Immediately west of Santa Barbara is a region that captivates my heart. It's the Goleta Valley (Goleta). Goleta is known as the "Good Land" due to it's mild climate, rich agricultural, wildlife, and surfing histories. The area of present-day Goleta was populated for thousands of years by the native Chumash people. Locally the Chumash became known by Spanish as Canaliños because they lived along the coast adjacent to the Channel Islands (last 2 sentences from Wikipedia). Wide open spaces, low population, and clean air and sea exist even today. If you know where to look, you can find rock paintings made long ago by Chumash natives.This large valley is the gateway to my beloved Gaviota Coast that you hear from me about.
One key feature in our Goleta surfing community is the Goleta Surfing website managed by local surfer, hiker, dog lover, and historian, Tom Modugno. In sharing this fun and informative website with you, I'd like to introduce you to one of the new features Tom M served up. There is a story and supporting photos from one of our secret surfing spots. What's exciting about this feature is that it tells the humorously true story about one of surfing's international legends, the humble Santa Barbara-born Tom Curren. Tom C lives in Santa Barbara, just about 1 mile (1.6 km) east from my little home. Tom C demonstrates two things: 1) surfing has no age limit, and 2) some guys are talented enough to surf on any object in any seas.
Enjoy: https://www.goletasurfing.com/
