(May 26th – June 2)
We made our way to Southern California for this trip, dubbed “the Randy Dream”. You see, Randy always wanted the crew to rent a fleet of motorhomes and drive the entire California coast line, surfing, golfing and exploring, so we made it happen, in his honor. (well, sort of)
We rallied at our Airbnb in Encinitas. A great hub, in which we could easily reach all our activities on the list. Encinitas turned out to feel a lot like Santa Cruz in the 70’s, sleepy little Surf town, with a mellow downtown main drag.
The next day we grabbed breakfast at Snooze and then split up the crews, some crawled into crusty wetsuits, some chilled in town and Olsee and I decided to chase the white ball. We venture over to San Marcos to play Twin Oaks, got our third, a local contractor and had a great time golfing!
Posse in Summerland 
Wy fishing 
Summerland 
Padres 
Ceremony in SD 
Chow time
Rolling back into town, we stopped to load up on food. Grilling steaks was the number one choice, since this night, a new Honored Mate would be chosen and a solid meal was key for soaking up the beers that lie ahead. Seddy even surprised us with a bottle of wine that adorned a photo of the crew, while in Cuba. Well played, young man, well played!
After a full belly and a Golden State Warriors win, it was time to announce the 2018 Honored Mate! Jeffrey “Olsee” Olson. The ceremony went very smooth, in fact, too smooth. No big time wrestling, no broken furniture, no blood spilled…hmmm, we must be getting old!
The next day, Memorial Day. ‘Merica’s Day. The crew decided to take in a Padres game, this was a first for all of us, attending Petco Park. Tickets were $19.00 bucks and so were the beers! But we had a great time watching the Padres and Marlins burn up 4hrs of a beautiful Memorial Day at the park! Heading back to Encinitas, we decided to grab a burger and brew at D-Street Bar & Grill and watch the Warriors clobber the Rockets to grab the conference final. It was time to head back to our home away from home.
Tuesday we decided to explore the town a bit. On our bucket list was a visit to the historical Hanson Surf Shop and right across the street was the world renown “Swami’s Beach” a great break, when working.
The next day was a travel day, we were heading North. But first, breakfast in Carlsbad at the infamous Bobby’s Hideaway Cafe. We traveled the coastline looking for surf or fishing. We pulled into Laguna Beach Crystal Cove State Park for a quick look and continued north passing all the classic surf spots, Newport, Malibu, Ventura, Carpenteria and finally to our destination, Summerland.
We stumbled onto a great dive bar/restaurant called “The Nugget” that appeared like it was uprooted from Carson City, Nevada and plopped on the coast. Just our speed!
The next day we headed into to Santa Barbara so some of the crew could grab a fishing license and then we the hunt was on for Surf Perch. After driving up and down the coast, we finally found what we expected to be a good “Fishy” spot! Yeah, we got skunked! No fish? No problem, we made “lemonade” and worked in a quick surf session. What a blast!
It was May 31, 2018 and we were very excited to head back to the house. Company was on their way and we needed get a feast underway! Dahill and Gibson, are two Santa Barbara locals and the early core members of TGT brothers. When the boys arrived there were tons of hugs and back slapping as we settled in for the evening. Once again the Warriors and the Cav’s were in full playoff mode as the crew got caught up. Lots of laughs and lots of pictures to immortalize the moment and a great evening for all. Little did I know that this would be the last time I would see, or speak, to Scott “Gibby” Gibson, as he left his body on November 13, 2019. This is the exact reason and importance of these gatherings each year. Rest in peace, brotha.
The next day, we met Dahill at the Santa Barbara Golf Club and had a great outing, and then it was back to Jerry’s house to see the family. Good times! The following day found us back on the links, this time in Ojai…the heat of Ojai melted us!!! It was a great round of 18, a super fun course, and all it required was a couple of beers. That was enough to close the books on this trip and we all said our “till next year, boys”.
Thanks again to all my brothers, life is short, never miss a trip!
Cheers~