Sorry for the delay... no, not really I'm not. But Gimpy posted up almost immediately after the OBX trip, and Skidzilla posted his vacation report before he even got on the road back home... And the Kooks bug me about it... Nag nag nag! Anyway... here's entry #4 of 5 regarding the OBX trip that happened well over a month ago... YES, someday I will get to last years Arizona footage and creation of the "Concretins - Sessions & Roadtrips 2008" DVD...
someday... but for now...
OBX HeadquartersEpicicity DefCon 4After the Crawdad Hole session we all headed east... but somehow at VERY different times and paces. (We stopped for lunch and ate in, rather than drive-thru...) But anyway, we were the ones on the rental agreement, and we were bringin' up the rear, but only by about 15-20 minutes. I ended up missing a turn, so add 20 minutes, then a panic stop for gas (the gas guage dropped to empty, with a half tank, but in swampy "bear country" I wigged out). So add another 10 minutes... then we got caught on the "drawbridge" for one lone sailboat... add 15 more...
The bridge, right where we got stopped... I'm lame, I din't slap a Cretin sticker.
So eventually we end up in Kitty Hawk, and what do I see ahead of me, but the ass end of Gimpy. Well, the skate gods were watching and finagled the wrong turn, the gas guage, and the sailboat all so I would end up with Gimpy and his GPS. While I was about to point out the insane traffic ahead(it was BikeWeek), he said the GPS chick (of course) was demanding that he turn right... I was about to lead us up the wrong side of the sound! Thank you skate gods, and thank you Gimpy's co-worker for loaning him your GPS. "Geepus Saves!" And 5 minutes later, we were at the house.
And WOW, what a house.
It was huge, but I didn't bother to go in. I knew everyone would be out back... and it was indeed beautiful.
A session was already goin' down. I hurried off to the surf shop to pay the homeowner the rest of the fee, feeling awkward that people were already IN the house... but he was so cool. If you are ever in Duck, NC, for any reason (With this audience, is there any other reason than to skate?), please go to Duck Village Outfitters and buy/rent any gear you need there. Bob is the man, and Tanya is the wo-man. They were so gracious and laid back and as Gimpy said, we had access to any rental equipment we wanted, included with the house rental, for the entire week, and the house was already chock full o' bikes and kayaks. I immediately snagged two jogger strollers for the kiddos.
Duck Village Outfitters
Everyone but me, Paul, Jer, and a local had taken off to skate the "Egg Bowl."
Zach over the Lil' Tony in the Deathbox in the Egg Bowl
Turns out, it was just a mile or two away. WTF? 2 backyarders, with full access so close together? Turns out, Gimpy hadn't stepped foot in the house yet either and already had 2 local pool sessions(3 for the day) under his belt. Yea, this was gonna be a good week.
Meanwhile, back at Cretin/Kook OBX Headquarters...
OMP with the pool skills, Jer with the photo skills.
We settled in, and got to it. You'd think the first full session would have been tentative, but not from what I witnessed. We were all pushing it from the get go. The pool was filled to the brim with stoke. And no matter how short your run, your heart pounded just a lil' harder each time. The smiles on deck and on faces climbing out of the bowl were wide and cartoon like.
While exploring the nearby beaches, and discussing the conspiracy of the skate gods, Jon and I took the same sunset photo...
and then we found THIS...
A downhill sidewalk "chute" that is nearly a half-mile long (I measured it on Google Maps)... The pic above is the "outlet" at the street in town, looking back up the hill towards the beach. It was another blessing from the skate gods, one we did not take advantage of I'm very sad to say. Though I did go back before departing to self-shoot a run(that's REALLY difficult and time consuming). Our 'discovery run' was the only full on run ever attempted, and it was crazy. We didn't know if we'd come over a small hill and have a 6 stair gap to clear or what. My heart was pounding and I couldn't wait to tell everyone about it. It WILL get abused next trip, for reals!
Monday, we took full advantage of DVO's generosity and hustled off with 4 surfboards and full wetsuits. Patti declined to ride with us, and instead hopped on a bike and pedaled herself to the beach. AND later, pedaled to a local eatery to get lunch for us all!! Patti, you ROCK girl!
I can surf! Who knew!? I certainly didn't!
Which of these things is not like the other...
And after every side adventure, we'd come home. And skate. In the backyard. It was just stoopit(TM Travio). Alice and I went out to dinner on our anniversary, and I was dead from surfing and the morning session, so I passed out fairly early Monday... and I am deeply saddened that I missed the Kouch Kooks Session. You KNOW you wish you could have been there for this...
After taking our vitamins each day, we'd skate/surf/eat/drink/bullshit/skate/chill/play pool/bullshit/hangout/skate/rinse//repeat... Enjoy these highlights...
Jer - grindage...
Zach- fs airage...
- and fs grindage
Patti - fs speed carvin'
Gimpy - fs tile ride
Rusty - bs grindage
- with a lil nose grabby
Lil Tony missed you Skidzilla
Had enough? Is DefCon 5, maximum Epicicity, even attainable? I'm here to tell you, yes. Yes it is.
*whisper like the wind* Wanchese...
Patience punk... there is STILL more to come...