The Place: Upstate New Jersey
The time: 1995
After growing up near the beach in California my parents relocated to woodsy upstate Jersey. I had just finished college in Santa Barbara and wasn’t really getting into much. Working 20 hours a week at Olive Garden, bodyboarding, bird-watching and not much else. I had just separated with my long time girlfriend and my folks bought a big house so I moved in.
The photo was staged in our backyard for my cali’ crew to show them how I was holding it down on the east coast….psych! In the 2 years that I lived there I only made it to the coast 5 times. 3 of the times were to play in beach volleyball tournaments, which became my favorite east coast pastime. The other 2 times I made the 3-hour drive in the early dark of morning just to see the sun rise over the ocean!
The Place: Durban, South Africa
The Time: December 1996
This is where is first learned to ride a surfboard. It was the beginning our 18-month backpack/surf trip around the world. The trip was epic, in part because we got all of the drama out on our first day of surfing.
My friend Danny instantly got the job of surf tour guide at the hostel where we were staying. And I became the hostel manager. Among the many perks of our positions were access to the hostel tour van!!! So we did what any surfer would do…we took it surfing.
Over-indulging in the van space Danny took 2 boards. I brought way too much money and my hearty traveling clothes. We parked at a common surf spot in Durban across the street from a military base. The surf was fun, as it always was in Durban….too fun for someone who could barely sit on his board at the time! : ) After the session we came back to climb in our ride only to find an empty parking space…of course!
Turns out that more cars get stolen in Durban and Johannesburg than anywhere in the world….who knew?
The hostel owner was cool. The van was insured and he had wanted another one anyway. We actually saw the van being driven around town on a number of occasions during our stay. The thieves had done an ultra weak paint job and the hostel logo could still clearly be seen.
The event also afforded us a trip to the local police station where the police shared their favorite Playboy magazine issues with us and invited us to go play pool and get drinks. Traveling is the best!
The Place: Transkei, South Africa
The Time: Late December 1996
The Transkei is an area along the Southeast coast of South Africa. On the northern part of the area was this surf campground. This is where we spent Christmas.
The camp sits on a right point break that is common ground for many a shark. Actually the whole Transkei region is known for its high shark presence. We came prepared. Before leaving Durban a local advised us to pick up a shark-bite kit. It was basically a big needle and thread with some gauze for the tears : ) We didn’t need it.
The locals had other means of dealing with sharks. There was always one dude on shark watch. He would sit on the point and scan the waters for finned visitors. On one of the 3 days that we were there we were chillin’ in camp when we heard him yell, “Shark!” We peeked over the bluff to see all the dudes getting out of the water until the coast was clear….or clear enough. Guys paddled back out in 10-minutes! : )
The Place: Singapore
The Time: End of March, 1997
Spoiled! By this time we were 7-months into the journey. We had visited: Lesotho, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Thailand, Malaysia and were en route to Indonesia. We had a friend from college who was working in Singapore and offered to put us up for a week. Little did we know that she and her husband lived in the penthouse of some high rise! Little did she know that we were well committed to our travelers care-free nature. When she opened the door she couldn’t get past our funk to give us hugs : ) Greetings happened after our showers! That was definitely one of the best showers of my life!
Their home was ridiculous. Marble everything. State-of-the-art sound system. State-of-the-art kitchen. Fridge stocked with everything. View of everything. And they both worked during the day so we were free to run amok!
That is one neat city. Startlingly clean. The food was spectacular! It was just so organized!
Our friends opened their doors to us for a week before pre-Indo to prepare and for a week post-Indo to decompress. We were fortunate souls for their hospitality.
The photo is just clowning in their hallway.
The Place: Nias Island, Indonesia
The Time: End of May, 1997
Our last day on Nias Island. We were there for 2-months. We stayed in a lossman(bungalow) that was a stones-throw from the water…literally. We ate fresh fish everyday. We collected fantastic sea shells. We wrote. We gazed out over the ocean for extended periods. We walked empty beaches. We got up at dark and were the first ones in the water. I got malaria. We grew our hair!
This was the heart of our travels.
The picture says it all…
The Place: Big Sur, California
The Time: September 2007
This was during the Black Surfer campout we helped facilitate. It was an amazing and inspiring gathering of people. And the surf was fuuuun!
More on that later….we filmed it!
The Place: Kona, Hawaii
The Time: February 2008
Spoiled again! My folks and sister treated my whole family to a family reunion voyage to a beach house in Kona.
What can I say?…..HAWAII!!! That place is otherworldly. The people, the waves, the landscape….all beautiful! I had some of my best ocean experiences ever in the short time that we were there.
The bliss came not just from the amazing surf and warm water, but more from the vibe I got from the people in the water. There was a pure love of the ocean that radiated from all of the local surfers. The ocean meant so much to them and was such a vital part of their lives that they just glowed in its presence. It was an honor to share surf with them.
A family friend was on the spy cam with for this shot. I didn’t know she was shooting until I was walking back up the beach. I was grateful because it is so rare to get any photos of me doing this thing that means so much to me.
