It’s hot , it’s tense , Emma’s busy , Tex is hostile , we’ve got the neighbours long board on the roof of the car and it’s already moving from side to side and we haven’t even got onto the 405 . We are driving down to Dana Point to celebrate Emma’s birthday . We turn back as we have forgotten our all important phone charging cables ….. yes I know ,but it’s the modern world and we are addicted to our devices . We eventually get back on the road but not before I throw my yearly tantrum and remind the neighbours that I’m an expert in cursing ,but worse still ,unbeknownst to me at the time , I miss the second chance to pack Emma’s birthday present . Yep … I realise once we are settled in our hotel that I have left my wife’s birthday presents in Leroys bedroom . We are down here to celebrate Emma’s birthday. No amount of reasoning and blaming others can excuse me of this shocking oversight . I fucked up ……I seriously considered driving the 2 and half hour return trip to retrieve the presents , instead I took the kids to the beach .
I grabbed Tex , Owen , Coop and Leroy with my tail tucked between my legs . I gathered it be best that I let Emma have a few drinks with Kim and Megan without the kids . Salt Creek Beach would be worth a look .,with surfboards of course . I texted our Aussie neighbour Dan to let him know where to meet us . He , Mimi and there son Fox were also down for a couple of days . It turns out to be a good decision , we get back on dark pretty happy with ourselves .We know where we are going tomorrow . We get to the restaurant just in time to celebrate Emma’s birthday dinner .
Salt Creek beach is my favourite surf location in America , actually it’s my favourite beach here , full stop. Dan , Tex and I would alternate surfing the point ,the peak out front and keeping an eye on the kids . It’s a rare site to see a beach without built up housing , a large pier ,concrete paths and walls . This place is clean , green , shapes with a curve between headlands , it has a surf life saving club on a hill …… it could be Australia , it could easily be the mid north coast of New South Wales. We surf it on Emma’s birthday for another 4 hours , leaving the girls to go out for birthday brunch . To surf waves that don’t regularly close out is a rare treat and surfing in boardshorts is an added bonus . On a side note : the standard of surfing was very high , getting waves wasn’t easy but it was worth the fight .
Dana point sits south of Laguna Beach . It’s a classic surf town that s divided by a large marina . One side sits Salt Creek beach and short board dominated waves , on the other is Doheny Beach , a long board Mecca . This is a wealthy town , as is all of the coastline of Orange County . This area is a rare Republican stronghold in California . A long strip of coast that is blonde haired , blue eyed Californian … there’s no hood here . The OC is still an enigma in my eyes . The drive south of LA on the 405 ,just 5 or so kilometres in from the coast is pretty bloody ugly . Dirty , dusty , barren , powerlines , freeways , smog , industry ….I could be on the Princes freeway going past Laverton in 1995 on a 40 degree day , that’s Orange County’s other scenery .
Our hotel sat up high above Dana Point . The Chart house for dinner set up a beautiful backdrop …. the food didn’t disappoint either .
Finally it was off to San Clemente and T Street at the urging of our little neighbour , Cooper . Catch surf and it’s soft board revolution is based down here . San Clemente is also home to Trestles , arguably California’s best wave . This place is not unlike Torquay . We all meet down at T street , a straight beach with a large pier and a railway line running along the back of the sand .This is cliche California. The waves are average at best , but it’s more a kid and family location . As fate would have it , the poster boy of Catch surf , Kalani Robb arrived just after myself and Tex left for home , worse still his biggest fan Cooper had already just left . I think his parents would need to sedate him once they see the picture below
There’s a lot we didn’t do in Dana Point . There’s the marina , a healthy shopping and restaurant strip , a heap of beach paths , Doheny beach and probably a lot more . We did find Salt Creek beach and it’s fun waves . We also found an area of California that is pretty relaxed , still very busy but is just far enough way from LAs relentless sprawl to make it feel like you’ve escaped for a holiday . Ahh well , I fucked up Emmas birthday but at least she gets a second treat when she opens her presents when she gets home 2 days later .
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