august 3, 2015
driving home after an awesome day spent downtown, then a spontaneous trip to the beach at sunset, swimming in the ocean while it was raining, skating around the island, getting snow cones, having all the windows down in the car because the ac doesn’t work, driving with z's head out the roof going 35 mph over the speed limit, blasting classic rock, and getting kicked out of two restaurants before finding an awesome hole in the wall in which we got a large pizza 🌊
we all knew summer was soon coming to an end...we didn't want it to happen-we cringed when we heard the phrase "back to school". however, we were all aware that it was inevitable and before we knew it we would be back in those same desks, wandering the same halls, and listening to a different teacher give us the same spiel over and over again.
downtown had been a second home to me and my newest group of friends over the summer as 2 of them were a 5 minute bike ride from the center of the city whilst i drove me and cat (check dictionary for more info on cat) to meet up with them. we would roam the streets from 11 am to 11 pm doing absolutely nothing but enjoying the sun, our youth, and freedom. naturally we decided to head downtown for one of the last summer outings. our one friend (we'll call him g) was outta town, and still is, leaving me, cat, & our other friend (let's go with z for this kid).
i picked up cat as usual from her little suburban home. i rolled up with classic rock oozing from my sunroof along with all four of my windows. the air conditioning has been broken in my car since summer started and when it gets to be 103 degrees outside all day it can be pretty miserable. she hopped in and we started making the 30 min journey to our fave spot.
after finding a parking spot we got a call from z saying he wouldn't be down here for atleast another hour. cat and i saw this as a perfect time to go wandering. we picked a direction to head in and we just started going-i was on my nickel board, cat just walking along.
downtown had been a second home to me and my newest group of friends over the summer as 2 of them were a 5 minute bike ride from the center of the city whilst i drove me and cat (check dictionary for more info on cat) to meet up with them. we would roam the streets from 11 am to 11 pm doing absolutely nothing but enjoying the sun, our youth, and freedom. naturally we decided to head downtown for one of the last summer outings. our one friend (we'll call him g) was outta town, and still is, leaving me, cat, & our other friend (let's go with z for this kid).
i picked up cat as usual from her little suburban home. i rolled up with classic rock oozing from my sunroof along with all four of my windows. the air conditioning has been broken in my car since summer started and when it gets to be 103 degrees outside all day it can be pretty miserable. she hopped in and we started making the 30 min journey to our fave spot.
after finding a parking spot we got a call from z saying he wouldn't be down here for atleast another hour. cat and i saw this as a perfect time to go wandering. we picked a direction to head in and we just started going-i was on my nickel board, cat just walking along.
sometimes wandering around your hometown with a new pair of eyes can be one of the best experiences ever. as we journeyed through the streets cat and i had the same mindset as we were noticing tiny details we had never noticed before. we were ooing and awing all the way around town until we came upon a quaint book shop and tea room. the place was literally someone's house that they had just emptied out and filled up with bookcases and little knick knacks.
as teenagers do we started to get hungry so we headed back out onto the streets and picked a new direction. after maybe 5 minutes of walking we both smelled amazing pizza wafting from a joint around the corner; we looked at each other and knew exactly what was happening next.
ding ding- we entered one of our locally famous pizza places and each ordered a honking piece of cheese pizza with water (gotta get that h2o!!!). we took a seat next to a giant black chalk board and almost immediately started searching around the restaurant for chalk. we found exactly what we were looking for-rainbow chalk sitting in a little plastic bin. we each grabbed and stick and just went for it.
as teenagers do we started to get hungry so we headed back out onto the streets and picked a new direction. after maybe 5 minutes of walking we both smelled amazing pizza wafting from a joint around the corner; we looked at each other and knew exactly what was happening next.
ding ding- we entered one of our locally famous pizza places and each ordered a honking piece of cheese pizza with water (gotta get that h2o!!!). we took a seat next to a giant black chalk board and almost immediately started searching around the restaurant for chalk. we found exactly what we were looking for-rainbow chalk sitting in a little plastic bin. we each grabbed and stick and just went for it.
clearly we went for the theme of happiness. although neither of us are great artists we had a stellar time sending positives vibes from our mind that traveled through our fingertips and transferred from the chalk in our hands to the black board in front of us. not only did this boost our mood, but everyone sitting around us was watching and smiling-one lady even came up and told us she loved our drawings!
eventually z showed up (and took these pictures of us) and we started walking towards the main street. we wandered in and out of some fave stores such as free people and urban outfitters. i dared z to skate throughout urban, in hopes of him getting kicked out, but none of the staff members cared...in fact some of them even looked happy about it...YOU ROCK URBAN OUTFITTERS!
we continued walking when i turned and looked at my friends and said "guys...let's go to the beach". now typically for us it can be a big to do to go to the beach. it's atleast a 45 minute drive to the island no matter where you are in town and there's usually alot of planning ahead for us mainland folk. to my content they both responded with a "YEAH MAN LET'S DO IT". we raced back to the car and started getting hype for our last night of summer 2015 together.
unfortunately this is where i stopped taking pictures as i was caught up in the moment...all i have now is my brain to keep this memory alive, and now this blog post.
turning up the volume as loud as it can go and flipping the radio to the local classic rock station has been a new fave of mine and this quick road trip was no exception. it started raining on the way there but that didn't stop us-hell, we didn't even close the sunroof! we crossed the bridge onto the island and pulled over to a little surf shop so that i could buy goggles (yes, i'm always the person who wears goggles..i just like to see where i'm swimming okay!). cat and i ended up getting our fortunes from zoltar; i don't remember exactly what it said but it had something to do with not criticizing others and leading a happier lifestyle which is crazy because that's the very thing i've been working towards this whole summer.
fortunately by this time (it was about 8 o clock pm) the small storm had passed leaving beautiful fluffy clouds with just enough room in between for the peachy-pink skies of the sunset to peek through. i had a spare bathing suit in the back of my car (life tip: keep an extra suit with you at all times) so cat put on that while z just took off his shirt and ran straight for the ocean.
i dived under the waves, which were quite choppy from the storm, and began trying my best to body surf. we practically had the entire beach to ourselves because only insane people (aka us) go to the beach during a storm. after maybe 45 minutes of swimming around z started getting a a call from him brother, k, who was with his friend, l. z came back after about 30 seconds and announced to us that k & l were on the way to meet up with us. cat and i were stoked as we had never met them before, but had only talked to them over the phone-we couldn't wait.
snow cones are a typical summer essential so of course i grabbed my board and we started walking towards our fave snow cone joint on the island. about halfway there we ran into k & l. i felt like i instantly bonded with the both of them and i knew this would be a night to remember. we made it to snowballs (i didn't get anything as i was craving actual food) however k & l made their first trademark by paying for mediums but getting larges which the lady realized about 5 minutes after they left and boy was she pissed. it was actually pretty hilarious seeing her connect the events and realize that she just got hoodwinked.
we walked back to my car to begin the search for food. as we walked i was getting a total lords of dogtown vibe as k & l are total zephyr boys with hype souls. there was never a dull moment with these two as we skated down the pitch black road, the moon above our heads being the only source of light.
instantly opening up the sunroof and blaring the music z decides to stand up with his head out while i put the pedal to the medal and start driving around in sports mode. we just fucking ripped it. we were all screaming our hearts out to classic rock songs as we passed by locals throwing up rock on signs. it was a truly magical moment and one i hope to never forget. after getting kicked out of two restaurants for having no shoes we decided it would be best to head to the local hang out/hole in the wall bar for round two of pizza. it was 10 o clock on a monday night but this place was just getting started. groups of people stood around everywhere-laughing, dancing, singing, playing games. we were surrounded by murals of the beach and rainbow fairy lights and of course, the theme of the night, classic rock blaring out of every speaker available.
we ordered a large cheese pizza and chatted the night away. the vibe of the moment was unforgettable and i had an extreme & genuine feeling of happiness. it was amazing.
as the night came to a close we were all sad to depart, but that didn't stop us from having a great time on the ride home. k & l were sharing embarrassing stories about z while me and cat laughed our heads off. each of us were exhausted, but i went to bed that night feeling so incredibly blessed and thankful, knowing that this night would stay with me forever.
eventually z showed up (and took these pictures of us) and we started walking towards the main street. we wandered in and out of some fave stores such as free people and urban outfitters. i dared z to skate throughout urban, in hopes of him getting kicked out, but none of the staff members cared...in fact some of them even looked happy about it...YOU ROCK URBAN OUTFITTERS!
we continued walking when i turned and looked at my friends and said "guys...let's go to the beach". now typically for us it can be a big to do to go to the beach. it's atleast a 45 minute drive to the island no matter where you are in town and there's usually alot of planning ahead for us mainland folk. to my content they both responded with a "YEAH MAN LET'S DO IT". we raced back to the car and started getting hype for our last night of summer 2015 together.
unfortunately this is where i stopped taking pictures as i was caught up in the moment...all i have now is my brain to keep this memory alive, and now this blog post.
turning up the volume as loud as it can go and flipping the radio to the local classic rock station has been a new fave of mine and this quick road trip was no exception. it started raining on the way there but that didn't stop us-hell, we didn't even close the sunroof! we crossed the bridge onto the island and pulled over to a little surf shop so that i could buy goggles (yes, i'm always the person who wears goggles..i just like to see where i'm swimming okay!). cat and i ended up getting our fortunes from zoltar; i don't remember exactly what it said but it had something to do with not criticizing others and leading a happier lifestyle which is crazy because that's the very thing i've been working towards this whole summer.
fortunately by this time (it was about 8 o clock pm) the small storm had passed leaving beautiful fluffy clouds with just enough room in between for the peachy-pink skies of the sunset to peek through. i had a spare bathing suit in the back of my car (life tip: keep an extra suit with you at all times) so cat put on that while z just took off his shirt and ran straight for the ocean.
i dived under the waves, which were quite choppy from the storm, and began trying my best to body surf. we practically had the entire beach to ourselves because only insane people (aka us) go to the beach during a storm. after maybe 45 minutes of swimming around z started getting a a call from him brother, k, who was with his friend, l. z came back after about 30 seconds and announced to us that k & l were on the way to meet up with us. cat and i were stoked as we had never met them before, but had only talked to them over the phone-we couldn't wait.
snow cones are a typical summer essential so of course i grabbed my board and we started walking towards our fave snow cone joint on the island. about halfway there we ran into k & l. i felt like i instantly bonded with the both of them and i knew this would be a night to remember. we made it to snowballs (i didn't get anything as i was craving actual food) however k & l made their first trademark by paying for mediums but getting larges which the lady realized about 5 minutes after they left and boy was she pissed. it was actually pretty hilarious seeing her connect the events and realize that she just got hoodwinked.
we walked back to my car to begin the search for food. as we walked i was getting a total lords of dogtown vibe as k & l are total zephyr boys with hype souls. there was never a dull moment with these two as we skated down the pitch black road, the moon above our heads being the only source of light.
instantly opening up the sunroof and blaring the music z decides to stand up with his head out while i put the pedal to the medal and start driving around in sports mode. we just fucking ripped it. we were all screaming our hearts out to classic rock songs as we passed by locals throwing up rock on signs. it was a truly magical moment and one i hope to never forget. after getting kicked out of two restaurants for having no shoes we decided it would be best to head to the local hang out/hole in the wall bar for round two of pizza. it was 10 o clock on a monday night but this place was just getting started. groups of people stood around everywhere-laughing, dancing, singing, playing games. we were surrounded by murals of the beach and rainbow fairy lights and of course, the theme of the night, classic rock blaring out of every speaker available.
we ordered a large cheese pizza and chatted the night away. the vibe of the moment was unforgettable and i had an extreme & genuine feeling of happiness. it was amazing.
as the night came to a close we were all sad to depart, but that didn't stop us from having a great time on the ride home. k & l were sharing embarrassing stories about z while me and cat laughed our heads off. each of us were exhausted, but i went to bed that night feeling so incredibly blessed and thankful, knowing that this night would stay with me forever.