Jacked, tales from the Watt

"Paddled out in clean, -HH conditions and broke my leash on a closeout. My board was gone, and I had to swim -200 yards back to the beach. I felt completely weak and helpless without my board. It was a good reminder to never take the ocean for granted, even in easier conditions. Inspect your leash for nicks, and wear before you paddle out. It only takes a minute. I'm also going to learn to body surf"       -G. Shralper, San Francisco.

Good advice. Waist to chest high, bumpy surf jacked my board as well. Post swim 65th Street Break. 9/19/2019  

   It was a short session with no rides. Some point breaks. Mostly closeouts from a passing Hurricane Humberto. Impatience led me to get caught inside. As I dove under a closeout, the force of the roller yanked the board and in the process snapped my leash. Like the quote above, with my board jacked and left for the beachcombers, washed up on the sand, I found myself swimming for shore. Did not have to swim 200 yards...maybe 75. Not so bad, but made me realize how shallow (about waist) the depth was where much of the swell was breaking. Tough break that ended the sesh a tad early. LWatt and Target could sense my annoyance as I walked up. However, as the sun was already settling down beyond the horizon, I am sure they were glad to be moving on.

   Our direction was once again north, Circling onto 138th street, we pulled into the lot of the Fenwick Inn, home of OC360 Eats and Drinks. Target and I had been debating as to whether or not to try 'em out. We had been to this place a few years back (6 years to be exact) as Peaky's Restaurant, and it did alright in our scoring. Still, Target was less than thrilled about heading back up to the top floor tavern. OC360 has been around a couple of years. It scored well on tripadvisor. Not that it matters, but I believe Target changed his mind because he wanted the Truth, and that would only come from his (and the rest of the Crew's) critique. Not a huge clientele this evening as the 2nd season had truly set in. On an upside, we slid in earlier than usual due to the ocean hi-jacking, and were able to take advantage of happy hour. Starting out, LWatt ordered a Grapefruit Crush, while Target and I got ourselves a couple ice cold drafts. In fact, Target got his first Summer Shandy in a long while... perfect for our last session before the Fall Equinox.

We were also able to squeeze in a couple orders of wings, BBQ and Old Bay, as the hour ended. We followed up the wings with an order of BBQ Pork Sliders and a side of Fries.

So, to back up a hair. The drafts were ice cold, which never ceases to make a beer that much better. The wings were smaller, much smaller, that we have been used to. However, both were served hot and the sweet tang of the BBQ combined with the peppery kick of Old Bay made for a tasty match. The pork sliders had a good taste as well, but along with the fries, were on the less than warm side. Overall, a good meal. Our bartender did a nice job, and she was attentive with our orders. The bar area was spacious with plenty of TVs. The music was a poor choice. Actually a little bit like club meets high tech pop... didn't match the place. Also, the A/C was on full power. We weren't sure if that was why our sliders cooled so fast, or our beer glasses were iced. Regardless, our tab made us smile, which we haven't been used to lately. So, alls well that ends well. The Journey could bring us back in the future. Just not the near future. Maybe in another 6 years.

THE RATINGS-

BBQ Wings: B-

Old Bay Wings: B-

Pork Sliders: C+

Beer: B

Atmosphere: C+

Value: B
Overall Score = 2.67