Morning, surfers! JP finally got his own board, and she’s a beaut. 8’6″ of precision-shaped foam core, wrapped in layers of fiberglass, cloth and epoxy resin. And she’s already making friends on the roof of JP’s car with my board. Ahh, so sweet.

 

 

So, naturally, we had to break her in in her home waters – Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz. The picture below is of a lone house along the ridge. It belongs to Jack O’Neill, founder of the O’Neill surf company. He and a friend were watching the waves roll-in so we stopped to chat. Apparently they called this area the Dirt Farm back in their day, and the only thing you had to do to get into their crew was offer some beer and plants of the Cannabis genus prepared for psychoactive effects. Easy enough!

 

 

Once we got home, we were already a little salty (smelly, too) so we decided to knock out a dirty project JP’s been putting off. He bought a missing part for the ice maker in his fridge, but needed to turn-on the waterline to the fridge to get her going. He traced the waterline out the back of the fridge, into the floor, and was pretty sure the valve was under the house. So, he put on some grubby clothes and I got out the camera. Look at him. He’s so scRed.

 

 

It’s a little tight under there. And don’t be fooled by the flash, it’s DARK, too!

 

 

Emerged! But no valve found. 🙁 Fortunately, it looks like the line from the fridge goes under the kitchen sink.

 

 

There it is! A ha ha ha ha. My Jerry; he’s so funny. Oh well, it was worth it for the laughs.

 

Once we got showered up, we three amigos went into the city for dinner with some of JP’s friends who were in town to watch the Cincinnati Reds get smoked by the SF Giants. We decided on a small enoteca (Italian wine bar) in the Marina, Optimisto Enoteca Cafe. We’ve been here before and will be back again. We got a primo seat on the front patio on what was a perfect summer day in the city.

 

The food was great, and this one was especially exotic – Grilled octopus tentacle. Surprisingly, it was probably my favorite dish of the night.

 

I let the waiter talk me into an Italian wine – 2006 Cascina Morassino Dolcetto d’Alba from Dolcetto, Barbaresco in Northern Italy – because he described it as something it was not. Not that I have anything against Italian wines, but I was really in the mood for a big California red. Fortunately, we got it on the next go around (next two, technically, since we got seconds of the same bottle). 2004 Foxen from Cuvee Jeanne Marie Winery in Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara. Whoa buddy! Bites a little bit like smokey Pinot on the tip of my tongue, but finishes with a big mouth-full-of-fruit feeling.

 

OK, that’s a wrap. Tune in next time for Sunday’s main events – a hike through Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, a stop by Ridge Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and Lea’s first homemade peach pie!

 

Gan bei! (“Cheers” in Mandarin)