July 26, 2004

Ventura Surf Shops

I guess I should say up front - I don't surf. I don't even go to the beach much, even though I drive within a 100 yards of it every day. My wife initially found it odd that I refused to move to Ventura's East End, or Camarillo, and instead insisted on remodeling my Midtown home. I'm secure know that the water is there. She also finds it odd that I don't go in the water when I do go to the beach. I was a pretty good body surfer when I was younger. But all those years of swimming and water polo have taken the thrill out of getting in the water. I'm sure I will when my kids are older, and I'm sure that they'll surf, at least a little. When that happens, I may take some surf lessons, or bust out my Scrambler kayak. Right now, I'll wait.

That being said, I always liked going into surf shops. I thought surf t-shirts were pretty cool, and though I buy Quicksilver, Gotcha, Toes on the Nose and other shirts, it was the ones with surf shop logos that I thought were the coolest. In the late 70's, I proudly wore shirts from Jack's Surf Shop in Huntington Beach, and 15th Street Surf Shop and Balboa Beach Company in Newport Beach.

10 years ago, while living in San Luis Obispo, I sported shirts from Wavelengths in Morro Bay, and Moondoggie's and Central Coast Surf Shop in SLO.

All of those shops had distinctive shirts that also identified where they were from. They were cool.

So here, in my adopted home town, I've been looking for that cool surfshop shirt, and I've been a little disappointed.

I did find one place that had some cool shirts. Ventura Surf Shop on Thompson by the fairgrounds had a good selection of distinctive surf shirts, and I even bought one today. They also were friendly, and the girl at the counter's smile was so stunning that it threw off my walk. They also carried a large collection of boards.

Wavelines, two doors down, almost killed me. I tripped on not one, but both small steps coming in. The staff was friendly, though, but I found the selection a little light. They had one basic design, and carried some other brands. They did have a "Spot the Error" shirt at a low price. It said "Channel Isalnds".

Patagonia isn't really a surf shop, though they do carry surfboards. They're more outdoor sports stuff that is really good if not really cheap. Great clothes, great climbing, hiking, kayaking and other adventure sports gear, along with freeze dried food, books and maps. I think everything there is pretty cool, and I enjoy looking at it, though I can't imagine using most of it. Everything I've ever heard about Patagonia has been good, and they're based here in Ventura. The shop is called The Great Pacific Iron Works, and they're on W, Santa Clara Street, across the freeway from the fairgrounds.

Erik Erikson's, on the pier has a good selection of Ventura t-shirts, and pretty good food. The bar has live music on the weekend, and the last time my wife and I were able to sneak out we headed there. Great views as well.

I'll toss a mention to Five Points Skate and Snowboard Shop on Main Street at Five Points. They're always friendly when I walk in, and have a logo that I see all over the local skaters. Their logo shirts cost considerably less than other skate shirts, which might be why they sell so many. But I'm not really a skater, and the logo doesn't really appeal to me. If you or your children are skaters, it might appeal to you.

July 27, 2004