In this fiery and overheated year of our Lord 2019, a trip like this doesn’t make a lot of sense. It never really has, but holy shit it definitely doesn’t right now. There’s an arms race for wave pools and groms in coastal towns financing golf carts to get to T-Street and we’re over here renting a van to to surf Donny’s favorite spots from La Jolla to Leo Carillo. There wasn’t a mega swell happening. Or a superstar in the van, or a whole lotta reason to do this at all. All we had was the van and some beers and our boards. Hell, only one of us isn’t from here. Driving through our backyard, going surfing. But thanks to Saint Archer and a biodegradable cooler from Igloo, we had some cold beers and a few fun days of weather and waves over the course of a work week. We tossed a few wet wetsuits in and filled a 16-passenger Ford with sand and smoke and wrappers and wax and sunscreen and a steady flow of carbonated drinks and hit the road. And we recorded it.

In the next couple days, we’ll introduce you to some of the places we went and have you meet the occupants of the van. We had Colin Moran, perhaps the most authentic So-Cal dude there ever was. Colin’s from Newport/Costa Mesa/HB region, rides for RVCA and has a style well-versed in Matt Archbold. And he wears it well. Smooth and unfiltered but oozing with So-Cal influences and just the right amount of tattoos. Colin was the patriarch in the van (perhaps for the first time in his life) and he looked good in that role. We also had Puerto Rican Mauro Diaz who literally flew in from Indo and got dropped off straight into the van by some guys he ran into on the plane after chasing Desert Point and other Indo treats for weeks. He complained about jet lag zero times, and was recognized by any and all heavy locals we saw and brought instant street cred to the van for what he does in Puerto Escondido, Indo and at home in Puerto Rico. Noah Schweizer was there too. Noah’s from New Smyrna Beach, FL but lives in LA now (with Curren Caples and Cam Richards, how So Cal!) and brought the flash. Lightning quick flash. There aren’t many dudes who can surf that fast and be that pleasant to be around on land who aren’t winning QS comps regularly. Smiley, smart, kind and holy shit he surfs fast. Rounding out the van squad was Micky Clarke. Ventura grom who rides for Quik and has a set of pipes like Sinatra. He has tons of Dane Reynolds influence in his surfing and he’s growing into it nicely. Micky held his own as the van grom and dealt with any and all hecklings like a champ. Throw him in the van. He can roll.

So that was us, a big old shit storm on the 405 and we aimed right for both classic spots and secret spots. We subsisted on a steady diet of Mexican food ranging from Del Taco to local hole-in-the-walls and scoops of hummus.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be rolling it all out, premiering the short film with a series of screenings that will include live tunes, drinks, pizza, beer and all that fun. From SD to LA. We’re coming. Big thanks to Saint Archer Brewery and Surfline for fueling the van and giving us a place to show the vid. And to Quiksilver for making sure we survived our stint through Malibu by offering shelter at their very well-done Boardriders store on PCH in Malibu ran by 1/2 of the legendary Brothers Marshal, Chad. Follow along and make sure you come out and see it via @Surfline, @InherentBummer and @SaintArcherBrew. It was all “So-California” and probably should never have happened. But it did. —Travis Ferré