While at the beach this past week I got to talking with a friend after we had gotten out of the water and were giving the surf a final look before we both went home.

The surf had a few chest high waves... really just a small inconsistent south swell. Like so many summer swells, but this afternoon the conditions were excellent and made for some fun long board waves.

While we're leaning against the railing at the edge of the Promenade watching the surf Kevin says " imagine how nice it would be if there were only a few guys in the water"?  I say "yeah like the old days when we were young"

Then Kevin says "When I was younger and working a lot I thought about how nice it was going to be when I got older had way more time and  could come to the Point and get all those waves I was missing because of work... I never thought for a moment that surfing would become so popular and this place would get so crowded. Always envisioned things would pretty much be the same as they were back in the day."

Kevin and I are the same age and as surfers very fortunate. We grew up surfing when times were simple and the population of Ventura was much smaller than now and Ventura's  neighboring towns populations were very small compared to now too.

Because of those small populations there just we're not that many people that came to the beach. As well, because of the giant population increases there are large numbers of people that do come to the beach now.

The roads that come into Ventura from all points inland are so much better than 30-40 years ago and the vehicles we use now are so much nicer and comfortable. Geez, if you came from the Valley to Ventura on a summer day in 1968 on the then 2 lane road through Calabasas, Thousand Oaks when the temps were in the nineties in a VW bug with 4 surfboards on top of the car and 4 guys in the car.... didn't matter what the surf was like when you reached 'C' Street. You were going surfing just to cool off.

Now... come in your air conditioned car, all the windows up so there is no road noise. Killer tunes from your phone playing on a nice sound system. And.... you've checked all the forecasts and cameras so you know what the surf and conditions most likely are going to be like. Other wise you wouldn't waste your time.

California, the beach, it's all so attractive, why wouldn't everyone want to play on a surfboard?  Or at least try to given the chance. I get it.

But no, we never thought things would change. Just thought we'd get older and have a great time doing what we love. And really I still do, all be it with plenty more people.

D.R.