0025: wine lobster & bad surf

a total lack of planning is usually whats needed to enjoy oneself. to learn about the one you're with. the road to valle de guadalupe is not too long but twisty and probably pretty dangerous if one was to think too much about it.

the valley itself is beautiful, high above the sea you're warmed by the sun and at the same time cooled down by the coastal breeze. The rains made the environment green, lush i guess is the word. you can see the wineries all around, seemingly endless vineyards with sandstone boulders tossed around the land. the hills were full of trees that reminded me of northern arizona, even down to the red earth. Strolling around the L.A. Cetto vinicula we headed out to the end of the monstrous tanks, daring each other to go inside the warehouse which was enourmous and lonely. there were quite a few tourists, mostly from a bus which starts at ensenada and heads into the hills. The start of the tasting was a bit dissappointing. Poor sweet wines and i was thinking, "shit this'll suck". Then they broke out with some of their award winning reds which were fantastic. Really good wines and definately worth the price. they were pretty inexpensive. Drunk, we drove down a bit to dona lupe's winery which is some organic spot. she makes all kinds of shit, jams, jellies, salsa, cookies and wine. wine that reminded me of decent jug wine. the more you drink the better it tastes till soon enough you're sitting staring at an empty bottle wondering how the hell did you end up in the middle of mexico's wine country. There was a herd of cows which makes me realize they truely are the dumbest animals on the planet. acres of open space and they all cram themselves into a tiny corner.

sitting at villa ortegas' we were watching some dudes try to boogie board the breaks. but they were trying to get out through the small but still pounding shore break instead of choosing one of the many rips.

ensenada sucks, would never go there again.

10am and there;s a sliver of sun screaming through the curtains. oh, how i fucking hate that. the rooms dark as night and you got this bright "come to jesus" light blazing from the window. its cruel but a reminder that the day is waiting for me. we head over to mission beach. not sure why but why not. they have board rentals and we dont have shit to do. we get there and the waves are crap. total slop, junky 3 foot closeouts coming one after the other. for about 5minutes it cleans up and we decide we're going in. we rent the boards and end up having one of the shittiest sessions ever. but i got to ride a twin fin fish. a fun board, kind of loos and easy to catch waves. the waves are all closing out rather viciously and the mix of north and south swell is creating some ugly wedges. we're out in about an hour. but back at the shop there;s a white boy working the counter who is really cool. we shoot the shit about nor cal surf and how its so isolated and the landscape is incredible. he tells us about his trip to indo and his truck which also doubles as a full on campsite. jealous and at the same time enjoying the conversation. this guy runs a surf shop, and enjoys his life. I realize i have it pretty good i could surf everyday if i wanted too. however the convenience these guys have and the access to good waves is definately something to envy. We went to the gaslamp after which is kind of a monstrous 3rd st. promenade. the architecture is really cool but the restaurants and bars are kind of shitty.

i enjoyed the rest of the day tho and i'd rather not write about it. it was lazy and beautiful. its hard to describe the chill feeling i got from staring at the water from oceanside, la jolla beach and reefs. it was chill, i should do it again.

I think i want to shape a mini surfboard out of balsa.