Surf session 006

Time: 9:45-11:15
Board: 9.0 Becker pintail
Swell: 1-3 SSW
Water: Not so bad, wore my 3.2 so no complaints.

Some of my friends do not surf Malibu. I, on the other hand, love the spot. Aside from the usual excellent wave quality, the place is never boring. There is just so much to entertain you at Malibu. Whether its the eccentric surfers, the exotic cars, or Malibu Carl himself, this spot has quite a bit of excitement to offer. In fact, today was one of those extra special days that reminded why I love Malibu so dearly.

I pulled into the parking lot, and unfortunately, had to use the electronic parking machine. I anticipated this, and brought the $8 for parking. I put $7 in the machine, and for some odd reason, it would not accept the last bill. Just as I was starting to check my pockets for change, the machine notified me it was printing a ticket.

The ticket ended up being a notification that I had insufficient funds. To top it of, the machine also took my $7.

When I paddled out into the water, the swell was decent. It was on the small side, but as always the shape was alright. By the end of my session the waves had started to close out, but otherwise the session surf wise went very well.

However, as I was in the water I bumped into a friend of mine that I had not seen since the 6th grade. I had no idea where he went to school, where he lived, or even that he surfed. His face had changed a bit, as had his voice (obviously), but once Alex Popper said his name, I recognized him instantly.

We talked for a good hour or so, caught a few waves, and then told one another that we would meet up sometime next week to surf. I walked back to my car around 11:00 or so, and feeling rather content with myself, I packed my gear and hopped into my car.

Unfortunately, that feeling of content went away pretty quickly.

I pulled up to the light by the Malibu Inn to make a U-turn, when all of a sudden I heard sirens. A large semi coming the opposite way pulled over in front of Jack-in-the-Box, and it was quickly followed by a number of police cars. The policia jumped out of their cars, Beretta's and shotguns at the ready. "Driver show me your hands!" they kept saying over and over again, as they slowly started to surround the car. All of this happened 15 yards away from me, and all I kept thinking was: "please, if there is a shoot out, God don't let me die in front of Jack in the Box."

I made it down to Topanga canyon, and was able to get home, though the drive was an hour longer then I had originally anticipated. But anyway, once again Malibu reminded me that much like the beautiful city of angels, surfing here can be very entertaining.