Synchronicities in San Fran

You know when you hear about an event happening and the first whisper of it strikes you right in the middle of your stomach? You don’t know what it is, but you know that you’re going. That’s how I felt about the 2011 Quicksilver Pro after party in San Francisco.

There was something magnetic between the surf culture and I. The nature, the community, the grunge, the essence. It felt laid back, while having this air of peaceful recklessness. Like everyone was confident within themselves, while being filled up with this fiery energy from such a fearless community. As we walked into the decked-out warehouse, we felt like we had come home. The music was blaring, and the energy was at an all time high. It was as if we had found some sort of pocket of timeless summer. I loved being there. It wasn’t who was at the party; it was who I was at the party. When I was there I was reminded of that same pure, reckless energy that lived within myself.

When you’re traveling, you have to go with your gut because it will lead you to new places, people and experiences that you couldn’t have planned for better if you tried. Dancing to what I think was Rihanna, I locked eyes with a guy standing across from me. We walked up to him and his friends, instantly connecting, and as they told us their itinerary I got chills. “We’re here for the night in SF for the contest, then going to Newport beach tomorrow.” (In my head: me too). Then we’re going to Hawaii the next week (In my head: umm… that’s where I’m going for my Grandma’s 80th birthday next week). Then we’re moving back to Bondi (ok this is getting weird… same.) My heart filled with excitement, as it would in such a synchronistic encounter, but little did I know that meeting this group of guys would be the catalyst for my passion project.

Time stood still that month, bouncing around the states with this hilarious group. From an SF after party, to Newport beach, to Hawaii… we no longer waited for the weekends or for summer to arrive to have that sense of freedom. It poured through us; we were summer. That December, my blog Don’t Tell Summer was born, and I have a random road trip to San Francisco, and a coincidental attendance to an after party to thank. Imagine what possibilities can happen if you just say yes to that feeling in your stomach that tells you, “You need to be there.”