The California Surf Project

The California Surf Project

The California Surf Project

“Random Observation No. 3463: It’s illegal to pump your own gas in Oregon!”

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to quit your job, pack your boards, and surf your way down the California coast?   Though it may sound like a daydream, The California Surf Project is a fully photographed travel diary of two surfers who decided to take the 50 day journey of a lifetime.

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

Dan Malloy - timeless

Dan Malloy – timeless

“These guys gave us a bushel of apples and a sandwich — I think they thought we were homeless.”

The adventure unfolds through the eyes of two passionate individuals: Eric Soderquist, a professional surfer, artist and world traveler whom resides and surfs in Shell Beach, CA, and Chris Burkard, also an accomplished central California native whose photography has appeared in over 35 international publications.

“A grown man crawled up the beach vomiting:  a sign we shouldn’t have gone out.”

Feel like you are along for the ride as you follow Soderquist and Burkard as they trek along Highway 1 from the Oregon border to the Tijuana Sloughs in their increasingly broken-down Volkswagen bus.  While discovering everything that our Golden State’s legendary coastline has to offer, they treat the reader to their observations of world around them, and their musings of the road behind and in front of them.

“This wave will give you all the speed in the world to launch as high as you want — the only problem is finding the road to get there.”

Santa Monica, circus music, and the flying fish

Santa Monica, circus music, and the flying fish

The California Surf Project paints a vivid experience of their incredible adventures catching perfect (and not-so-perfect) surf, sharing campfires with complete strangers, and rigging the bus with makeshift Duct tape repairs.  The book spans over 200 gorgeous photographs, chronicled with soulful text and a professionally produced DVD.

“Dry sand blowing like a desert.  Heat waves on the horizon.  Must be winter in California.”

If you’ve ever been curious about the liberating experience of west coast surf culture, grab yourself a copy of this book!

Big Sur postcard or just another average turnout along Hwy 1?

Big Sur postcard or just another average turnout along Hwy 1?

Check out the Project’s website, read about these talented and accomplished guys, and take a look at their gallery of stunning photos!

Beachhouse.com’s BEST VACATION EVER Photo Contest

best vacation ever

Submit a photo from your BEST VACATION EVER to Beachhouse.com Vacation Rental’s Facebook page for a chance to win a great prize and be featured in an upcoming blog post!

The photo can be of anything – your pet, your kids, a beautiful view, whatever you feel best depicts your BEST VACATION EVER!   Please include a few words about where the photo was taken, who is in it, etc.

The contest ends Friday, March 12, 2010, when Beachhouse.com staff will vote for the best overall photo.  The winner will receive a prize from Beachhouse.com, plus, their picture will be featured in an upcoming blog post.

We can’t wait to see what you guys send in!  Good Luck!

Photos – Kid-ding around…heh.

by Jenny Blake - Lonely Planet author

by Jenny Blake - Lonely Planet author

I thought this was photoshopped – so I decided to do a little research.   And apparently so have a lot of people as I had barley typed in “Moroccan” and the text-prediction wizards over at Google suggested “Moroccan tree goats” to complete my querry.  Dang they’re good!

And these little goats of Morocco seem to be good too – they don’t even have hands, yet they manage to hoof it into the tippy top branches of these rickety looking trees.

Their motive?  The fruit of the argan tree, which is similar to an olive, is one of their favorite snacks!