Sometimes things just don't go as planned - and sometimes that's perfectly okay.
Although the So Cal Beach Cruise on July 11, 2009 was only put together a few weeks in advance, many people were on-board with the idea and down to cruise in sunny Southern California summer weather. The thread, on SSM, gained momentum, and the logistics were ironed out. Trucks would meet at various locations, and end up at the beach. We would simply meet this big group of trucks en route to the beach.
In my mind, I had imagined (for some reason) empty parking lots at the beach just waiting for trucks to arrive, hot dogs, hamburgers, frolicking in the water, camp fire, and so on. I packed my sandwich, sunblock, sandals, and prepared for the ultimate weekend beach adventure combined with dozens of rad trucks.
Our group of 5 mini trucks hit the freeway, arriving at the beach just as we had planned. Although we saw no trucks yet, we figured we were just early. I found the right parking lots, and was encouraged to see that it wasn't barricaded from the street, meaning it must be open. Unfortunately, the actual gate into the lot was closed, and we were forced back out onto the street. Still no sign of trucks.
A few minutes later, we found ourselves tucked into a left-hand turn lane, with a cop. As the cop drove slowly past each truck, I figured we were not going to escape without at least someone getting pulled over. I could hardly contain a smile as soon as he whizzed on ahead and turned onto another street.
We eventually found an abandoned parking lot and had a good laugh about how the day was going. We ended up eating at a Del Taco, and then cruising home past the beach again. Again, we spotted no other trucks.
People had warned me that the beach parking lot would be full, and that police could be eyeing us. And that is exactly what happened. The day had gone exactly how the pessimists (who I had optimistically hoped were wrong) had predicted.
But was the day a disaster? Not at all! We had a blast. We still got to cruise our trucks and enjoy perhaps one of the most beautiful days ever at the beach. We still did stupid things in cop-infested areas during gridlock beach traffic, including rolling low, hitting switches, and honking air horns. Was it a waste? No way.