Rincon Was Flat

[billie_morini]

Rincon Was Flat today (photo).

[billie_morini]

So, I went to the Front Wave Surf Shop to see what I could see. The shop opened in the early 1960's and is located close to Califonia Street ("C Street") & Surfers' Park. Here's a photo of the shop and a painting of the shop.

[billie_morini]

The shop is small and has a cool vibe. Here's a few snaps from the interior.

[billie_morini]

Nearby: a pair of VW busses, naturally

[BoMan]

I learned to drive on a '62 Bug.

My dad took me to Marin Ave which goes straight up into the hills in Berkeley CA and made me balance the clutch and gas pedal to pause before crossing the intersections. I killed the engine at least 20 times before arriving at the top in tears... but never forgot the skill!

[billie_morini]

BoMan, that's awesome!

[oldmansurfer]

I learned to drive on a Ford custom 500 automatic but also drove a VW hatchback and a VW van and VW bug which all belonged to my parents. My first car was a VW camper, a great surf car which I bought after graduating from high school and getting a job. I actually learned to surf (on a regular surfboard) after buying the van and moving out of my parents house

[billie_morini]

Ol' Man, All those VW's in your early life. If I were to guess, then your regular surfboard brand was also VW!

[oldmansurfer]

Funny the way that happened as it was mostly my parents cars till I graduated and got a full time job. Then just so happened a used VW camper was for sale in my price range. I could have bought it cash but everyone convinced me to buy it on time. It would establish credit for me so I did. It was the second thing I bought on time that I could have paid cash for. The first was a really good stereo system. Lucky I didn't default on any of those loans as I am a procrastinator . LOL

[oldmansurfer]

I really liked the way VWs handled driving. The motor is above the (rear) drive wheels. VWs are sealed so they are kind of water proof. They will float. When driving the vans you are seated right over the front wheel which makes steering accurately a breeze cause you are looking straight down where the front wheel is headed. But the other VW's were my parents cars. I learned to drive them well. One of the tricks I learned in the van was to tilt it up sideways on two wheels and then drive down the road like that LOL. Riding me was a thrilling thing for many. People would always say I was crazy for doing this stunt but in my mind they were the crazy ones for riding with me. I never tried tipping the camper up on two wheels. I was over the joy riding stunts by then.

[jaffa1949]

Here is a WWII surf wagon VW, a Schwimmwagen 1litre engine, big lowerable propellor and watertight knobbly tyre also add propulsion and steering

VW beach buggy before beach buggy

[BoMan]

Haha!

"The front wheels doubled up as rudders, so steering was done with the steering wheel both on land and on water. The Schwimmwagen could also be steered by the passengers using the paddle(s)." - Wikipedia

[jaffa1949]

Yo Bo ready to go with the Flow Bo, they have an annual festival on different lakes nearby each year I just added my boards and went along!

Side view, but no knobblies

[billie_morini]

I would love to see Ol' Man drive his van on 2 wheels and Jaffa drive across a lake! BoMan's 2 oldest grandsons would likely be as exited as me to see these things.

[oldmansurfer]

The question is would you ride with me while I do that? LOL The reason I quit doing that particular stunt was that it wore down the rims and I didn't want to have to buy new rims (just economics). I had a bunch of friends who trusted me. I am not sure why but we had many a harrowing experience and survived it and instead of thinking that guys going to get us all killed they thought we survived so far and that was fun. I was probably just as scared as they were well maybe not in the moment because I was focused on the task at hand. I used to take a group of guys to school in the morning with the van and the road to the school was one of the places I did this trick actually the only place I repeatedly did it. They all knew the plan but new riders were forewarned to not lean to the down side LOL

[billie_morini]

My teen years took place in a small town where many kids had dirt bikes, VW bugs, tractors, snow mobilesms, and a few muscle cars. It was non-stop motor mayhem & high jinks - in all seasons. It was my good fortune to be there then.

[oldmansurfer]

The VW van is particularly suited for driving on what we called jeep trails which were usually one lane dirt roads with deep ruts and varying amounts of mud. The van had good traction because the engine was over the top of the drive wheels and the bottom surface was flat and sealed making it mud proof with decent clearance. And as I mentioned you are sitting right on top of the front wheel so if you lean a little to the left you are looking at exactly where the front wheel will go. I once passed a 4 wheel drive US Army jeep stuck in the mud with all 4 wheels spinning, due to deep ruts it was stuck on the ridge between them. I offered to pull them out with my van and they laughed and said "this is 4 wheel drive we don't need help from a VW". So we kept going and a couple hours later on our way back they were still stuck and I pulled them out. Funny thing happens when you get a 4 wheel drive, one is you assume it won't get stuck and two you assume that it can get unstuck if it does get stuck (which results in them getting worse stuck) and three the only way to get unstuck is to get a bigger vehicle to pull it out. Over here 4 wheel drive trucks are the thing and almost invariably as soon as someone buys one they immediately go out and get it stuck so bad they feel they need to have someone pull them out. I grew up with a family that frequently did beach trips on the weekends or holidays and we would go to remote areas with no cell phones or any amenities and when we got stuck we needed to get unstuck ourselves with 2 wheel drive cars. It helped me learn how to drive a 2 wheel drive car in places that were sketchy and how to get unstuck if it was stuck.. In 15 to 20 minutes I could have gotten that jeep unstuck without pulling it out. I was very fortunate to grow up there. Great place to be a kid or to just be. It's a small island but still lots of places to investigate if you are adventurous although access to those areas is becoming more limited.