The Long Beach Pike, with an artist's rendering of some pretty good windswell!Looking at the mat surfing shot from the 50's and 60's in recent posts, I can't help but make the sense-memory association between riding a mat as a kid, and going to the nearby penny arcade later that evening. Since we did most of our beach going at public venues back in the day, there was always a fun zone nearby!
6 comments:
Like most things, I did this backwards. When I was ten years old, my parents bought a beach arcade. It was awesome being able to play the games for free but also, the arcade was directly across the street from the beach, the Gulf of Mexico. As a result of my parents owning an arcade, I was introduced to mat riding. As time passed, I spent way more time playing in the ocean than playing the arcade games. Back-ass-wards, as usual. Maybe soon, I'll join a big band.
I agree! There's a full-on tangent here. I'm 46 years old, and even my mom and dad can still remember the arcade down at Huntington Beach Pier. They had the "Saltwater Plunge" era...itchy wool suits. They had mutual friends that ran, or owned, the concession stands - mat rentals among other things! I can still smell those paper trays overflowing with hot tortilla strips, covered with that tasty hot sauce. You'd mat for hours at a time then go back for more, then go home in the station wagon dead tired!
Funny thing! My word verification was "nuslu". Pronounced Neu slew?
As in "I've been slaying 'em with my Neumatic!" Maybe I'm stretching it a bit.
Word verification games, as long as they eminate directly from Surfmatters, are fair game!
I still can't believe I got unresin a few days back!
Hey Jay, any chance your parents still own the arcade, and you can get us free replays???
Also, do you have Benny Goodman's phone number?
Oh, man, when my parents owned that arcade I was a popular kid! I hooked up all the neighbors with free plays. One of the best trades for the free replays was that I got unlimited free rides on the nearby waterslide. I even carved out my own custom mat for better performance. The waterslide supplied riders with squishy carpetlike mats. I let mine sit in the sun until it hardened and then rounded the corners for better spinning. My alternate watercraft started early, I guess.
Re: the word verification stuff. You might find this interesting:
http://recaptcha.net/learnmore.html
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