California Dreamin’!

Photos by Briar Nelson & Alec Truelove. Words by John Streit.

You’d be hard-pressed to find more surf-stoked guys in Virginia Beach than Danny Brittain, Briar Nelson and Alec Truelove. For years, these guys and their crew have been constant fixtures at Surf & Adventure Co., both as rental associates and as eager young surfers willing to go the extra mile in search of fun surf — or just a fun time in general.

This summer, the boys went far beyond “the extra mile” to find surf and to place themselves in the epicenter of surfing culture: the famed beaches of Southern California and the U.S. Open of Surfing.

The trip was as much a celebration of the coming-of-age to be able to embark on such an adventure as it was a quest for waves. After all, SoCal is prone to some summer doldrums that go head-to-head with the East Coast. But with the Surf Gods on their side, the boys ended up scoring some super fun waves at one of our sport’s greatest venues: Trestles. They also took in some heats at the U.S. Open in Huntington Beach, where the crew rubbed shoulders with some of surfing’s current superstars (smart guys — they even had some meet-and-greet time with the pro women as well, including surfing’s current dreamgirl Alana Blanchard!).

From the looks of these photos, the boys had an epic time patrolling the California coast; making memories that will undoubtedly keep them coming back to “The Promised Land” for more and more.

Trestles is considered by many to be a perfect high-performance wave. Briar gives us more photographic evidence as to why.

Alec Truelove, letting it fly at Trestles. Photo: Briar Nelson.

The famed walk to Trestles as captured by Alec Truelove.

Danny Brittain; a long, long way from Sandbridge. Photo: Briar Nelson.

Photo: Briar Nelson

Huntington Beach Pier, the site of the U.S. Open of Surfing. Briar Nelson photo.

Photo: Briar Nelson

While the other guys got a couple photos with Alana and Dane, I gotta hand it to Briar on winning “The Ladies’ Man” award for the trip. Plus, the other guys scored surf shots, so Briar gets the love with some of the women of professional surfing! From top left: Lakey Peterson, Stephanie Gilmore, Sage Erickson, Sally Fitzgibbons and Quincy Davis.