High School and College Artwork. 1972-86

Here is a painting I did in High School. I like the bold colors.

A mixed media painting I did. Not really an original idea but I had fun doing it.

A pencil drawing of the first home my brother, sister-in-law, and I bought in Mendenhall Valley, Juneau, Alaska. (1978)

Ink drawing of and old homestead in San Luis Obisbo.

A still life pencil drawing. Cans and Pears by yours truly.

Big Day in Santa Cruz-Winter Camping

We camped in Santa Cruz after a huge storm that closed most of the campgrounds in the area. We own a cool little Scamp trailer and did some winter camping. I took the pictures with a little digital camera I use for my real estate pictures. I was standing on the cliff overlooking Steamer Lane.

The lefts were working better than the rights that day.

The guy was setting up for his bottom turns after dropping in on these sweet waves.

I vowed to ride waves like this again someday. I wanted to go out but knew I was not in good enough surfing shape to even attempt it. I live in a great area in the mountains so the only time I get to surf is on camping trips like this. I am a Masters swimmer and stay in shape just to be able to surf again. Someday...

Surfing in Costa Rica 1974 Boca Baranca

I found photos of the first spot I surfed in Costa Rica! This internet stuff is too much. It was just like the pics above in the fall of 1974, right after I graduated from high school. We drove across the United States from Southern California to Miami so we could save money on our plane fares.

Three guys from Florida, a few locals and my buddy Gary Barker and I were out on the biggest day. Longest waves I have ever surfed. It looks like the spot changed a little since I was at Boca Baranca. Someone called it Danyana when we were hanging out. When I surfed there, the waves were breaking close to the rocks. You did not want to fall but I think we had leashes even then. As long as your board is ridable, what's a little wear and tear on the body. Never got pitched on the rocks though. There was the third point which no one surfed except a crazy guy from New Jersey and he broke his board on his second wave. The second point was just like the wave on the third photo down. Then the wave slowed down into the first point where it got very lined up. I did so many off the lips, I got bored. One evening it was very hollow at the first point. I heard there were sharks out that night. Kind of put a damper on killer tubes. No one around to see my very deep bowls except one local. He didn't even hoot. Oh well. Maybe I was the beginning of crowded conditions and he saw the handwriting on the wall.

All kinds of different waves in this one area. The paddle across the river was kind of wierd. Lots of crap floating in the river. Good waves with every go out.

Here is another picture I took using my Pentax SLR camera which I basically traded for a shotgun while living in Alaska. It came in handy in California. This was shot in Pacific Grove in the early eightys. It reminded me of surfing with my Brothers. Just a couple of guys just finished with an awesome surf session. It's much like the adrenaline high you get from a hard workout only ten times more intense because surfing is so much fun.

This is a picture of me at a secret spot near Puerto Escondito, in Oxaca, Mexico. One of the cleanest breaks I surfed in the eighties. The guy who drove us to the break had his van broken into and some tools stolen. Bummer for him but at least we scored some good tubes.

The wave appears mellow but broke very hard, much like the main break at Puerto Escondito. That was a very gnarly wave. The mags show it every now and then and it is always big, perfect, and scary. This trip was while I lived in Alaska. I got in shape by swimming a mile a day for at least a month. But one can never be in total surfing shape unless surfing consistently for a couple of weeks. When I got to Escondito, the surf was at least double overhead. I went out but did not ride too many waves. As the swell dropped, I was able to ride more waves. Too much fun. This was about the forth day of surfing. The best picture to date anyone has ever taken of me. Thank you to the photographer.

Another picture of me on a perfect backside wave at the secret spot. Green, fun, and the reason a surfer travels.

As soon as I graduated from high school, I made a trip to Costa Rica. We did not get any photos of that trip. Our camera malfunctioned and we were too spaced out to get even a throw away (maybe they didn't have throwaways in 1974). Costa Rica was a surfer's paradise in the seventies. It still looks good in the mags but I would have to go somewhere else where the crowds are minimal. I will tell you about my trip to Costa Rica next time.

Thanks for viewing my blog. I have never been much of one for talking about myself but I had to get it down in writing before I can't remember anymore. This is very cool stuff for me.

Early Days, The Seventies

Hello everyone:

I am now ready to start my blog. I got a new laptop for Christmas from my family and scanned some of my pictures, so here I go.

This is one of the first pictures taken of me when I was about 16 years old. I am now 53 so the photo was taken at least 35 years ago. My brother John's girlfriend captured this close-up by standing close to the breaking wave and using a telephoto lens. Moe was a great photographer and great friend. The photo has seen some abuse over the years but still shows the quality of the photo. I like the water around the right foot. I was surfing with some friends at a place called Solimar point near Ventura, CA, It was a small day but fun. The sun was warm and the water refreshing.

I took this photo in Hawaii with a Pentax SRL with no filters. I sold a shotgun and bought the camera. A worthwhile transaction it turned out to be. I loved the camera. Someday soon I will buy a new SLR for better quality photos instead of just real estate pics.

The break is Pipeline and I had surfed earlier that day at Backdoor, the right breaking wave just down the beach from Pipeline. The lefts were not breaking like this when I went out midday at this famous (and scary break). It was much bigger and I was surfing backside. I still regret not going out at the Pipe when this photo was taken. I was most likely already surfed out and my family was more important right then. This was what it was like surfing back then (no crowds). Only one guy out at the most famous break in the world..

The First Post

This was a big day in Santa Cruz. I had been too landlocked to go out at Steamers that evening. I intend to ride waves like this again soon.

This blog will be about everything surfing. I am a landlocked, frustrated masters swimmer who dreams of retiring somewhere on the coast so I can feed my surfing addiction. Meanwhile I will continue to swim and blog about the places I dream of going and places I have been. Come along for the journey. Yours truly,

The Surf Junkie