Saturday, January 1, 2011

Red's Hole of Wonder


The exact contents of Red's basement seem to fluctuate with the seasons.  A genuine surfboard graveyard, the little hole is also packed out with old plumbing supplies, family heirlooms and, as always, the official OSVA volleyball court gear.  I first laid eyes on the trove 13 years ago, at one point or another pulling out each old, cruddy board to try in the dumpy beach break out front.  There have been bare times too, when the generation of grand kids et al grew older and moved on for summers elsewhere, often taking their boards with them.  I even got Carmel to bring out to NY the Sunset Surfboards eight foot single fin for safe keeping.  "Old Paisley" is still there, as is a hand full of funky and warn thrusters, soft-tops, sponges, skimboards and one potato chip twin. But lately there's been a nice little restocking going on.  With the great-grandchildren starting to fill the coffers with possibilities, the booty has started to grow anew. Ian donated his ten and a half foot warped corkscrew banana (don't go right on that thing, the warp heads left...) and just before the Grotto closed I brought home a much maligned 9-foot-something toothpick that does the job on hollow days (just be careful of the fully Solar-resed nose...)  Currently, Dana is doing his best to shore up the proceedings with a clutch of SUPs perfect for kelp-bed perusal, and there's even a few women's wetsuits down there for a quick dip.  I think adding a couple cheap fishes to the quiver would be an ideal round-out, so if you need a graveyard in North County, the sort of place that will inevitably stoke the dreams of a new generation, drop me a line, I have just the retirement home.

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