now you're thinking, "That's not too great on the gas mileage is it Don? You pseudo plastic-bag hating eco-warrior kook." Sadly it's not, 15 mpg to 20 mpg tops.¹ However, even if did go down to Longo Toyota in El Monte² and pay cash for a new Prius today, it will take me 23 years to justify the savings.³ I'm not even sure if they designed the Prius to last 23 years, we'll see about that. All I know is the Syncro is going to be 25 years old next year, it's sleeps up to four humans and two dogs, and you can cook a pretty good dinner in it. Plus all pseudo hippy, plastic-bag hating, tree loving people drive Volkswagen Vans, old diesel Mercedes, or Volvo Wagons so I am keeping it.

Local Goods

So I am over budget thus far, but what can you do in LC for $10.00 a day anyway? Obviously nothing, so far it's running closer to $20.00 a day, and I still have a big dog food purchase coming up that will set me back another $38.00. To be clear, I am the 1% of the 10% behind the other 89% that doesn't feed their dog supermarket dog food. But really what can you do? Start the day with Coffee. Good coffee, made with love. My ex showed me the beauty of good coffee, freshly ground, and made slowly using ancient European methods. In my case it's the stove top espresso maker. One cup at a time and share. Sadly I usually I end up with Starbucks or Peets beans, but if you really want some good beans try Local Goods on Orcas Island. Anyway the point is to take your time, and make your coffee slowly, with love.  In fact the whole secret to the $10.00 a day method is to stretch everything out, enjoy every minute no matter how dull, and most importantly, go places where you can't spend money.

The good news is in LC, there's no place to spend your money except the fruit stand, so you're in pretty good shape if you don't leave town. Otherwise the beach or long salt water therapy sessions are good options. If you've ever been to LC, then you might know beach access is pretty funky. It involves either walking across the freeway, dangerous yes, but absolutely legal. I've seen in done, but have yet to try it myself. The only other way is though a drainage tunnel near the middle of town that runs under the freeway. The tunnel is just about four feet high, and six feet wide, and offers great acoustics, but it's not for everyone. More than a few of my guests have taken a pass on going the the beach. (Yes... We are in the middle of getting a real pedestrian underpass, the first thirty feet are already in place, and they expect to start up again in the spring for a possible summer opening. Personally, I think it's coming at a pretty high price, and I am not just taking about money.)

LC Grom Conner..  4' Tunnel.. No Problem

There are lot of ways the local's negotiate the four foot tall tunnel. Low tricycles, skateboards, and other interesting homemade craft. And for some of the mini-groms it's a non-issue. Myself... I use the duck and  run method, the faster I get through the better. That method has served me well the last couple years but recently resulted in a slight concussion and whiplash a few weeks ago when I forgot about the low overhang as you make the transition from the new tunnel, to the old tunnel. Ouch.. More like F#%K! It literally knocked me on my ass. I can still feel the whiplash injuries too. Once you hit the beach, and hopefully not your head, you'll emerge onto two miles of deserted  beach. Hunting for Magic Seaglass, and long walks with your four footed friends,  your lovers, or both are an excellent ways to avoid spending money. The sounds of US 101 seem to disappear as you look out towards 'anyapax,⁴ and limiw,⁵ two of the four channel islands on the horizon. To the north is the Queen of the Coast, to the south, Punta Gorda. Either way you walk it's not likely you'll run into anyone but fisherman this time of year.
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Shuku

Today  though we have a special trip planned. We're going whale watching at shuku.⁶ It's a peaceful morning, sunny, but a bit chilly in the water, and even colder in the air. The waves are clean with an occasional chest high zipper coming through. It's Sunday, but there's only a half a dozen people enjoying the morning, most whom I know by name.  My friend saw it first and frankly I didn't believe her, I don't think she did either, but sure enough, poofe, there she blows.. Only twenty yards away, beautiful, perfect, and free, but going the wrong direction I think. Or maybe just swimming back to say hi, as my friend said. I've seen whales round  the corner more than a few times but this only the second time I've seen one close up and personal from the water. It was impressive, and of course free of charge.

So yeah. I am running a  little over budget, but had good weekend none the less. A few uncrowded waves, Tiger wins for the first time in two years, and we're having enchilada style baked chicken, with a salad, and a cheap red wine for dinner. A welcome relief from last nights grilled ahi with wasabi butter debacle. Nothing worse than worrying if you ate bad fish before you go to bed.

Weekend Spending... Sheesh. $25.64 cents over budget for the weekend $37.73 over budget after four days.
Gas $15.00
Groceries $ 30.64
Sunny day, fun waves, and whale watching with friends... Priceless.

Welcome to La Conchita

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1 Downhill with the wind.^↩

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2 MSRP: $27,859.00 Tax: $2,716.25 Title and License: $478.12 Total Out the Door: $31,053.37^↩

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3 Based on the above Prius III model with navigation, Driving 10,000 miles per year and averaging 50 mpg with gas set at $3.75 vs 1984 Syncro Transporter Westfalia Full Camper Edition with Subaru 2.2 mid nineties engine, Driving 10,000 miles per year averaging 17 mpg, and gas set at $3.75. Your mileage may vary. Syncro, annual gas bill $2083. Prius wow.. $750. Savings per year. $1333.. Nice. $31,053 (Cost new Prius) divided by $1333(saving per year) equals 23 years. Your math may vary but you still can't make a good cup of coffee in it. If you have to buy a new car I guess the Prius is a eco-friendy choice, or is it?^↩

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4 Chumash word for Anacapa Island, said to mean mirage, ever changing, deception. Also known as Eneepah. True. It really does look like a mirage some days, check it out, it vibrates.^↩

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5 Chumash word for Santa Cruz Island^↩

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6 Chumash Village loacated at the mouth of a creek just north of here.^↩

LC on Ten Dollars a Day - Day Two

Almost stayed on budget for day two. The surf looked pretty small from here, but definitely worth a closer look. So with the dogs loaded in the van I headed out about 7:30. I wish I could trust those two to hang out on the beach and not cause any trouble, but I don't. I also feel pretty guilty if I just leave 'em in the van, and head straight into the water, so I don't. Not much seaglass lately, but there have been an unusually large number of dead loons on the beach, both here, and in La Conchita too.. I don't know what's up with that but I can assure you Riley is not responsible.

An hour later I'm paddling out in some fun waist to chest high waves with light offshores and another refreshingly light crowd. Conditions were near perfect even though the swell dropped. Combine it with yesterday and it could have been all-time especially with the light crowds. Went straight to town today(save gas) My mission.. Pick up two bars of wax from Rincon Designs, and a few groceries from Von's. I always try to get people to buy me wax for my birthday, but that was way back in May so it was time to break down, or continue to slip all over the place with summer wax. Wax is now outrageously priced at $1.75 a bar. Maybe I do need to make that trip down to John's...

Across the street Von's is still killing seals, and birds, and turtles, with their useless plastic bags, that hold only 1 item, so I normally don't shop there. But in an effort to save gas, I put my canvas bag over my head and walked in to pick up a few things. By the way the Carpinteria Albertson's 100% Bagless Program looks like a 100% success to me. One of only two stores to go completely bagless in California on April 27th, 2011. No paper, no plastic, and guess what, the place is as crowded as ever, and most importantly people are bringing their own bags. A lot of them who would have never ever brought their own bags, never ever ever, and now its second nature. The point is we don't need to wait for a law to pass to ban those plastic bags, because there no law stating you have to use them in the first place!!! Waiting for the government to tell you whether you should or shouldn't use plastic bags, seems like a waste of time to me. Those guys are just one disappointment after another ( the government) I'll let you in a little tip too Von's, and all you other seal killing, bird chocking, plastic polluting monsters. It's rumored that Albertson's is saving 60K to 100k a year by getting rid of bags, so take that to your 1% and do the right thing!

Pulled Pork sandwiches on a French Roll for lunch, and Spicy Seafood Pasta, for dinner with a bottle of Firefly Ridge Cab $5.99 at Von's (plastic bag monsters) The finals of the World Cup of Surfing from Sunset Beach were sick with John John Florence winning convincingly and prompting me to put him on my Fantasy Surfer Team for Pipe at the ridiculously low price of 3,000,000.

Day two spending.
Surf Wax - $3.77..Groceries - $10.81.. Total Day 2 - 14.58
Total to Date - $32.09 Yep.. $12.09  Over budget, no problem don't need much tomorrow.

Big Bad Bag Man

LC on Ten Dollars a Day - Day One

Here’s the deal I had an unexpected Van repair in mid November running $300. That along with the cash put aside for the mortgage, bills, etc, left me only $250 till my next check on the 21st. Yep, my checks aren't that big, do the math. There was a time when my car payment alone was $600 a month, but not anymore. So anyway $250.. That’s a little over $10 a day, and maybe, I might pick up a little extra dog sitting money, still it’s not much. Wish I had bought a fishing license earlier in the year. Haha. Trust me, I’m not in the 1%. I am in the 10%, behind the other 89%, so I am usually pretty broke anyway. Not really a big deal, I don't even expect to have to go to Coinstar to cash my change in, but it's good to know I can. No worries, it's the life I've chosen, less money, more surf. Still three weeks will be an extra long stretch. Today.. I just need beer. That’s gonna run me more than $10 so not a great start. To be clear I am in the 1%, of the 10%, in back of the 89%, that only drinks decent beer, and not 40 ounce Malt Liquors or Coors Light.

Thanks to Riley and Wilson I scored some unexpected surf today, and it was pretty fun too. Sure the wind was going everywhere from light offshore, to glassy, to hard south, and every direction in between, but if you stayed out long enough you got some good ones for sure! Not bad considering the rest of so cal had 50mph winds. I guess no one expected it since I never saw more than 6 people in the water and it didn't cost a thing! Except a little gas (4 mile round trip) I should have combined my trip to town with the surf trip so as to save some gas, but I had business in town today and had to go back and get my wallet, check book, etc..(9 mile round trip)

By the time I returned there was a power outage going on, bummer, and that wasn’t restored till sometime after 6:00 (yeah, pretty close ruining my newly purchased food in the freezer) Luckily I keep a huge bag of ice in there and everything looks good. So yeah… No power.. No internet.. And even worse, no live coverage of the Van’s World Cup of Surfing from 8’to 12’ Sunset Beach. So I read the new Surfer cover to and thoroughly enjoyed it. $12 for a year of Surfer is hard to pass up isn’t it? Plus they throw in 12 issues of Surfing to boot, how do they do it? The power outage probably saves a couple bucks for next month so I am thinking.. Maybe they should have one everyday. Force people into reading or taking a nap!

I settled on a twelve pack of Red Hook ESB at $13.99 today for change of pace from my Firestone or Sierra Nevada routine, add some Snack Mix @ $1.00, and some red chili flakes for 79 cents found in the Mexican spice section in a little plastic bag. (That is a sweet deal compared to the bottled ones in the Spice section so you might want to make note if you like spicy seafood pasta as much as I do.) With CRV and tax that comes to $17.51

For dinner I went with a pasta dish cooked tonight cooked under the candlelight. Chicken Cappelini tossed in my own Mexi-Marinara sauce, and garnished with Avocado, Sour Cream and 4 types of cheese.. Wine.. A cheap ass cab from Fresh and Easy in Ventura.

No need to go on vacation with sunrises like this.

Don't get me started on the Cormorants

I know these California Seabirds in the photo above look poised but trust me, the two on the wire are precariously close to falling off, and the one on the pole ain't doin' much better. Periodically I find myself in need of leaving the sanctuary here in La Conchita and the nearby town just north of here in search of some waves in the big city to the south. Sometimes I stay on the 101 and zip on by mostly sub par conditions, and sometimes I get off at Seacliff and hit the old Pacific Coast Highway. If you get off on old PCH yourself be sure to check out the Cormorants of Solimar just north of the Solimar Beach Enclave. They hang out on a telephone pole and wire and out of the 40 different species of Cormorants they seem to be the only ones to do so.

I don't know if you pay much attention to the seabirds around here but my dog Riley does and the Cormorant is one of the most spastic seabirds out of the water I have ever seen. There are small jets that can take off faster than a Cormorant off the beach. In the water they are a different story, sleek, agile and very productive fish hunters for sure. But how these Cormorants of Solimar can balance on that wire, or actually get into flight before they hit the ground is beyond me... Next time you drive by make sure to have a laugh as they weeble, wobble, but don't fall down. Actually there used to be seven of them but only three this morning so maybe...

Yep.. The other four fell off already...

The rare bird. Keep it on the dl..

Tuesday.. Lots of surf this week but funky winds and currents at home so I have been heading up the coast at least three out of the last five days. The rare bird was looking in great form on Wednesday. It also looked a little bit too crowded even though I was dieing to surf there. Keep it on the down low?? How about everyone leave your cell phones at home instead. So.. I drove up a bit further and scored a different kind of bird. Pretty fun and near perfection in terms of surface conditions. 3 people out and they were really spread out. Super fun but not what I drove up for.

Wednesday saw the swell drop but the funky winds continue around home base. Still just enough fun to keep me out there for a couple hours. I thought about heading north again but with the drop in the swell just didn't seem worth it.

Thursday, March 17th. The swell is back up and I make plan to head north without even thinking.. This time crowd was looking good as I arrived. For about an hour it was pretty easy to get waves and I had a quite few nice little cover ups but no ridiculously deep shallow sand sucking barrels that were coming up, as the tide was going down. The place just turned on as the tide started to drop and I saw plenty of reasons to call this the best spot on the coast (If you like really fast hollow long makable barrels) Unfortunately it quickly turned into one of the most crowded days I've seen. Not a single wave, big or small, went unridden.. The Slide Show is about a hour later after I got out. The tide and bottomed out and it seemed a bit smaller. Still a lot of great surfing going on. Check out Brandon Smith switch foot barrel, that was pretty cool. But if you could have seen what my eyes saw during the dropping tide.. Perfection.. Sick.. Music: Rodeo Clowns... GLove, with Jack Johnson..

Friday the swell was down again, but I was hooked so I headed back up the coast again. This time to no crowds but that damn south wind followed me up there. Damn south wind, damn you all to hell. Still wasn't too bad with a 1/2 dozen people in the water. And when the wind switched onshore it even cleaned up a bit had it to ourselves till the Low Tide Crew Arrived.

Saturday.. Back at home and going over the falls at overhead Rincon. I was so used to just bouncing off the bottom and popping right up I forgot what it was like to get dragged under water for 50 yds.. Well it's raining today.. Horrible southeast winds and weather. Still you know that it is probably working somewhere..

Battle of the Saints.. February 26th, 2011

Santa Barbara's own Brawlin' Betties Roller Derby Team kicked off the season in front of a standing room only crowd that included Matt Damon, and the Mayor. Under the threat of snow, and rain the Mission City Brawlin' Betties flat out killed the visiting Santa Cruz Derby Girls by a score of 202 to 40, holding Santa Cruz to only 2 point in the second half. It was a blowout but since it was my first derby I had to keep asking Kim what was going on the whole time anyway. Ok I get it now. Full contact pro flat track roller derby. They are hot, sexy, and can kick your ass. Can't wait for the next bout...

Check out the slide show...

Locals Only aka.. The day surfline missed it..

It's easy to get good shots of the pros with their colored wetsuits, and ridiculous talent. But we do have a lot of locals that rip Rincon day in, and day out. Here's a pro free session from December 8th which I think was the day there were only 25 people out stretching from the cove to the Indicator at 8:00 when I paddled out. I'm pretty sure Surfline had the swell coming in on the 9th. Surprise. Waves were pushing double overhead with some thick barrels through the rivermouth section all morning. I didn't get one this day but there were a lot of rides going to the freeway. This session is from a few hours later. The word got out and it got a little sectiony but still plenty of fun for everyone there..

10.10.10

View from the porch.. I think I'll stay awhile.

10.10.10... Nothing too scary with that. I don't even hear too many people talking about it. In binary code it is the number 42. Sally Fitzgibbions tweeted that this morning so I thought I would toss it in. For me it marks the one year anniversary of moving to La Conchita. LC as it's called by the locals.

Excerpt from the novel.. The Innocents..

The '66 Bonneville eased out of Rincon Park and turned south, Wil nudged on the pedal conjuring up a throaty exhaust. He still had the hots for the car, virtually stolen from a widow during the gas crunch. The Bonnie had style; it went like a white bat. It's also carried a 9'6"longboard in a partition he'd punched through the back seat. To improve it's handling he'd replaced the suspension and steering. Other than that, the car was mint.

Wil rested his arm on the open window, to his left, La Conchita appealed to some inner sense. It was so unexpected: half a mile long, scrunched against the coastal cliffs, a vest pocket community not even on most road maps. North-bound drivers escaping LA for the red tiled splendors of Santa Barbara another 15 minutes up the road rarely caught two blinks of it in the rearview. Which suited him fine.

Like most locals, he dug the closeness of it. People co-existed.. like the mobile homes, beach shacks, stucco houses, redwood decks. Roses grew next to cactus, fuchsias next to Spanish bayonet. And up the street at the north end, bananas, the fruit tree-ripening in bright blue bags. La Conchita itself hadn't grown much, though. Laid out in 1924, it waited for the movies stars and city folk to come, some made it as far as Mussel Shoals. After a while the coast highway brought others: oil workers, smugglers, retirees, surfers, all attracted by cheap lots, and two miles of sloping beach...

Richard Barre pretty much nailed it in his 1995 description of LC. The banana's are unfortunately gone, and there are probably more nurses than smugglers these days though. It was late '94 when I first took a look at a house for sale on Vista del Rincon. Theresa quickly shut that idea down? The first slide happened about 3 months later when I was at the Ski Industries trade show in Vegas. I clearly remember the watching it on the news along side Chuck Barfoot, snowboard pioneer, and long time LC resident. Well..Chuck on is on the front row and so am I so I think we have more to worry about with the global warming and melting polar ice caps.. lol.

It was Jenny, Julia, and my daughter Kalie who brought me to La Conchita a year ago to this day. Well.. Long story short. That didn't quite pan out. So it was Jenny, Julia, who went back to Santa Barbara, leaving th big house, and mortgage, and myself. Thank you. I found Susy and her daughter to rent the uptairs. Problem solved.

Driving home last night on the way back from the Carp just in time to catch the sunset, there was a big ol dolphin show going on. Dolphins stretched from the curve all the way to the middle of town. Jumping, playing, racing, generally flying all over the place, speaking to me once again.. Yes.. I think I will stay awhile..

Bobby.. Some of the biggest LC Beach Break I've seen.

Kim's Sup Part Two or.. More time well spent..

About week later I decided I really didn’t pull a muscle but maybe cracked my rib. That’s what it feels like anyway. Don’t worry… it only hurts when I paddle real hard. So.. Over the weekend I tried to paddle casually into a few over at the left. Pretty small but I could have surfed bigger without much more pain so no worries. Wait. Before I go way off tangent and end up with a third part to this stand up paddle confession story of mine, I have to say one thing. You can’t just tell me you are a shortboarder, or a longboarder, or a supper, or a sponger, a kneeboarder, or a kite boarder or, I just surf when it’s good, or blah, blah, blah. Just surf. One of everything please..Thanks! I still plan on getting on a surf mat and on a kneeboard this winter. If you only have love for your own race, then you only leave space to discriminate.. which only creates hate, which can only make you irate. Except those spongers. Fuck those guys…. Just kidding… and the kiteboarders…. Kidding..

So here’s the story I was trying to tell you about yesterday. It goes like this. Riley was taking me on his morning walk up at Bates. We hooked up with Feta and Lou on the way back. I notice some fins heading in the same direction, at the same time my brother Mike calls and gives me the up to date surf report from Venturah.. Actually he hasn’t arrived in the VTA yet but it’s not happening in Hueneme. Which by the way is the Chumash word for “halfway” or “resting place” Halfway to where? Glad you asked. Halfway between Malibu and Rincon of course. Google it. Sorry. No. .I made that up but it sounds good yes? It is the however the only deep water port between LA and San Francisco. So I headed home waiting to hear something on the surf, and wondering if I should forget about it, and go cut the dolphins off in LC for a photo shoot. Sometimes I wish someone would just tell me what to do and where to go. Kidding.. Surf report came back negative but too late to cut off the dolphins. So now what? I need a new plan.

I decided to grab my Camera , load the SUP, head south, and cut them off for some photos around Hobson’s, then maybe drive a bit further and launch the SUP. Making the left into La Conchita is a piece of cake but heading south is a pain in the ass, at least in the Westy. I try to not let the f-bombs fly as I merge into the southbound traffic. I am sure most of those drivers missed the sign and flashing lights two miles back that said “END FREEWAY - CROSS TRAFFIC AHEAD” I know the dolphins are not too far ahead of me so I start scanning. As soon as I am safely in the slow lane, I look over, and there they are. Heading north! It could be a different group so I keep heading south. Past Hobson’s. Past Crap Reef. Past Pitas. Pass Mondo’s (where I briefly thought about paddling out on Kim’s Sup) Pass Solimar ( where I wish the waves were a little better so I could paddle out on Kim’s Sup without a crowd) Sheesh.. See how quickly this story is getting away from me. Stop!

There are no fins to be seen down this way so I turn around and head north thinking briefly again about paddling out on Kim’s Sup as I pass by Mondos . Stop! I need a new plan. I will rush back to LC and shoot some photos of the northbound group I passed on the way down. As soon as I pulled the u-turn and parked, there they were, about 100 yards north of me.. I briefly thought about running them down. Nevermind ! New plan!!! Forget the photos today go to the cove and cut them off on the SUP. So I did. Finally a plan that I could live with. Not that cove.. the good cove.

No waves and no one in the parking lot. Good. Perfect. I don’t surf the cove much anyway but I don’t really want to be caught with an 11’ SUP on my head. As soon as I hit the beach I saw them. At least two fins about 200 yards south of the cove. Sweet.. I hit the water and the conditions were perfect. Glassy, foggy of course, 10’-20’ visibility in the water, and two fins only 100 yards away. So I paddle on out thinking wow this is great and a bit unnerving at the same time. I have been surfing with these guys for years. I have been on the same wave. I have had them pass by within a few feet. I have had to duck dive right in front of six of them, heading full speed, straight at me. But that was just them passing me by. This time I was going to try to hang out with them for a while. I soon as I got pretty close I stopped and sat down for a while. There were two of them. Big ones with big unique fins but neither that I knew by name. They didn’t seem to be going anywhere or maybe I just stopped them. The three of us all kind of hung around in the same area for quite a while, and it crossed mind that if I fell in, they might ram my already cracked rib. Ouch.. They would get pretty close sometimes.. maybe 10’ -15’ and then they would disappear . Occasionally they would come up to the surface and just stay there. I see that behavior a lot now that I have been watching them. This time I was sure they checking me out. Then they both disappeared. So I headed north to towards the cove to see if they would catch up with me when.. poo’fe.. That is the sound they make when they surface. Kind of a soft poof. I don’t know something like that. Anyway it’s the sound of more fins coming up from the south.

Note to self. It’s way easier to count dolphins from this angle especially with the clear water. Six in this group, and without a doubt I know some of these ones but, not by name. This group appeared a lot less freaky than the two bigger ones. They were on a slow but steady trip up the coast. I let them come up to me and then started to paddle in front of them hoping they would pass me. Nope. So I stopped again and just let them cruise by me. Two up front, the other four bringing up the rear. The water is so clear I can see the bottom, the fish, the eel grass, and a lot of sand if you know what I mean. Super good waves coming is what I mean.

I just kind of fell in line naturally behind these guys and followed them into the cove, on up the point, all the way to indicator. I can’t really explain how cool it was. I was right there with them and they didn’t seem to mind a bit. I could see the four below me so clearly it was like slow motion. They’d surface right in front of me, poo’fe.. And for a brief moment in time I was part of this pod. Pretty cool. They never tried to speed away, change directions, or ram into my ribs. In fact I had to slow down a couple times. Pretty freaking cool. Once I hit Indicator I decided to turn back and leave them alone. I didn’t want to wear out my welcome but was looking forward to another encounter. Plus there was somebody out surfing the left and I didn’t want to be spotted on the sup.. Ha..

I wasn’t even to the rivermouth when two more fins popped up. Took a seat and there was qunt’aw (lighting). Pretty much the first dolphin I named and the first dolphin I have seen and recognized from the water. I would like to think he or she was cruising along with ox’kon (thunder) but ox’kon does not have that distinctive of a fin and I didn’t have a camera. But where there’s lighting there’s usually thunder..

Lighting and Thunder..

Time well spent.. or Kim's Sup part one.

So when I started this little Dolphins of the Rincon thing I figured it would be fun to actually know some of the dolphins that cruise by everyday while I was out surfing, or walking on the beach, or just sitting on the porch. So far I have cataloged about 75 fins.. Some of quality on the photos makes a second ID questionable but hey, even the worst one was identified by Mark up at Okeanis. Mark and Daniela have been a huge help by the way.

I don’t have anyone down south that I am sharing info with at this time. However based on the amount of fins spotted down here, which have also been spotted up in Monterey, I would say it’s a safe bet that some of these fins definitely make it in to Baja Norte. What does this all mean.. hmm... They are getting better waves than me lately. But not last Monday. Labor Day brought the first decent waves of the season to the Rincon and I was stoked! I heard a few people complaining.. Why... Hey it was pretty good! Quite a few that came through that day were really good. I surfed close to 6 hours and was happy to be back home. 6 Hours.. That should show you how desperate I have become.. Funny thing. Not one dolphin the entire time I was out. I am sure that at least two cruised through between sessions when I went home to take a nap…

Wake up!! Riley was ready to go. Do something. Anything.. Just hurry up. So we took a bike ride down to the pier to see how the waves were looking. Not epic... but there were a few guys out and I am sure they were stoked to be back home too. Two dolphins came through the Cliffhouse section, passed by the rocks all the way to the call box. Actually I don’t know if there is a callbox there but this was the best dolphin wave of the season. I could see both of them clearly building speed though the first section riding inside the wave like only they can do, past the rocks which are kind of sketchy for dolphins and people, then they both burst out simultaneously doing two perfect airs in a row, then two alternating airs before doing their flyaway twisting kick outs at the end.. One of them rode about 20 yards further before doing his flyaway twisting kick out getting pretty dang close to the freeway in my opinion. What did I get out of this little 20 second encounter? I think they were saying Don. There’s three hours of light left and this swell is dropping fast, so you better get on it. So I did. Moving along...

My friend Kim loaned me her SUP (Stand up Paddle Board) for a few days. I know. I hate these things as much as the next guy but, this one is kind of a cruiser, and while, you can catch waves on it. I’m not planning to catch any.. just cruise. blah.. blah.. Well you know. . Ok. hmm. Then.... Anytime in the water is time well spent. I know Kim got this one for paddling around on flat days hoping to get out there and hang out with the “Dolphins of the Goodland” Personally I have been secretly wanting one of these for the same reason for quite some time now.

Tuesday.. There was still some surf to be had but, I had this new toy so.. Yea.. Hopefully run into some friends.. Dolphins that is. First off it’s not as easy as it looks. There is the width of 30 inches and a ridiculous length of 11 feet to consider. Try getting that through the hobbit tunnel of La Conchita or into your car without being seen. This is a super nice Jimmy Lewis board but must have come out before they put those nifty little built in handles. Somehow I came up with an ingenious carrying system that even MacGyver would have been proud of. Using the leash and the paddle, I made it through the tunnel and to the beach. Easy Peasy. There was actually surf that day in LC but, luckily no one on the beach, and no one to notice me paddle out. The steep beach break waves looked kind of fun and like certain death on the sup. Anyway I am out here to cruise around and look for some dolphin’s right? Ha.. I didn’t see any dolphins so I cruised on down to the pier where I might be able to catch some waves…

There was a lone surfer out at the beach break just north of the pier so I stayed way offshore to insure he did not see my face. I had paddled this thing around once before on really smooth water but other than that, this is my first time on the sup. It’s weird paddling around with your stance straight ahead. Weird standing out in the middle of the ocean. Weird trying to get through the pier on such a huge craft with the current sucking in and out. Weird this tall paddle. Just weird. So I get by the pier and no one is out. Good. High tide and not really enough swell . Good. I was heading to where I saw the dolphins catch that wave the day before, and that is where I was heading the minute I left the house. Stop!!!

I know what you’re thinking… a thousand sunsets, dolphins, heart shape stones, magic sea glass, stupid love song covers, and now a SUP.. WTF.. That is why I started shooting portraits of raptors and have a small but powerful collection of skull shape rocks. It’s harder than it looks those SUPS. My first wave.. A knee high but treacherous take off over the previously mentioned rock section. Shifting to a surf stance was easier than I thought given how off balance I am on that thing the rest of the time. Dig the paddle in and glide. Fun! Second wave.. Might be chest high. It’s hard to get this thing turned around and going. Which side do I favor when I am catching a wave? I favored my right side and dug really hard to get in this one then.. tweak… snap.. crackle.. I pulled something and instantly forget about the trampoline injury that was bothering me but I did catch the wave. Fun! Fun! Ouch!! I should have headed back after that but no one was out, and I wanted to get a few more. It was really hard to catch anything without putting any pressure on my right side but I managed a few more. Fun ! Fun! Fun! Ouch.. I was planning to tell a different story but the preamble turned into a preramble so that is the end of Kim’s Sup part one.. Or.. Time well spent.

The Old Rincon Creek Brick Quarry - Part 2

So hmmm.. Part Two. I knew I could dig up some more information on this subject if I was just patient. Well.. um. First we have to back up the first paragraph of Part One. I take that all back. Oops.. The Brick Factory was not 6-8 miles up the creek as it was related to me by, surf ski friend, Barron. According to David, who maintains a small file on the factory over at the Carpinteria Historical Museum, the factory was much closer to the rivermouth than that. That also confirms what another long time Carp local, beachcomber, and brick collector had told me.

The factory which operated under the name of Carpinteria Clay Products Company was located on what is now the L.L. Brenter Ranch. That puts the site about a 10th of mile up the creek from the railroad track. This of course makes my foray into the upper part of the creek, which resulted in the worst case of poison oak I have ever had, or seen for that matter, and subsequent scarring, completely unnecessary. Nice..


Carpinteria Clay Products Company operated in the 1920’s using native yellow adobe clay dug on site, hence the unique color of these bricks. The production machinery cost $37,000. They also manufactured tiles and in 1922 made the claim “our product is much superior to the tile that is made near Los Angeles" I have no trouble believing them on that one. I found both tiles and bricks in abundance after this winters consistent surf, and sand rearrangement.

I also took a quick drive around Carp and found two chimneys using these original bricks. One was painted but the other is still in its natural state. On a side note: When I first began thinking of moving down to La Conchita I found one of these bricks in the back yard of one of the houses I was looking at. (used in construction, not from the creek) Sly’s Restaurant on Linden Street is also reputed to be built of these bricks as well. However there are far too many layers of paint on those to really tell.

The Carpinteria Clay Products factory closed presumably around the start of the great depression, and reopened again in 1931 under the name, Montecito Clay Products Co. This time with an expanded product line which I assume included all the other colors of bricks that come out of the creek. I have had at least one person tell me “it’s just the yellow ones” Hmmm.. The yellow ones may be the original Rincon bricks but I can assure you that the pinks, oranges, beige, and multicolor bricks have all come out of that creek.

There is no information as to when Montecito Clay Products closed but, in 1960 they began construction on the double lane divided highway that was to be cut though Rincon. The factory was buried under the debris from cutting the highway and the terracing of the hillside. One idea is they tossed imperfect bricks into the creek and eventually washed out in all their glory. If that were the case I would assume they would have all washed out long ago. My guess is they are still buried and when the creek really gets going, like 2005, 1995, it uncovers a few more. Maybe the creek had to cut a new path right through the buried factory. I don’t know but the long time collectors say they come out every time we get one of those really, really, wet years.

No bricks came out of there this year. My collection has been built entirely on littoral drift and the non-stop wave action we had this winter. Speaking of littoral drift.. The furthest south I have even found one is Stables at C-Street in Ventura. That is a good 15 miles to the south at least. I am sure some have made it as far as the Mugu Submarine Canyon never to be seen again. Actually my ex-wife found that one for me at C-Street. Ouch. Dang it.. Thought I could get through a whole blog. Someone save me..

When you see Santa Clara Rivermouth doing this..

It time to go looking for bricks!!

Field notes from Dolphins of the Rincon.

8:15 am - Getting a late start so lets get started. There have been a lot of fins this past week so I spent the early morning posting new fin id shots and.. Yeah! I finally saw the same dolphins twice. Earlier in July I ran across that huge pod, which I will now call a herd (Pods may combine for several minutes or hours to form larger social groups called "herds" ) Anyway.. I came across some fins about 7:00 am on the 1st of August at Indicator. Of course didn't have my camera. I was down for a quick walk with Riley who got a cut on one of his pads last week. I was trying hard to keep him out of the water and test out the new waterproof/sandproof bandage design I came up with. He had this super nice bandage job courtesy of Animal Medical Clinic in Carp that I didn't want to mess up so I wrapped it in a plastic bag and threw a sock on over it. It would have worked if he just stayed out of the water. Oh well. So here come the fins heading south. I was over the waterproof bandage experiment so I figured I would head them off down in the LC. Riley was like hey, "no way we just got here" Even though he is smarter and more handsome than me.. I tricked him into getting back in the van and we headed home. Grab the Canon and got on the beach by 7:23. The surf was minimal so they were coming in quite close and a got a few good shots. This was a good size pod of about 7-9 dolphins and I called them Riley's Pod. Turns out 3 of the fins are from the Solimar herd back on the 19th July. After cataloging over 50 fins.. Finally a match. I guess that's a good thing. More dolphins than you can count..

8:26 am - After months of anticipation, and thanks to David over at the Carpinteria Historical Museum I am proud to announce I will finally be writing part two of the Old Rincon Creek Brick Quarry Anyway I went to the cove to get a few shots of one of the bigger stockpiles of bricks i have seen. Mission accomplished. Not quite. Riley still insisted on taking a walk so we headed around Indicator and up the coast..

8:53 am - I saw it exactly the same time as Riley which is too late. I made a run for it but Riley had it and was off down the beach. California Brown Pelican. This is quite a conundrum. On the one hand I don't like the leash laws but, sick and injured birds are no match for most dogs.. Curtis excluded. About a hundred yards down the beach we ran into Debbie and her dog which was enough distraction for me to get the pelican. Surprisingly he was looking good as far as injuries go. Riley had him by the scruff of the neck so no blood, no broken wings, didn't even really lose any feathers to speak of. But he was still sick so I figured I should get him to June's seabird rescue in SB before another dog came along. With the help of Debbie, I got the bird back to Lou's in the upper parking lot. Lou made a call to our local seabird care expert Connie, and a couple hours later he was looking pretty good and heading to June's.

Disclaimer: Dogs are Dogs. I don't like seeing any animals getting hit by a dog, cat, or car for that matter. I worked for a few years at the SB Wildlife Network for those exact reasons. In the case of birds that don't fly away when they see a dog coming.. Well.. They are usually pretty sick or injured already. In this case the pelican was lucky that Riley didn't get him, and lucky that he ended up getting the fluids and nourishment he is going to need survive. So if I twist it enough I could say Riley did him a favor.. but really.. bad dog.

9:33 am - Of course while all this is going on I caught some fins heading south out of the corner of my eye. Sheesh.. Walking on the beach is a full time job.. lol. There is probably enough time for a bowl of cereal before cutting them off in LC. I came out of the tunnel and there they were.

9:43 am - Haven't had a chance to do the fin id's yet but there were about 6-7 in this pod with another 2 following close behind (about 200 yards) I followed them for about 10 minutes down the beach then headed back to Rincon to check up on the Pelican.. Lot's of other sightings this week. A couple surfing down in Oxnard Shores.. A few more along Bates. See you out there tomorrow with the Dolphins of the Rincon..

Wednesday 6/30/2010 - POD Dolphin Research Boat Trip #2

This was my first boat trip, and the first time I got to meet anyone from the POD team. I have been doing my own research for a little over month but have just started to dig in lately. I have made a number of fin id's on my own and hope to get some matches on this trip. Anyway.. On board today are Lindsay Griffin, Lindsey Eltinge, Pod Director Dr Toni Frohoff, Captain Jim Klein, and myself, Don Jayne. What a boat. The FINADDICT is a 38' Radon Sportfisher. The boat is fully equipped to say the least and highly recommended. I didn't even know they made a Radon this size. Ok well.. Off we go.

9:45 - We are heading out. I had seen at least 3 pods down my way along the Rincon so off we went. I kind of wanted to go the other way towards the Ranch... Maybe another day. Samy's Camera was cool enough to loan Lindsay a Canon D40 with the same lens I use. EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L. Brooks graduate, Lindsey was in the cabin giving Lindsay some last minute photography tips. I should have been in there myself. I don’t know what I was doing but I heard the word “RAW” and I knew that word locks up my computer every time, so I went outside. I am really stoked, and grateful to be aboard with this crew. Our mission today. Try to get some good shots which can be used later for Dorsal Fin Identification. Easier said than done.

10:00 - We are already on our first pod. Just off the Biltmore and Coral Casino in Montecito. Good job Jim. I am going to have to start writing some notes down because my mental notes are starting to get a bit fuzzy. I think there were about 5 in this group and, I don’t know about the girls but, I really ended up with nothing from this pod. Timing and luck is everything in this game... Oh!! and a fast autofocus! Composition and all your other photo skills don't really mean a thing. Just looking for a clean detailed profile shot of the Dorsal Fin. Well. My first thought was. This was way easier from the beach. Anyway as far as I can remember these guys did come in close a few times. You know.. I thought I had my timing down with all the surf shots I have been getting but these guys are underwater and kind of unpredictable most of the time. They zipped around us for a bit, a little curious, might have been feeding, and then continued heading north. By 10:15 we are heading south. One thing I really like about Toni is her concern for the dolphins’ well being, and we are trying to be as non-invasive as possible, so if it seems like the dolphins are tired of us, we will head out…

10:45 - Passing by Santa Claus Lane. You can tell its summer because the surf camps are set up wall to wall on this tiny stretch of beach. No fins though.

11:00 - We are already in Rincon Bay according to Jim... I call it Bates Beach and the Carpinteria Bluffs. Really I call it my backyard and I spend a ridiculous amount of time walking in both directions with Riley looking for magic sea glass. Still no dolphins, but there is a big male sea lion surrounded by a bevy of beautiful sea lionesses, so break the cameras out! Apparently the polyamorous lifestyle is quite popular off the coast. More on that one later. Well I just saw a pretty good size pod of 8-12 here on Monday but, today it is as flat as a lake so maybe that explains it. We head pass Indicator and into the cove.

11:17 - We are passing my house and the sleepy seaside town of La Conchita del Mar. I can almost see Riley lying on a very sandy couch because there was no time to give him a rinse this morning.

11:30 – I’m hungry as we are rounding Arco Island and passing by my one my favorite spots for lunch. “The Shoals at the Cliffhouse Inn” Some Dolphins’ thought it would be a good idea for me to get married here and swam by and gave us their blessing right during our ceremony. I guess they only blessed us for 3 years.. What do those practical jokers know about monogamy anyway? Seriously.. I knew that dolphins were among the only animals besides us that have sex for pure enjoyment, but I always thought they mated for life. I used that line in many an argument. “look at those dolphins they can stay together, so can we” Ok now. Well that’s out the window... Thanks for clueing me on to that Lindsay. By 11:45 we are passing Hobson’s and turning around. No fins. Time for lunch.

12:47 – We needed to get some new profile shots for our facebook pages so Lindsay, Toni, and I pretend to spot some dolphins of the coast of Sandyland and the Carpinteria Salt Marsh. Got some good ones!

1:11 – We are back in the dolphin research business. Just off the northern end of Summerland in front of the cool secret house you can’t see from the freeway is another small pod of 3 -4. Ok. Whatever you see, there is probably 1 or 2 more. From an early check on the photo one of these guy’s looks like a dolphin I nicked named Simon Anderson. Not only the inventor of the Thruster and, grizzled veteran of the ASP tour but, also one of my first fin ID shots. I will have to do more work on that but, right now I am having huge problems with my database. This is pretty cool, and the whole idea behind this project, great. Get to know you local dolphins.. Got a few good fin id’s from these guys and by the time we hit Sharks Cove...

1:48 – I will call them the Gumby Pod because someone painted a cool little Gumby on the seawall at Sharks. Well... This was the most entertaining group of the day. Jumping, spinning, flying, bumping into each other, and popping up all over the place. There were 4 of them and they looked to be having plenty of fun. Almost always staying pretty close together but at one point 2 of them swam way behind us and came back trying to trick us in to believing there were 6. Those practical jokers. I could hear them laughing when they went by but.. I did get a few good shots. Well these guys and girls were up to something without question. We stayed with them till about 2:30 all the way to Hammonds. There was even a little sea lion trying to get in on the action jumping and porpoising all over the place. Nice..


2:39 – We are in the harbor. Perfect day but I did miss an opportunity to have my shark photo published by the Independent. Maybe I should get an IPhone. Naaaaa..