A damning assessment of a surf culture jewel.
La Jolla, that gorgeous jewel perched on the Pacific just north of San Diego, has long been important in surf lore. Tom Wolfe memorably depicted its scene in his 1968 Pump House Gang, shadowing a group of young “very upper-middle class” surf kids, aimless in their habits, rebellious, and “tuned-in” to the “Oh Mighty Hulking Pacific.”
La Jolla came to represent the ideal surfing life, Windansea, Bird Rock, the Cove, Shores etc. becoming indelible markers in our cultural understanding.
Well, you can understand the consternation, the sadness, after important international online magazine Journee-Mondiale slammed the town for having an “inauthentic surf culture.”
The author, only using the first name “John,” shared that he has surfed California’s coast for decades before declaring La Jolla only has “visitors who circle parking lots for hours, restaurants that charge $30+ for basic fish tacos, a vibe lost to commercialization and surf schools passing on poor etiquette to tourists” amongst other counterfeits.
At the end, John advised that surf travelers should skip La Jolla altogether.
Ouch.
Do you wish John would visit your surf town and share his experience? I wish he hadn’t visited mine, to be honest.
Long live The Jewel.
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Hah. Mururoa Atoll. Rainbow Warrior.
So cool.
International comment maker slams California’s Beach Grit for having to inform fellow comment makers/readers that Nate Florence just signed with Red Bull.
so some euro got given the heave-ho for prolly being a euro-kook ?
What’s new ?
go Pads
20 minutes north in Oceanside there’s plenty of parking, the occasional Samoan gangbanger or redneck jarhead and 15$ fish tacos. Just avoid Angelo’s and you’ll be fine.
I was recently cruising through SoCal as part of a larger journey I took with the kids this summer. Roaming up and down PCH from San Pedro to San Diego, armed with a state parks pass a friend loaned me and a loaner board for me and the kids. It was great. Warm water, small south swells and plenty of grom friendly waves everwhere, packed with girls surfing in bikinis and Tudor/Machado types. Cruising through and surfing Chas’s neck of the woods brought back great grom memories. And it only took me 20 minutes to find parking at La Jolla Shores. Despite what the haters have to say, SoCal summertime cruising is full of great times to be had, and La Jolla is a bucket list stop on that tour.
It’s nice. Especially after a trip to dispensary and donut shop.
No fucking way I’m clicking that link.
Yeah, please don’t.
Work computer won’t even allow it, too spammy and in Froggie speak.