Fic - Surf’s Up! (Tolkien Fandom) - Aragorn/Legolas (R) M-M
Title: Surf’s Up!
Author: Phyncke
Fandom: Tolkien
Genre: FCS
Character: Aragorn/Legolas, Arwen mentioned.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are the property of JRR Tolkien and his estate, and I have borrowed them for my own amusement and for yours I hope.
Beta: Aglarien
For: 2015 Ardor in August
Author Note: Modern, California setting and some stuff about reincarnation
Summary: Aragorn and Legolas go on surfing adventures along the California Coast.
Blog entry - Estel-November 23 - Subject Line - Hitting the road - Bra!
We are heading down to Santa Cruz in a few days to do some shredding down there. I got the Jeepster tuned so I hope it does not break down or anything like that. Bucket of bolts but it still runs. We need it to carry the boards, you know?
We had such a rad time in Fiji earlier in the year. Caught some great waves and hung out with the locals. They really love the surfers there and could not be friendlier. Dude.
I will try and post some pics of the scenery as I get them and hope that I have a signal. Wifi should be pretty good around there. It is not as though we will be out of the range of civilization or anything. I mean it is still Californication, you know.
Thanks for following my adventures here, dudes and dudettes. Comments always welcome even though I am lame at the replies. Sporadicus is me. I will try and get better at that.
Leggy will be tagging along, as usual. We are total buds and have been for a while. Inseparable for sure. He is an amazing surfer and can really kick it on the waves for sure.
Anyhoo. Gotta run for now. I will try and do another post from the mobile down south. Catch ya. Keep it real and keep it happening!
Out.
-Comment-Wavey Gravy - Long time, no see! Glad to see a post from you!
-Reply - Estel - Been busy, dude. I will be more present here on the blogosphere!
-Comment-Surfer Girl - I hope to see you down there this weekend. Unless they put me on the schedule at work. Pray for me!
-Reply-Estel-I will pray to the Valar, Buddha, Kali and anyone I can think of for you. I will post our surf schedule and locations in my next entry.
-Reply-Surfer Girl-Cool beans!
(20 comments posted to this entry)
*
Legolas checked the gear, the wet suits and leashes as well as packing up other sundries like toothpaste, toothbrushes, shower gel, loofah and the like. Oh, and clothes - they might need those. Their togs were dirty so he would have to do a wash.
It took a lot to get ready for these little adventure surf trips with Aragorn but it was totally worth it. They caught the tubes and had major fun on the waves together. They were more than friends but were completely relaxed about that. No need to chafe about it or get frenetic. All was copacetic. Love is love.
Their plan was to head to Santa Cruz early in the morning and hit some of the local spots that day. Mid-week surfing was totally the best as most people had to work and were weekend ocean warriors. Not them - both of them were independently wealthy and did what they wanted. Not that they were lazy. They worked for good causes when they weren’t surfing and any number of non-profits. They had confronted whalers for Green Peace, helped clean up ocean pollution, traveled the world doing earthquake relief efforts and pushed to get drinking water to the poor in third world countries. They did whatever needed doing.
Aragorn was cleaning their surfboards 1 and Legolas could see him working in the back yard of their Berkeley bungalow. The muscles in his arms flexed as he scraped the old wax off of his own board with long sure strokes his wax comb. Flakes of wax went flying to the pavement around him and the two saw horses that the boards were propped on. He then went on to work on Legolas’ in the same manner and with the same amount of care. He could not leave any of the old wax on the boards and so he was meticulous. He ran his fingers over both planks, feeling expertly for a film or residual wax and touched up any spots that he had missed. Then he got the broom to sweep up the cement patio.
“Yo, Legs! Your board is ready.”
“I’ll be right there. I am putting the laundry in.”
Legolas ran around the house gathering their dirty clothes and put them in the washing machine. He added soap and pulled out the knob to start the wash cycle. They had a really old washer and dryer set but it was functional and got the clothes clean. He strode out the back door and down the two steps to the yard.
“Dude, thanks for cleaning my board. You know how much I hate doing that.”
“Right on.” Subtext - I have heard you complain about it so much, I would rather eat nails than hear you moan about it again.
Aragorn grinned at his surf partner and threw him a block of basecoat wax. There was some music coming out of the house window with a nice back beat to it and they both began to apply the first coat of wax to their boards. Legolas was careful about his application and moved his arm in small circles, not missing any part of his longboard. He got that nice rough texture and made sure he got a good coat of wax on. Aragorn was more haphazard in his method but no less thorough.
There was no sense in rushing it or doing a half-assed job of it, so they cranked some tunes and did it up right. They did some head thrashing as they worked and Teen Spirit by Nirvana came on the stereo.
“Here we are now! Entertain us!” Both sang together as their heads bounced.
Soon they were done, having applied the topcoat to the board. The reason for the waxing was to have a sticky surface so that they did not slip off the board while they were surfing. It was very important to their tubular experience. It was an onerous task but of ultimate necessity to the whole surf thing.
“Ok, so laundry is in, gear is packed, toiletries. How about we make some dinner and watch a movie tonight?” Legolas asked. They usually carbo loaded for days before a big surf so they had stored energy for the hours swimming in the ocean.
They had a few choice movies that they liked to watch the night before a big surf trip. Sometimes disaster flicks, sometimes an epic Hiroshima monster movie or maybe one of the many Godzilla remakes of varying success but still so good. They were big fans of the most recent Godzilla movie as the main part of the action took place in San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge got demolished. That was always good for a laugh.
Aragorn made a huge pot of spaghetti Bolognese and put lots of meat in the sauce along with red and green peppers and onions and loads of garlic. You would think they were trying to keep away vampires with how much garlic they ate. They had some red wine with that and it was a nice romantic dinner for two, well, two scarfing surfers that is. They ate ravenously and paused to drink their wine occasionally, keeping conversation to a minimum. They rarely talked and ate at the same time, the eating taking all of their attention.
Legolas leaned back and belched upon finishing which made Aragorn smile into his plate.
“Nice, dude.”
“In some cultures that is a compliment.”
“Would that be here, in America or was that in Mirkwood in that other life you had that you told me about? Back in the day?”
“Oh yes, we burped there, quite a lot.”
They only talked about Legolas’ elven homeland when they were alone and Aragorn was always fascinated by it. He had dreams of those times but had not actually lived then. Legolas told him he, Aragon, was reincarnated and would only have faded memories of what had happened. It was cool yet frustrating all at the same time. It was like watching a movie in which you were the actor. His dreams were very vivid at times, like in Technicolor.
“Well here’s to Mirkwood!” The young man raised his glass and downed the last of his wine in one gulp.
Legolas laughed and got up to clear the dishes and clean up. That was the deal - whomsoever did not cook was the clean up crew.
--
They sat in the HD glow of their wall-mounted television watching Godzilla vanquish his foes amid the rubble of San Francisco.
“Godzilla breath! Right in the mouth!” Aragorn hooted as he matched up pairs of socks.
“Cha.” Legolas commented as he held up some well-worn jeans to fold.
They liked to multi-task and sifted through the laundry in front of the movie. Best not to waste time the night before leaving for the surf. They were not going that early but they had a lot to do in the morning and should finish packing tonight. The movie was a planned indulgence.
“I love how he takes a nap here. Like he is so beat from all the action.” Legolas laughed.
“Well dude, he takes on those two bug things. A reptile needs a rest!”
“Guess so.”
“And then it is so righteous. He is the hero of the day. Raa!” Aragorn tried to imitate the Godzilla roar.
“Dude, that was lame!”
“Well you know how they made the sound he makes, right?”
Legolas looked quizzical so Aragorn went on to explain.
“They rubbed a leather glove coated in pine-tar resin over the string of a double bass. How radical is that? A Japanese composer thought of that trick. I cannot remember his name…” 2
“I am sure we can look it up on the internet. That kind of fact is readily available.”
“Yeah.”
Legolas said, “That’s pretty cool though. I love how you know that bit of triviality.”
He leaned over for a kiss, softly pressing their lips together.
“I think they used a different method for this film. That was for the original 1954 Godzilla.”
“Ohh.” The elf nodded.
They finished folding as the movie ended with Godzilla swimming off into San Francisco Bay and out to the Pacific. They had stacked all the clothes neatly into a white laundry basket. Legolas took the empty popcorn bowl into the kitchen while Aragorn carried their laundry into the bedroom.
Blog entry - Estel - November 23 - Godzilla roar!
So if I could roar like Godzilla, I totally would but I can’t because it is an engineered sound. As I was telling my partner in crime here - the Godzilla roar is totally cool - it was designed by Japanese composer, Akira Ifukube for the 1954 original movie, Godzilla. It was a radical sound and still totally is. He took a leather glove and covered it with pine tar resin and rubbed it over double bass strings to get that shriek that he does.
The most recent (2014) film has the sound in it but they got it a different way. I don’t understand exactly how but it is different. I think the original roar is pretty cool.
Here is a cool NPR story on the kaiju roar and how it all came about:
http://www.npr.org/2014/05/18/312839612/whats-in-a-roar-crafting-godzillas-iconic-sound
We just watched the 2014 remake of Godzilla and just love how the monsters decimate the Bay Area. Bye bye Golden Gate Bridge!
Anyhoo. We are off tomorrow for Santa Cruz, CA and have been preparing like surfing maniacs for the trip. Waxing the boards, doing laundry, packing up. This is a short trip but should be fun, sports fans. Anyone heading down there this week? If so we will be doing morning coffee at The Buttery most days and dinner occasionally at Naka or the Woodstock Pizza place downtown. Those are our favorite places. We are staying at the Roach Motel (cough), I mean America’s Best Value Inn on Riverside. Come on by and say hello.
Our plan is roughly to drive down tomorrow and get there by check-in time at 3pm. No surfing tomorrow (Tues). Here is the estimated schedule of ocean activities:
Wed - 36th and Seacliff - Pleasure Point
Thurs - The Hook
Fri - Steamer Lane (ahhhh!)
Sat - Manresa State Beach
Sun - The Hook for the morning only
And that is the breakdown. We are getting on the road to Berkeley by 2pm Sunday.
So that is it bras and bra-ettes. Comment here if you will be down in Cruz-land or want to have a beer or something. Usually we just collapse at the Roach Motel most nights.
See you on the surf or here in internet-land! I will bring my laptop with me and post from down south!
-Comment - Wavey Gravy - right on! I wish I was heading there too!
-Comment - Surfer Girl - I can’t surf this week, I have to work! Ratatouille!
-Reply-Estel-That is a drag! I am totally bummed for you! :(
-Comment - Oceans11 - see you there, dude. I will be out on Friday at Steamer!
-Reply-Estel - Awesome, see you there! Don’t steal my waves!
-Reply - Ocean’s 11 - First is first, dude!
(60 comments posted to this entry)
*
Legolas lounged on the bed reading Surfing Magazine’s latest issue. Well not really reading, flipping through it really and looking at the pictures of the beautiful places to surf in the world. He waited while Estel finished his blog post. He knew his companion was trying to get back into keeping his internet presence up so he did not nag him about being online too much.
“Dude,” Aragorn said. “I am getting comments on my post!”
“That is great, Estel.” 3
“Hey, are you mad at me? You hardly ever call me that.”
“I never get mad at you,” Legolas assured him.
“Pull the other one.”
“I might get annoyed or irritated.”
“You are splitting hairs now.” Aragorn sighed as he typed a comment onto his blog, hunching over his Apple laptop on the desk.
“For example, I am annoyed that you are spending so much time on the computer when I am laying here in bed half naked and waiting for you.”
Aragorn sat up at that and turned to see Legolas in all his blonde glory, lounging elegantly on the bed without a shirt on.
“Because I am an idiot. That is the only possible reason.” He closed the Macbook and turned to the bed, leaving behind his internet fans for now. They could wait.
The young man was dressed in jeans and a faded brown surfing competition T-shirt. It belonged to Legolas and had been a give away at Mavericks a few years ago. They wore each others’ clothes interchangeably so it hardly mattered who had gotten it originally.
Aragorn lurched to the bed and flopped down next to Legolas, making them both bounce on the mattress.
“You’re totally hot, you know that?”
“If you say so.” Legolas reached for Aragorn and drifted a hand under his shirt, lightly caressing his well defined abdomen.
“I definitely say so.” Aragorn sighed as he closed his eyes and let his mind go. He could always absolutely relax with Legolas and drift on the wide blue sea. It was amazing. All of his cares and worries just went away when they were together like this.
Aragorn felt Legolas slide his hands up his chest, and sucked in a breathe as his lover ran his thumbs over his nipples arousing them into hardness. His body got taut with arousal. It was always so easy between them and natural.
“Take off your shirt, Estel.” Legolas said.
The man complied immediately, shucking his t-shirt off over his head and Legolas expanded the range of his caresses to shoulders and back, both soothing and enflaming. Aragorn felt his skin go hot as the elf caressed him more firmly.
“That feels so good,” Aragorn moaned.
“Yes, and it will feel better too.” Legolas murmured.
That statement was met with a long groan. Legolas always drove him mad with lust and passion. They did this to each other.
Aragorn felt the buttons of his 501’s give way and returned the soft kisses that were planted on his lips with each release of the snaps. Finally his Superman boxers were exposed to the warm air of the room. Aragorn had a fascination with comic book characters and was an avid DC and Marvel fan.
“So you will let me pleasure you and you will like it.” Legolas ordered,
“I am sure I will like it a lot.” Aragorn stretched in anticipation.
Aragorn watched Legolas smile knowingly as he began to kiss his way down his torso. He could feel each lick and touch of his tongue as he paused briefly at his sensitive nipples to tease tp caress them to hardness. Then Legolas moved lower down to his belly button nipping and biting there.
Aragorn let his thoughts float away like seaweed on the tidal waters. He sucked his stomach in as he felt Legolas’ tongue flick over the tip of his cock, teasing him a bit before he went full out on it. He was determined to get the max out of this session and hold out as long as he could. Legolas was the only lover he’d had in this life but he was pretty sure he did things to him no one else could. He was like a jelly fish in his arms…so much protoplasm. He willed himself to relax and let it happen. He wished he could turn off the sensation but still feel it all in a more objective way but that was totally not possible. He was in the moment and every lick, suck and nibble sent tendrils of sensation from his penis throughout his body.
He was not going to last very long at all.
Legolas was doing this humming thing on his sensitive skin, pressing up and then swallowing Aragorn down. Aragorn was pretty far gone and it would not take much more attention to make him come. Aragorn felt the last remnant of his control slipping away .
Aragorn saw hot spots in front of his eyes right before he came and that is what was happening now. He was totally going to blow.
In the aftermath, they both lounged on the cloud patterned comforter and Aragorn whispered against Legolas’ mouth,
“Get the lube, willya?”
*
Dawn broke the next morning. It was a cold November day and the two slept in bed entwined as lovers do. Their house was shrouded in fog rolling down from the Berkeley hills and a sharp chill was in the air. The man and elf burrowed under the covers to stay warm and curved around each other in their unconscious state.
Aragorn’s dreams were oft invaded by images of his previous lives. His modern self was aware of his life as a king in Middle Earth because Legolas had found him in this century and told him of his many deeds in that bygone era; of how he had fought in the War of the Ring, loved the elf maiden Arwen, been friend to the hobbits in the Fellowship and so forth. In his dreams he could walk with those folk and relive it as though it was happening. He remembered Legolas from those days as his boon companion and faithful friend.
Last night he had dreamt of their time in the Fellowship and traveling side by side through Middle Earth in great peril and through great trials; good times and danger, happiness and great sadness. He remembered specifically the loss of Gandalf the Grey in the Mines of Moria and his fall with the Balrog of Morgoth. He had woken up with a start at that and looked up at the ceiling. He knew that it all was real but it had happened so long ago. There was a reason Legolas was here with him today, to remind him of what his spirit had lived through and seen.
After some time he curled against Legolas and went back to sleep with the thought that he would tell his lover what he had seen in his dream.
*
“Pilot to co-pilot. Tunes. Tunes!”
“Right.” Legolas grabbed the CD case that held their road-worthy music and pulled out the CD that Aragorn had burned specifically for this trip. Each road trip had a soundtrack or mood music and this one was no different. 4
This disc had a combo of Weezer, Sinatra, Morcheeba and other worthwhile yet eclectic songs to drive by. Weezer was the ultimate surfer music and their first album was the most appropriate for a trip to Santa Cruz.
If you want to destroy my sweater
Hold this thread as I walk awayyy.
Watch me unravel, I’ll soon be naked.
Lying on the floor (lying on the floor)
I’ve come undone 5
They sang along with some tonality and rhythm as the song played and the miles passed by.
Their surfboards were on top of the car, securely tied to a roof rack. They knew they could go a cruising speed of sixty to sixty-five miles per hour without the boards flipping off the rack. Better to be safe than lose their precious cargo off the top of the car. They were not in a rush to get down south and the ride was not that long from Berkeley to SC anyways.
It was a traveling day.
The 80 was smooth sailing as the Cherokee glided down the road. They passed some business people in their suits and resisted the urge to flip them off. It was not their fault they had to work the daily grind. Hey, they could even be weekend surf warriors if you wanted to get creative with your thinking. You never knew what was under that well tailored clothing; could be Superman tights.
“Ain’t that a kick in the kick in the head…” crooned Aragorn as the tune made famous by Dean Martin came on the car stereo.
“This is either a really brilliant mix or really bizarre. I cannot decide which, ” Legolas mused.
“Let’s say brilliant with an edge.”
“An edge of madness.”
“Yeah.” Aragorn nodded.
My head keeps spinning
I go to sleep and keep grinning
If this is just the beginning,
My life is gonna be beautiful 6
They had moved past San Jose and onto highway 17 which was a windy, hilly, two lane road that went directly into Santa Cruz. This was the fun part. The Cherokee hugged the turns nicely and there was hardly any traffic on an early Tuesday afternoon. They were cruising. Rush hour could be a total drag or worse yet, weekend beach traffic but November mid-week? Piece-o-cake.
Blog entry - Estel - November 24 - Road Warriors!
We are the road warriors. The Jeep did well today on the freeways to Santa Cruz (SC to the initiated) and we have made it all the way down here in one piece. I am sitting in the Buttery with Leggy having a fine lunch and surfing on the wifi-ness. We will stock up on baked goods and beverages and then go check in at the Roach Motel (America’s Best Value on Riverside). Anyhoo. All is well.
We listened to some righteous tunes on the road - Weezer, Dean Martin and others - from a truly fabulous custom mix made by yours truly. Shades of brilliance, if I do say so myself. ☺
I am going to buy me some of these peanut butter cookies here. They are awesome socks. Best ever. If you are ever in SC - get thee to the Buttery and have a peanut butter cookie - they bake them with peanuts all around the edge of the cookie. So good.
Not much to write here. I will check in later. You guys will be sick of me with all my posts. Keeping in touch!
Over and out.
-Comment - Felonious Punk - Hey! I will be downtown tonight. See if we can hook up for a brewsky.
-Reply-Estel-Maybe, dude. We are sleeping early as we go out early to surf.
-Reply-Felonious Punk-Alrighta. See you, if I see you!
-Reply-Estel-Not if I see you first!
-Comment - Oceans11 - Welcome to Santa Cruz, man!
-Reply-Estel - Thanks! See you on the waves!
-Reply - Ocean’s 11 - Sure thing!
(30 comments posted to this entry)
*
They checked in at the hotel; stashed their stuff in the room, gear and all and headed out to the Buttery for lunch, which was where Aragorn did his blog post from waxing poetic on the virtues of the peanut butter cookies. They had time to kill and so would hit the food coop and meander downtown. Legolas liked to go to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum7 up on the cliff if they had time. He enjoyed the history of the sport they loved so well. It gave them a good laugh to go through there and look at the old wood boards and early days of surfing.
Today, since their room had a mini-fridge, they went to the supermarket and picked up a few groceries. They hit the Trader Joe’s downtown and got some snack food, milk, fruit, cheese and beers. They had brought their own coffee maker and gourmet coffee and would have some comforts in the room. No starving would occur.
They drove back to America’s Best and dropped off their ill gotten gains and changed into going out clothes for the night. Decent shoes, nice shirts and they even put on socks. Aragorn left his computer in the room so they would have a romantic night out at Chocolate in downtown Santa Cruz.
Legolas drove them there and miraculously enough there was a parking spot near the restaurant. It was a quaint, charming spot in the middle of the downtown area just up from the movie theater. They had good bistro food but their specialty was pots of chocolate for dessert. You dipped vanilla cookies in the molten chocolate and it was so delicious. Aragorn and Legolas loved going there and sitting for hours.
They sat at a distressed wooden table tucked away in the corner and ordered a lovely Verdicchio wine and then started with the Caprese appetizer - organic tomatoes and basil with fresh mozzarella wedges, drizzled with olive oil. They took turns feeding that to each other with arms looped and laughing. Santa Cruz was a very liberal town so no one thought anything of two men on a date there.
They ordered two entrees to share. Aragorn always got the Roast Chicken Pie which was a high end, gourmet version of a chicken pot pie. It was warm, gooey and delicious. Comfort food to the max for sure. Legolas liked to roam around the menu and tried something different every time. He had a more adventurous palate than Aragorn. This time he got the Cashew Curry Salmon which was a nicely flavored salmon on greens.
While Aragorn liked his meat and potato styled food, he always enjoyed the exotic food that Legolas would sample and so they shared their meals interchangeably swapping plates back and forth, eating their fill of both selections.
Dessert was a no brainer - the whole reason for their being there - the pot of chocolate. It came with copious amounts of whipped cream and lady fingers for dipping into the rich, creamy Venezuelan bittersweet chocolate and was served in a well used gold color serving pot with a handle over Sterno. It was the perfect end to a perfect meal.
After settling up their check, Aragorn and Legolas walked hand in hand back to the car. It was a chilly November night and their breath exhaled in little white puffs of air in front of the mouths. They laughed and talked about inconsequential things until Legolas fobbed the door open and they could both slide into the front seat.
There was no traffic on the way back to the hotel and it was only a few minutes drive time to get back to America’s Best. They backed into the spot in front of their room and entered room 101 with an old fashioned key. Their room was a ground floor efficiency unit.
Aegnor flopped onto the multi-color, somewhat psychedelic bedspread and sighed.
“I am not tired at all but I guess we should try and sleep.”
Legolas kicked off his shoes and picked up the remote control , flipping through the local and basic cable channels that came with their room.
“Oo oo! Law and Order SVU!”
“For the win!”
And it was the beginning…the TV blared.
“In the criminal justice system, Sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories …” 8
Aragorn sang, “Da da da!”
There were brews in the fridge and good shows on the tele. What else could they ask for?
After the first cleverly solved crime, Legolas commented, “Olivia is so cool.”
“Yeah, a righteous woman,” Aragorn agreed.”
“She reminds me of Eowyn. Strong, yet with the weaknesses of mortal women.”
Aragorn snorted, “I love it when you call us mortals, dude. That is so….weird. Like you are a vampire or something.”
Legolas laughed. “I am NOT a vampire! Vampires are evil!”
“That is right you are goodness and light. La la la.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“I like being silly. That is totally my kind of thing.”
A new episode started so they watched the gruesome crime for some moments until Legolas said, “That is gnarly.”
“Totally.”
They watched some more and held hands on the double king bed, both propped up on numerous pillows against the headboard. Aragorn was loath to admit that he was feeling kind of tired even though it was only midnight now. He loved staying up late in hotel rooms and getting the most out of their lodging dollars. Legolas seemed to not need as much sleep as he did, or maybe it was that sleeping with his eyes open thing that was so unnerving. It seemed like he was not sleeping when he really was.
Aragorn wondered if it was different than sleep somehow, a different state of consciousness.
They fell asleep at around 2:30 am, curled around each other on top of the covers; Legolas being the inner spoon and Aragorn being the outer spoon, his face nestled into that long golden hair.
Blog entry - Estel - November 24 - Good morning to you!
I am typing as quietly as I can because Legs is still sleeping or whatever he does - not sure if he actually sleeps. He kind of freaks me out sometimes.
We watched major amounts of SVU last night but had a great night out in SC. Great dinner, drank some vino had the chocolate thing at the chocolate place. You know what I am talking about. I am sure you do. We had cool entrees, cool vino and acted very civilized with the general public. We did not gobble our food up or spill anything. You would have been proud of our table manners. We did snarf a bit when the chocolate got to the table. You know how much I love chocolate. I cannot help myself really.
I was going to do some live action shots today on my board but my camera is not working. I have to get that fixed. So no tubular shots this time sports fans. I can hear the collective “aww” out there! So sorry! I will get that operational and provide video soon.
I checked the water temp and it is a frigid 59 degrees. Yowsa! That is cold but it is November and it is the Pacific. What do we expect here? It is gonna be cold peeps! I have my 4/3 wetsuit9 so I am all set there. I will be wearing head gear and booties just to be sure. Don’t want to go hypothermic. That would totally suck.
So boys and girls. Leggy is moaning and groaning (not) but seems to be getting up now. I need more coffee. Here is our surfing schedule in case you missed my previous post -
Today! Wed - 36th and Seacliff - Pleasure Point
Tomorrow! Thurs - The Hook
Fri - Steamer Lane (ahhhh!)
Sat - Manresa State Beach
Sun - The Hook for the morning only
Don’t be a stranger! Over and out!
-Comment - Wavey Gravy - Nice post! Glad you are gearing up for that cold water!
-Reply-Estel - Yeah, man. I hate getting cold when I surf.
-Comment - Oceans11 - Dinner sounds totally rad! I love that place! See you Friday, Dude! Have a great day today and catch some great waves!
-Reply-Estel - Thanks, dude! See you Friday!
-Reply - Ocean’s 11 - Sure thing!
-Comment - Surfer Girl - I can stop by and wave at you on my way to work on Saturday. I am sure you won’t see me but I will be there in spirit!
-Reply-Estel-Aww thanks, girlie. Don’t work too hard!
(30 comments posted to this entry)
They liked to avoid crowds of surfers and so were going to do a dawn patrol at Pleasure Point at 36th and Seacliff. They would definitely get parking and they stashed towels, clothes, drinks and food in the car for after session changing and noshing.
They got appropriately caffeinated in the room and it was still dark out when they took off from America’s Best, lights on but low beams because the fog was pretty thick on the way over to the cliffs. High beams would have reflected off of the fog and blinded them.
They wore their wet suits over in the car but did not wear their booties as those were hard to drive with and they would put those on before going into the very cold water. Most people preferred to surf barefoot but the water was just too cold for that. They had their hoods off their heads and headed through the gloom. This fog would burn off in a few hours, hopefully, and it would be a truly spectacular surfing day.
*
Legolas and Aragorn paddled through the water just beyond Pleasure Point and sat on their surfboards beyond the point where the waves were breaking. High tide was at 10:26 a.m. so they had hours to kill and some good surf up to that point as the tide came in. Neither of them liked to rush the waves and they took their time getting into the zen of the ocean. Sea otters10 were frolicking around in the kelp and that kept them amused somewhat.
“Look at this guy, Legs. He is pounding away at that urchin,” Aragorn said.
Legolas observed, “He is very determined.”
“Yes, he or she is. She could be a she. Why would he be a he?”
“Looks like a he to me.”
“But you don’t know.”
“No, I don’t. You are right. So she is very determined,” Legolas amended.
Aragorn, always knowledgeable, spewed some of the many facts he knew about critters in the ocean.
“Did you know that sea otters have to eat twenty to thirty percent of their body weight each day? It is because they have such a very high metabolic rate. They need a lot of calories.”
“That is very interesting, Estel,” Legolas indulged.
“It totally is AND they totally help maintain the health of the kelp forest by eating sea urchins. Otherwise, the urchins would deforest the kelp. It is the balance of nature in action. So very cool.”
Sometimes they got to talking and forgot to catch the waves and that was happening today. It was all about being out in the ocean and hanging out. They were not totally intense on their surfing and did not stress about missing the perfect wave that had just passed them by. Some people just freaked out over things like that. They were totally harshing on their mellow, if you got the drift. Neither Legolas or Aragorn were that uptight while there certainly were some uptight surfers out there - some gear head, wave hogging, anxiety ridden surfer types who needed to take the pole out of their hoo ha’s.
A beautiful cresting wave came up and Legolas paddled it in, standing up at just the right moment and riding it on into the beach, Aragorn wooped from his vantage point and almost missed his own wave in his enthusiasm for his partner’s ride but caught his own wave just in time. He rode it in and flipped some turns on the curling surf and enjoyed himself a lot. This is what it was all about.
Legolas was waiting in the shallows as he came in and then they paddled their boards out together back to the hovering point out by the kelp forest or otterville near their sea critter friends. Pleasant Point was a locals spot, known to surfers, and there were some other Santa Cruz regulars heading into the water. They had a good rapport with the home growns so they were not worried about any turf warfare. They were always respectful and they came down so they had “honorary local status”.
As they settled down to wait for their next tube, Aragorn could see the world begin to awaken. Joggers dotted the shore and there were a number of people walking their dogs on the beach. This was a very dog friendly area and the pooches enjoyed the freedom of an off leash experience. He could see a very happy black lab mix chasing a tennis ball on the beach right now. His owner threw the ball each time the black dog dropped it methodically at his feet. They had a total thing going on.
“Hey - you ever think about getting a dog?” Aragorn asked.
“Dogs don’t live very long, Estel.”
“But they are so fun to have around and hang out with and they can fetch and do other cool stuff.”
“I guess but you have to pick up their excrement.” The elf wrinkled his nose.
“True but they have bio bags for that so you never actually touch it.”
“Still, it is kind of gross.”
Aragorn knew Legolas was right but he still loved the idea of having a dog and a furry companion. It would be hard with their travel schedule but they had friends who could watch the critter and maybe they could travel less?
“Hey, what was that!?” Aragorn felt something by his leg under the water. He was hanging off his board at this point and kicking his legs in the water. He swam away from whatever it was but it circled around and came at him again. It was much bigger than a sea otter and felt the rough skin of an ocean predator.11 He tried not to panic as he knew that would incite the creature to attack. Thrashing, flailing and kicking up water was definitely a bad idea.
“Dude, dude. I think there is a shark over here.”
“No man, we saw otters earlier.”
“Look around, Legs. The otters have all scrammed.”
Legolas looked around and the otters had gone silent and run away from the area, a sure sign that a shark was making the rounds.
“It just brushed me again. I am trying not to freak out!” Aragorn whispered.
“Just keep still and it might go away,” Legolas whispered back.
No sooner did Legolas make that suggestion than all hell broke loose. The adolescent Great White Shark which was thankfully not fully grown reared up and attacked Aragorn’s surf board which seemed to be a tasty morsel to snack on. The longboard snapped in two and unluckily enough the shark dragged the piece that Aragorn was attached to dragging him quickly under the water. He had managed to take a breath and realized that his foot was attached to the piece of board by the leash strapped to his right ankle. He reached down and undid the Velcro, kicking up and away from the snarfing shark.
“Aragorn!” Legolas yelled and swam towards the spot where he had last seen him.
The man broke surface some feet away, rubbing his ankle.
“I am here,” Aragorn panted. “It has my board. It munched my favorite longboard. That is a total bummer.”
Legolas did not know whether to laugh or cry. “I am glad it did not eat you, Estel. That could have been you!”
“Right.” Aragorn’s eyes got wider. “Let’s get out of here. There could be more of them.
They warned the other surfers on their way back to shore, moving pretty quickly out of the water. Chances are they would not be attacked again but both of them were very tweaked out by the whole experience.
Aragorn walked out of the ocean without a board in his hands, which was kind of surreal and Legolas unstrapped his leash carrying his longboard under his arm. They both stopped to take off their booties. A young golden retriever ran by, chasing down a ball thrown by his owner, a scruffy looking guy drinking from a travel mug. It was still morning and hardly any real time had passed of the day. Aragorn could not shake the crazy sensations and sat down on the beach.
“Whoa.”
Legolas put down his board and sat next to his partner.
“You ok?” he asked.
“Nope. Definitely not ok. I am dealing with my near death experience and the inevitability of my own demise.”
Legolas took Aragorn’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“But you did not die, Estel. You survived.”
“But I could have died, Legs.”
“Yes and you did not. Let’s focus on what actually happened not what could have.”
“OK.” Aragorn exhaled the breath he did not know he was holding. “You are right.”
Legolas leaned against his shoulder, “You are going to live a good long time.”
“I am like the dog to you, eh? Short lived. You will outlive me.”
“And wait until you live again. Such is the fate of mortals. We will meet again.”
“What if I come back as a big breasted woman?” Aragorn mused.
Legolas groaned.
“That would serve you right!” He cracked himself up.
*
So they kicked off surfing for Wednesday, too much trauma for one day and Aragorn had to get himself a new board. They stopped by the Roach Motel to shower and change and made a call to Noe Surf Boards 12 for an appointment at the factory on Delaware Street. They could have gone to a surf shop but Aragorn had his heart set on replacing his plank with something distinctive. He got something electric orange and tricked it out with a new fin and everything. Then they stopped by the surf shop for wax and Legolas agreed to do the treatment on Aragorn’s board himself since Aragorn was so traumatized (or played it up like he was). There was no way they were going to miss the rest of their surfing so Aragorn’s new board would need to be waxed. It would be easy to do since Legolas would only need to apply the wax and not remove an old coat.
*
Blog entry - Estel - November 24 - Shark attack!
So today in the oceanographic scene was totally eventful and my board got totally munched by a great white shark! I am as serious as a shark attack! It ate my long board and I really loved that board too. It almost dragged me down too. Good thing I thought fast and released my leash in time to get to the surface.
Seems a little late in the year for a shark but who knows what their habits are. It was not a full grown shark and I am glad it went for my board and not for me. I would have been toast. Totally a shark snack.
So before this all happened we had been hanging with the sea otters and had caught some good waves and having a good time. It was all copacetic up to this point. Then we had to go in and be all traumatized and freaked out. Well I was freaked out and Legolas was all calm and shit. He is like that - calm in the face of adversity.
Afterwards - of course I had to replace my longboard so we went to the Noe factory and I got a righteous new long board. And I am all tricked out for the rest of our surfing. I hope I am ok going back into the water.
I don’t care what people say - surfing is a dangerous sport!
Out.
-Comment - Oceans11 - OMG!
-Reply-Estel-I know - total trauma.
-Comment - Wavey Gravy - OMG! Dude!
-Reply-Estel-It was totally scary, dude.
-Reply-Wavey Gravy - I bet! Glad you are alright!
-Comment - Surfer Girl - OMG! I am glad you are ok!
-Reply-Estel-Thanks, chica!
(90 comments posted to this entry)
That night after a day of shopping, waxing, napping and sex (major life affirming sex), Legolas and Aragorn decided to go out to eat for dinner again and then would have some drinks at a local pub. Legolas knew that Aragorn would want to tell people about his “near death experience” and so having some brews would be a requirement of the night. Surfers loved to tell the dramatic tale of the tubular wave or the brush with death. It was part of what made the ocean legends live large in the minds of the newbies.
They settled down at their table at Naka Sushi, a locals’ favorite on 41st Street. The service was always a bit rude but the food was always delicious. They found it all a bit charming and ordered some sake to start with as they perused the menu and relaxed in the quaint ambiance.
Aragorn was still reflecting on his brush with mortality earlier in the day and waxed poetic.
“I am glad I did not die today, Legs. That would have been gnarly.”
“That is one way to look at it, love.”
“Yeah.”
They fell into companionable silence and sipped their rice wine, enjoying its warmth and letting it permeate their limbs. Aragorn got a nice floaty feeling and the tension of the day started to leave him. He took Legolas’ hand and entwined their fingers.
“I am not ready to leave you, Legs.”
“It was definitely not your time. You have many more waves to catch.”
“True, that.”
Their waitress came over holding her notepad, standing at the end of their booth.
“You ready to order?”
They had not really looked at the menu but they always got the same thing - miso soups, edamame and selections of nigiri. Aragorn could not help it as he asked, “Do you have any shark on the menu?”
The waitress gave them a withering look.
And that is how it goes for now but this is not the end as the waves crash and the tide rolls out.
References and translations:
(1) Surfboard prep - http://www.surfscience.com/topics/learn-to-surf/surfing-101/how-to-wax-a-surfboard
(2) Godzilla’s roar: http://www.npr.org/2014/05/18/312839612/whats-in-a-roar-crafting-godzillas-iconic-sound
(3) Estel means “hope” in Sindarin.
(4) Their car - Jeep Cherokee - 2012 - http://www.conceptcarz.com/images/Jeep/2012-Jeep-Grand-Cherokee-SUV_Image-01.jpg
(5) Undone by Weezer
(6) Ain’t that a Kick in the Head, S. Cahn, J. van Heusen
(7) http://www.santacruzsurfingmuseum.org/
(8) from Law and Order SVU
(9) http://360guide.info/wetsuits/water-temperature-chart.html#axzz3iHhBDKcZ
(10) About sea otters - http://marinelife.about.com/od/vertebrates/f/What-Do-Sea-Otters-Eat.htm
(11) Shark attack in Santa Cruz - http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Shark-attacks-prompt-swim-warnings-in-Santa-Cruz-5756585.php
(12) Noe Surfboards - http://noeboards.com/index.html
Author: Phyncke
Fandom: Tolkien
Genre: FCS
Character: Aragorn/Legolas, Arwen mentioned.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they are the property of JRR Tolkien and his estate, and I have borrowed them for my own amusement and for yours I hope.
Beta: Aglarien
For: 2015 Ardor in August
Author Note: Modern, California setting and some stuff about reincarnation
Summary: Aragorn and Legolas go on surfing adventures along the California Coast.
Blog entry - Estel-November 23 - Subject Line - Hitting the road - Bra!
We are heading down to Santa Cruz in a few days to do some shredding down there. I got the Jeepster tuned so I hope it does not break down or anything like that. Bucket of bolts but it still runs. We need it to carry the boards, you know?
We had such a rad time in Fiji earlier in the year. Caught some great waves and hung out with the locals. They really love the surfers there and could not be friendlier. Dude.
I will try and post some pics of the scenery as I get them and hope that I have a signal. Wifi should be pretty good around there. It is not as though we will be out of the range of civilization or anything. I mean it is still Californication, you know.
Thanks for following my adventures here, dudes and dudettes. Comments always welcome even though I am lame at the replies. Sporadicus is me. I will try and get better at that.
Leggy will be tagging along, as usual. We are total buds and have been for a while. Inseparable for sure. He is an amazing surfer and can really kick it on the waves for sure.
Anyhoo. Gotta run for now. I will try and do another post from the mobile down south. Catch ya. Keep it real and keep it happening!
Out.
-Comment-Wavey Gravy - Long time, no see! Glad to see a post from you!
-Reply - Estel - Been busy, dude. I will be more present here on the blogosphere!
-Comment-Surfer Girl - I hope to see you down there this weekend. Unless they put me on the schedule at work. Pray for me!
-Reply-Estel-I will pray to the Valar, Buddha, Kali and anyone I can think of for you. I will post our surf schedule and locations in my next entry.
-Reply-Surfer Girl-Cool beans!
(20 comments posted to this entry)
*
Legolas checked the gear, the wet suits and leashes as well as packing up other sundries like toothpaste, toothbrushes, shower gel, loofah and the like. Oh, and clothes - they might need those. Their togs were dirty so he would have to do a wash.
It took a lot to get ready for these little adventure surf trips with Aragorn but it was totally worth it. They caught the tubes and had major fun on the waves together. They were more than friends but were completely relaxed about that. No need to chafe about it or get frenetic. All was copacetic. Love is love.
Their plan was to head to Santa Cruz early in the morning and hit some of the local spots that day. Mid-week surfing was totally the best as most people had to work and were weekend ocean warriors. Not them - both of them were independently wealthy and did what they wanted. Not that they were lazy. They worked for good causes when they weren’t surfing and any number of non-profits. They had confronted whalers for Green Peace, helped clean up ocean pollution, traveled the world doing earthquake relief efforts and pushed to get drinking water to the poor in third world countries. They did whatever needed doing.
Aragorn was cleaning their surfboards 1 and Legolas could see him working in the back yard of their Berkeley bungalow. The muscles in his arms flexed as he scraped the old wax off of his own board with long sure strokes his wax comb. Flakes of wax went flying to the pavement around him and the two saw horses that the boards were propped on. He then went on to work on Legolas’ in the same manner and with the same amount of care. He could not leave any of the old wax on the boards and so he was meticulous. He ran his fingers over both planks, feeling expertly for a film or residual wax and touched up any spots that he had missed. Then he got the broom to sweep up the cement patio.
“Yo, Legs! Your board is ready.”
“I’ll be right there. I am putting the laundry in.”
Legolas ran around the house gathering their dirty clothes and put them in the washing machine. He added soap and pulled out the knob to start the wash cycle. They had a really old washer and dryer set but it was functional and got the clothes clean. He strode out the back door and down the two steps to the yard.
“Dude, thanks for cleaning my board. You know how much I hate doing that.”
“Right on.” Subtext - I have heard you complain about it so much, I would rather eat nails than hear you moan about it again.
Aragorn grinned at his surf partner and threw him a block of basecoat wax. There was some music coming out of the house window with a nice back beat to it and they both began to apply the first coat of wax to their boards. Legolas was careful about his application and moved his arm in small circles, not missing any part of his longboard. He got that nice rough texture and made sure he got a good coat of wax on. Aragorn was more haphazard in his method but no less thorough.
There was no sense in rushing it or doing a half-assed job of it, so they cranked some tunes and did it up right. They did some head thrashing as they worked and Teen Spirit by Nirvana came on the stereo.
“Here we are now! Entertain us!” Both sang together as their heads bounced.
Soon they were done, having applied the topcoat to the board. The reason for the waxing was to have a sticky surface so that they did not slip off the board while they were surfing. It was very important to their tubular experience. It was an onerous task but of ultimate necessity to the whole surf thing.
“Ok, so laundry is in, gear is packed, toiletries. How about we make some dinner and watch a movie tonight?” Legolas asked. They usually carbo loaded for days before a big surf so they had stored energy for the hours swimming in the ocean.
They had a few choice movies that they liked to watch the night before a big surf trip. Sometimes disaster flicks, sometimes an epic Hiroshima monster movie or maybe one of the many Godzilla remakes of varying success but still so good. They were big fans of the most recent Godzilla movie as the main part of the action took place in San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge got demolished. That was always good for a laugh.
Aragorn made a huge pot of spaghetti Bolognese and put lots of meat in the sauce along with red and green peppers and onions and loads of garlic. You would think they were trying to keep away vampires with how much garlic they ate. They had some red wine with that and it was a nice romantic dinner for two, well, two scarfing surfers that is. They ate ravenously and paused to drink their wine occasionally, keeping conversation to a minimum. They rarely talked and ate at the same time, the eating taking all of their attention.
Legolas leaned back and belched upon finishing which made Aragorn smile into his plate.
“Nice, dude.”
“In some cultures that is a compliment.”
“Would that be here, in America or was that in Mirkwood in that other life you had that you told me about? Back in the day?”
“Oh yes, we burped there, quite a lot.”
They only talked about Legolas’ elven homeland when they were alone and Aragorn was always fascinated by it. He had dreams of those times but had not actually lived then. Legolas told him he, Aragon, was reincarnated and would only have faded memories of what had happened. It was cool yet frustrating all at the same time. It was like watching a movie in which you were the actor. His dreams were very vivid at times, like in Technicolor.
“Well here’s to Mirkwood!” The young man raised his glass and downed the last of his wine in one gulp.
Legolas laughed and got up to clear the dishes and clean up. That was the deal - whomsoever did not cook was the clean up crew.
--
They sat in the HD glow of their wall-mounted television watching Godzilla vanquish his foes amid the rubble of San Francisco.
“Godzilla breath! Right in the mouth!” Aragorn hooted as he matched up pairs of socks.
“Cha.” Legolas commented as he held up some well-worn jeans to fold.
They liked to multi-task and sifted through the laundry in front of the movie. Best not to waste time the night before leaving for the surf. They were not going that early but they had a lot to do in the morning and should finish packing tonight. The movie was a planned indulgence.
“I love how he takes a nap here. Like he is so beat from all the action.” Legolas laughed.
“Well dude, he takes on those two bug things. A reptile needs a rest!”
“Guess so.”
“And then it is so righteous. He is the hero of the day. Raa!” Aragorn tried to imitate the Godzilla roar.
“Dude, that was lame!”
“Well you know how they made the sound he makes, right?”
Legolas looked quizzical so Aragorn went on to explain.
“They rubbed a leather glove coated in pine-tar resin over the string of a double bass. How radical is that? A Japanese composer thought of that trick. I cannot remember his name…” 2
“I am sure we can look it up on the internet. That kind of fact is readily available.”
“Yeah.”
Legolas said, “That’s pretty cool though. I love how you know that bit of triviality.”
He leaned over for a kiss, softly pressing their lips together.
“I think they used a different method for this film. That was for the original 1954 Godzilla.”
“Ohh.” The elf nodded.
They finished folding as the movie ended with Godzilla swimming off into San Francisco Bay and out to the Pacific. They had stacked all the clothes neatly into a white laundry basket. Legolas took the empty popcorn bowl into the kitchen while Aragorn carried their laundry into the bedroom.
Blog entry - Estel - November 23 - Godzilla roar!
So if I could roar like Godzilla, I totally would but I can’t because it is an engineered sound. As I was telling my partner in crime here - the Godzilla roar is totally cool - it was designed by Japanese composer, Akira Ifukube for the 1954 original movie, Godzilla. It was a radical sound and still totally is. He took a leather glove and covered it with pine tar resin and rubbed it over double bass strings to get that shriek that he does.
The most recent (2014) film has the sound in it but they got it a different way. I don’t understand exactly how but it is different. I think the original roar is pretty cool.
Here is a cool NPR story on the kaiju roar and how it all came about:
http://www.npr.org/2014/05/18/312839612/whats-in-a-roar-crafting-godzillas-iconic-sound
We just watched the 2014 remake of Godzilla and just love how the monsters decimate the Bay Area. Bye bye Golden Gate Bridge!
Anyhoo. We are off tomorrow for Santa Cruz, CA and have been preparing like surfing maniacs for the trip. Waxing the boards, doing laundry, packing up. This is a short trip but should be fun, sports fans. Anyone heading down there this week? If so we will be doing morning coffee at The Buttery most days and dinner occasionally at Naka or the Woodstock Pizza place downtown. Those are our favorite places. We are staying at the Roach Motel (cough), I mean America’s Best Value Inn on Riverside. Come on by and say hello.
Our plan is roughly to drive down tomorrow and get there by check-in time at 3pm. No surfing tomorrow (Tues). Here is the estimated schedule of ocean activities:
Wed - 36th and Seacliff - Pleasure Point
Thurs - The Hook
Fri - Steamer Lane (ahhhh!)
Sat - Manresa State Beach
Sun - The Hook for the morning only
And that is the breakdown. We are getting on the road to Berkeley by 2pm Sunday.
So that is it bras and bra-ettes. Comment here if you will be down in Cruz-land or want to have a beer or something. Usually we just collapse at the Roach Motel most nights.
See you on the surf or here in internet-land! I will bring my laptop with me and post from down south!
-Comment - Wavey Gravy - right on! I wish I was heading there too!
-Comment - Surfer Girl - I can’t surf this week, I have to work! Ratatouille!
-Reply-Estel-That is a drag! I am totally bummed for you! :(
-Comment - Oceans11 - see you there, dude. I will be out on Friday at Steamer!
-Reply-Estel - Awesome, see you there! Don’t steal my waves!
-Reply - Ocean’s 11 - First is first, dude!
(60 comments posted to this entry)
*
Legolas lounged on the bed reading Surfing Magazine’s latest issue. Well not really reading, flipping through it really and looking at the pictures of the beautiful places to surf in the world. He waited while Estel finished his blog post. He knew his companion was trying to get back into keeping his internet presence up so he did not nag him about being online too much.
“Dude,” Aragorn said. “I am getting comments on my post!”
“That is great, Estel.” 3
“Hey, are you mad at me? You hardly ever call me that.”
“I never get mad at you,” Legolas assured him.
“Pull the other one.”
“I might get annoyed or irritated.”
“You are splitting hairs now.” Aragorn sighed as he typed a comment onto his blog, hunching over his Apple laptop on the desk.
“For example, I am annoyed that you are spending so much time on the computer when I am laying here in bed half naked and waiting for you.”
Aragorn sat up at that and turned to see Legolas in all his blonde glory, lounging elegantly on the bed without a shirt on.
“Because I am an idiot. That is the only possible reason.” He closed the Macbook and turned to the bed, leaving behind his internet fans for now. They could wait.
The young man was dressed in jeans and a faded brown surfing competition T-shirt. It belonged to Legolas and had been a give away at Mavericks a few years ago. They wore each others’ clothes interchangeably so it hardly mattered who had gotten it originally.
Aragorn lurched to the bed and flopped down next to Legolas, making them both bounce on the mattress.
“You’re totally hot, you know that?”
“If you say so.” Legolas reached for Aragorn and drifted a hand under his shirt, lightly caressing his well defined abdomen.
“I definitely say so.” Aragorn sighed as he closed his eyes and let his mind go. He could always absolutely relax with Legolas and drift on the wide blue sea. It was amazing. All of his cares and worries just went away when they were together like this.
Aragorn felt Legolas slide his hands up his chest, and sucked in a breathe as his lover ran his thumbs over his nipples arousing them into hardness. His body got taut with arousal. It was always so easy between them and natural.
“Take off your shirt, Estel.” Legolas said.
The man complied immediately, shucking his t-shirt off over his head and Legolas expanded the range of his caresses to shoulders and back, both soothing and enflaming. Aragorn felt his skin go hot as the elf caressed him more firmly.
“That feels so good,” Aragorn moaned.
“Yes, and it will feel better too.” Legolas murmured.
That statement was met with a long groan. Legolas always drove him mad with lust and passion. They did this to each other.
Aragorn felt the buttons of his 501’s give way and returned the soft kisses that were planted on his lips with each release of the snaps. Finally his Superman boxers were exposed to the warm air of the room. Aragorn had a fascination with comic book characters and was an avid DC and Marvel fan.
“So you will let me pleasure you and you will like it.” Legolas ordered,
“I am sure I will like it a lot.” Aragorn stretched in anticipation.
Aragorn watched Legolas smile knowingly as he began to kiss his way down his torso. He could feel each lick and touch of his tongue as he paused briefly at his sensitive nipples to tease tp caress them to hardness. Then Legolas moved lower down to his belly button nipping and biting there.
Aragorn let his thoughts float away like seaweed on the tidal waters. He sucked his stomach in as he felt Legolas’ tongue flick over the tip of his cock, teasing him a bit before he went full out on it. He was determined to get the max out of this session and hold out as long as he could. Legolas was the only lover he’d had in this life but he was pretty sure he did things to him no one else could. He was like a jelly fish in his arms…so much protoplasm. He willed himself to relax and let it happen. He wished he could turn off the sensation but still feel it all in a more objective way but that was totally not possible. He was in the moment and every lick, suck and nibble sent tendrils of sensation from his penis throughout his body.
He was not going to last very long at all.
Legolas was doing this humming thing on his sensitive skin, pressing up and then swallowing Aragorn down. Aragorn was pretty far gone and it would not take much more attention to make him come. Aragorn felt the last remnant of his control slipping away .
Aragorn saw hot spots in front of his eyes right before he came and that is what was happening now. He was totally going to blow.
In the aftermath, they both lounged on the cloud patterned comforter and Aragorn whispered against Legolas’ mouth,
“Get the lube, willya?”
*
Dawn broke the next morning. It was a cold November day and the two slept in bed entwined as lovers do. Their house was shrouded in fog rolling down from the Berkeley hills and a sharp chill was in the air. The man and elf burrowed under the covers to stay warm and curved around each other in their unconscious state.
Aragorn’s dreams were oft invaded by images of his previous lives. His modern self was aware of his life as a king in Middle Earth because Legolas had found him in this century and told him of his many deeds in that bygone era; of how he had fought in the War of the Ring, loved the elf maiden Arwen, been friend to the hobbits in the Fellowship and so forth. In his dreams he could walk with those folk and relive it as though it was happening. He remembered Legolas from those days as his boon companion and faithful friend.
Last night he had dreamt of their time in the Fellowship and traveling side by side through Middle Earth in great peril and through great trials; good times and danger, happiness and great sadness. He remembered specifically the loss of Gandalf the Grey in the Mines of Moria and his fall with the Balrog of Morgoth. He had woken up with a start at that and looked up at the ceiling. He knew that it all was real but it had happened so long ago. There was a reason Legolas was here with him today, to remind him of what his spirit had lived through and seen.
After some time he curled against Legolas and went back to sleep with the thought that he would tell his lover what he had seen in his dream.
*
“Pilot to co-pilot. Tunes. Tunes!”
“Right.” Legolas grabbed the CD case that held their road-worthy music and pulled out the CD that Aragorn had burned specifically for this trip. Each road trip had a soundtrack or mood music and this one was no different. 4
This disc had a combo of Weezer, Sinatra, Morcheeba and other worthwhile yet eclectic songs to drive by. Weezer was the ultimate surfer music and their first album was the most appropriate for a trip to Santa Cruz.
If you want to destroy my sweater
Hold this thread as I walk awayyy.
Watch me unravel, I’ll soon be naked.
Lying on the floor (lying on the floor)
I’ve come undone 5
They sang along with some tonality and rhythm as the song played and the miles passed by.
Their surfboards were on top of the car, securely tied to a roof rack. They knew they could go a cruising speed of sixty to sixty-five miles per hour without the boards flipping off the rack. Better to be safe than lose their precious cargo off the top of the car. They were not in a rush to get down south and the ride was not that long from Berkeley to SC anyways.
It was a traveling day.
The 80 was smooth sailing as the Cherokee glided down the road. They passed some business people in their suits and resisted the urge to flip them off. It was not their fault they had to work the daily grind. Hey, they could even be weekend surf warriors if you wanted to get creative with your thinking. You never knew what was under that well tailored clothing; could be Superman tights.
“Ain’t that a kick in the kick in the head…” crooned Aragorn as the tune made famous by Dean Martin came on the car stereo.
“This is either a really brilliant mix or really bizarre. I cannot decide which, ” Legolas mused.
“Let’s say brilliant with an edge.”
“An edge of madness.”
“Yeah.” Aragorn nodded.
My head keeps spinning
I go to sleep and keep grinning
If this is just the beginning,
My life is gonna be beautiful 6
They had moved past San Jose and onto highway 17 which was a windy, hilly, two lane road that went directly into Santa Cruz. This was the fun part. The Cherokee hugged the turns nicely and there was hardly any traffic on an early Tuesday afternoon. They were cruising. Rush hour could be a total drag or worse yet, weekend beach traffic but November mid-week? Piece-o-cake.
Blog entry - Estel - November 24 - Road Warriors!
We are the road warriors. The Jeep did well today on the freeways to Santa Cruz (SC to the initiated) and we have made it all the way down here in one piece. I am sitting in the Buttery with Leggy having a fine lunch and surfing on the wifi-ness. We will stock up on baked goods and beverages and then go check in at the Roach Motel (America’s Best Value on Riverside). Anyhoo. All is well.
We listened to some righteous tunes on the road - Weezer, Dean Martin and others - from a truly fabulous custom mix made by yours truly. Shades of brilliance, if I do say so myself. ☺
I am going to buy me some of these peanut butter cookies here. They are awesome socks. Best ever. If you are ever in SC - get thee to the Buttery and have a peanut butter cookie - they bake them with peanuts all around the edge of the cookie. So good.
Not much to write here. I will check in later. You guys will be sick of me with all my posts. Keeping in touch!
Over and out.
-Comment - Felonious Punk - Hey! I will be downtown tonight. See if we can hook up for a brewsky.
-Reply-Estel-Maybe, dude. We are sleeping early as we go out early to surf.
-Reply-Felonious Punk-Alrighta. See you, if I see you!
-Reply-Estel-Not if I see you first!
-Comment - Oceans11 - Welcome to Santa Cruz, man!
-Reply-Estel - Thanks! See you on the waves!
-Reply - Ocean’s 11 - Sure thing!
(30 comments posted to this entry)
*
They checked in at the hotel; stashed their stuff in the room, gear and all and headed out to the Buttery for lunch, which was where Aragorn did his blog post from waxing poetic on the virtues of the peanut butter cookies. They had time to kill and so would hit the food coop and meander downtown. Legolas liked to go to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum7 up on the cliff if they had time. He enjoyed the history of the sport they loved so well. It gave them a good laugh to go through there and look at the old wood boards and early days of surfing.
Today, since their room had a mini-fridge, they went to the supermarket and picked up a few groceries. They hit the Trader Joe’s downtown and got some snack food, milk, fruit, cheese and beers. They had brought their own coffee maker and gourmet coffee and would have some comforts in the room. No starving would occur.
They drove back to America’s Best and dropped off their ill gotten gains and changed into going out clothes for the night. Decent shoes, nice shirts and they even put on socks. Aragorn left his computer in the room so they would have a romantic night out at Chocolate in downtown Santa Cruz.
Legolas drove them there and miraculously enough there was a parking spot near the restaurant. It was a quaint, charming spot in the middle of the downtown area just up from the movie theater. They had good bistro food but their specialty was pots of chocolate for dessert. You dipped vanilla cookies in the molten chocolate and it was so delicious. Aragorn and Legolas loved going there and sitting for hours.
They sat at a distressed wooden table tucked away in the corner and ordered a lovely Verdicchio wine and then started with the Caprese appetizer - organic tomatoes and basil with fresh mozzarella wedges, drizzled with olive oil. They took turns feeding that to each other with arms looped and laughing. Santa Cruz was a very liberal town so no one thought anything of two men on a date there.
They ordered two entrees to share. Aragorn always got the Roast Chicken Pie which was a high end, gourmet version of a chicken pot pie. It was warm, gooey and delicious. Comfort food to the max for sure. Legolas liked to roam around the menu and tried something different every time. He had a more adventurous palate than Aragorn. This time he got the Cashew Curry Salmon which was a nicely flavored salmon on greens.
While Aragorn liked his meat and potato styled food, he always enjoyed the exotic food that Legolas would sample and so they shared their meals interchangeably swapping plates back and forth, eating their fill of both selections.
Dessert was a no brainer - the whole reason for their being there - the pot of chocolate. It came with copious amounts of whipped cream and lady fingers for dipping into the rich, creamy Venezuelan bittersweet chocolate and was served in a well used gold color serving pot with a handle over Sterno. It was the perfect end to a perfect meal.
After settling up their check, Aragorn and Legolas walked hand in hand back to the car. It was a chilly November night and their breath exhaled in little white puffs of air in front of the mouths. They laughed and talked about inconsequential things until Legolas fobbed the door open and they could both slide into the front seat.
There was no traffic on the way back to the hotel and it was only a few minutes drive time to get back to America’s Best. They backed into the spot in front of their room and entered room 101 with an old fashioned key. Their room was a ground floor efficiency unit.
Aegnor flopped onto the multi-color, somewhat psychedelic bedspread and sighed.
“I am not tired at all but I guess we should try and sleep.”
Legolas kicked off his shoes and picked up the remote control , flipping through the local and basic cable channels that came with their room.
“Oo oo! Law and Order SVU!”
“For the win!”
And it was the beginning…the TV blared.
“In the criminal justice system, Sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories …” 8
Aragorn sang, “Da da da!”
There were brews in the fridge and good shows on the tele. What else could they ask for?
After the first cleverly solved crime, Legolas commented, “Olivia is so cool.”
“Yeah, a righteous woman,” Aragorn agreed.”
“She reminds me of Eowyn. Strong, yet with the weaknesses of mortal women.”
Aragorn snorted, “I love it when you call us mortals, dude. That is so….weird. Like you are a vampire or something.”
Legolas laughed. “I am NOT a vampire! Vampires are evil!”
“That is right you are goodness and light. La la la.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“I like being silly. That is totally my kind of thing.”
A new episode started so they watched the gruesome crime for some moments until Legolas said, “That is gnarly.”
“Totally.”
They watched some more and held hands on the double king bed, both propped up on numerous pillows against the headboard. Aragorn was loath to admit that he was feeling kind of tired even though it was only midnight now. He loved staying up late in hotel rooms and getting the most out of their lodging dollars. Legolas seemed to not need as much sleep as he did, or maybe it was that sleeping with his eyes open thing that was so unnerving. It seemed like he was not sleeping when he really was.
Aragorn wondered if it was different than sleep somehow, a different state of consciousness.
They fell asleep at around 2:30 am, curled around each other on top of the covers; Legolas being the inner spoon and Aragorn being the outer spoon, his face nestled into that long golden hair.
Blog entry - Estel - November 24 - Good morning to you!
I am typing as quietly as I can because Legs is still sleeping or whatever he does - not sure if he actually sleeps. He kind of freaks me out sometimes.
We watched major amounts of SVU last night but had a great night out in SC. Great dinner, drank some vino had the chocolate thing at the chocolate place. You know what I am talking about. I am sure you do. We had cool entrees, cool vino and acted very civilized with the general public. We did not gobble our food up or spill anything. You would have been proud of our table manners. We did snarf a bit when the chocolate got to the table. You know how much I love chocolate. I cannot help myself really.
I was going to do some live action shots today on my board but my camera is not working. I have to get that fixed. So no tubular shots this time sports fans. I can hear the collective “aww” out there! So sorry! I will get that operational and provide video soon.
I checked the water temp and it is a frigid 59 degrees. Yowsa! That is cold but it is November and it is the Pacific. What do we expect here? It is gonna be cold peeps! I have my 4/3 wetsuit9 so I am all set there. I will be wearing head gear and booties just to be sure. Don’t want to go hypothermic. That would totally suck.
So boys and girls. Leggy is moaning and groaning (not) but seems to be getting up now. I need more coffee. Here is our surfing schedule in case you missed my previous post -
Today! Wed - 36th and Seacliff - Pleasure Point
Tomorrow! Thurs - The Hook
Fri - Steamer Lane (ahhhh!)
Sat - Manresa State Beach
Sun - The Hook for the morning only
Don’t be a stranger! Over and out!
-Comment - Wavey Gravy - Nice post! Glad you are gearing up for that cold water!
-Reply-Estel - Yeah, man. I hate getting cold when I surf.
-Comment - Oceans11 - Dinner sounds totally rad! I love that place! See you Friday, Dude! Have a great day today and catch some great waves!
-Reply-Estel - Thanks, dude! See you Friday!
-Reply - Ocean’s 11 - Sure thing!
-Comment - Surfer Girl - I can stop by and wave at you on my way to work on Saturday. I am sure you won’t see me but I will be there in spirit!
-Reply-Estel-Aww thanks, girlie. Don’t work too hard!
(30 comments posted to this entry)
They liked to avoid crowds of surfers and so were going to do a dawn patrol at Pleasure Point at 36th and Seacliff. They would definitely get parking and they stashed towels, clothes, drinks and food in the car for after session changing and noshing.
They got appropriately caffeinated in the room and it was still dark out when they took off from America’s Best, lights on but low beams because the fog was pretty thick on the way over to the cliffs. High beams would have reflected off of the fog and blinded them.
They wore their wet suits over in the car but did not wear their booties as those were hard to drive with and they would put those on before going into the very cold water. Most people preferred to surf barefoot but the water was just too cold for that. They had their hoods off their heads and headed through the gloom. This fog would burn off in a few hours, hopefully, and it would be a truly spectacular surfing day.
*
Legolas and Aragorn paddled through the water just beyond Pleasure Point and sat on their surfboards beyond the point where the waves were breaking. High tide was at 10:26 a.m. so they had hours to kill and some good surf up to that point as the tide came in. Neither of them liked to rush the waves and they took their time getting into the zen of the ocean. Sea otters10 were frolicking around in the kelp and that kept them amused somewhat.
“Look at this guy, Legs. He is pounding away at that urchin,” Aragorn said.
Legolas observed, “He is very determined.”
“Yes, he or she is. She could be a she. Why would he be a he?”
“Looks like a he to me.”
“But you don’t know.”
“No, I don’t. You are right. So she is very determined,” Legolas amended.
Aragorn, always knowledgeable, spewed some of the many facts he knew about critters in the ocean.
“Did you know that sea otters have to eat twenty to thirty percent of their body weight each day? It is because they have such a very high metabolic rate. They need a lot of calories.”
“That is very interesting, Estel,” Legolas indulged.
“It totally is AND they totally help maintain the health of the kelp forest by eating sea urchins. Otherwise, the urchins would deforest the kelp. It is the balance of nature in action. So very cool.”
Sometimes they got to talking and forgot to catch the waves and that was happening today. It was all about being out in the ocean and hanging out. They were not totally intense on their surfing and did not stress about missing the perfect wave that had just passed them by. Some people just freaked out over things like that. They were totally harshing on their mellow, if you got the drift. Neither Legolas or Aragorn were that uptight while there certainly were some uptight surfers out there - some gear head, wave hogging, anxiety ridden surfer types who needed to take the pole out of their hoo ha’s.
A beautiful cresting wave came up and Legolas paddled it in, standing up at just the right moment and riding it on into the beach, Aragorn wooped from his vantage point and almost missed his own wave in his enthusiasm for his partner’s ride but caught his own wave just in time. He rode it in and flipped some turns on the curling surf and enjoyed himself a lot. This is what it was all about.
Legolas was waiting in the shallows as he came in and then they paddled their boards out together back to the hovering point out by the kelp forest or otterville near their sea critter friends. Pleasant Point was a locals spot, known to surfers, and there were some other Santa Cruz regulars heading into the water. They had a good rapport with the home growns so they were not worried about any turf warfare. They were always respectful and they came down so they had “honorary local status”.
As they settled down to wait for their next tube, Aragorn could see the world begin to awaken. Joggers dotted the shore and there were a number of people walking their dogs on the beach. This was a very dog friendly area and the pooches enjoyed the freedom of an off leash experience. He could see a very happy black lab mix chasing a tennis ball on the beach right now. His owner threw the ball each time the black dog dropped it methodically at his feet. They had a total thing going on.
“Hey - you ever think about getting a dog?” Aragorn asked.
“Dogs don’t live very long, Estel.”
“But they are so fun to have around and hang out with and they can fetch and do other cool stuff.”
“I guess but you have to pick up their excrement.” The elf wrinkled his nose.
“True but they have bio bags for that so you never actually touch it.”
“Still, it is kind of gross.”
Aragorn knew Legolas was right but he still loved the idea of having a dog and a furry companion. It would be hard with their travel schedule but they had friends who could watch the critter and maybe they could travel less?
“Hey, what was that!?” Aragorn felt something by his leg under the water. He was hanging off his board at this point and kicking his legs in the water. He swam away from whatever it was but it circled around and came at him again. It was much bigger than a sea otter and felt the rough skin of an ocean predator.11 He tried not to panic as he knew that would incite the creature to attack. Thrashing, flailing and kicking up water was definitely a bad idea.
“Dude, dude. I think there is a shark over here.”
“No man, we saw otters earlier.”
“Look around, Legs. The otters have all scrammed.”
Legolas looked around and the otters had gone silent and run away from the area, a sure sign that a shark was making the rounds.
“It just brushed me again. I am trying not to freak out!” Aragorn whispered.
“Just keep still and it might go away,” Legolas whispered back.
No sooner did Legolas make that suggestion than all hell broke loose. The adolescent Great White Shark which was thankfully not fully grown reared up and attacked Aragorn’s surf board which seemed to be a tasty morsel to snack on. The longboard snapped in two and unluckily enough the shark dragged the piece that Aragorn was attached to dragging him quickly under the water. He had managed to take a breath and realized that his foot was attached to the piece of board by the leash strapped to his right ankle. He reached down and undid the Velcro, kicking up and away from the snarfing shark.
“Aragorn!” Legolas yelled and swam towards the spot where he had last seen him.
The man broke surface some feet away, rubbing his ankle.
“I am here,” Aragorn panted. “It has my board. It munched my favorite longboard. That is a total bummer.”
Legolas did not know whether to laugh or cry. “I am glad it did not eat you, Estel. That could have been you!”
“Right.” Aragorn’s eyes got wider. “Let’s get out of here. There could be more of them.
They warned the other surfers on their way back to shore, moving pretty quickly out of the water. Chances are they would not be attacked again but both of them were very tweaked out by the whole experience.
Aragorn walked out of the ocean without a board in his hands, which was kind of surreal and Legolas unstrapped his leash carrying his longboard under his arm. They both stopped to take off their booties. A young golden retriever ran by, chasing down a ball thrown by his owner, a scruffy looking guy drinking from a travel mug. It was still morning and hardly any real time had passed of the day. Aragorn could not shake the crazy sensations and sat down on the beach.
“Whoa.”
Legolas put down his board and sat next to his partner.
“You ok?” he asked.
“Nope. Definitely not ok. I am dealing with my near death experience and the inevitability of my own demise.”
Legolas took Aragorn’s hand and gave it a squeeze.
“But you did not die, Estel. You survived.”
“But I could have died, Legs.”
“Yes and you did not. Let’s focus on what actually happened not what could have.”
“OK.” Aragorn exhaled the breath he did not know he was holding. “You are right.”
Legolas leaned against his shoulder, “You are going to live a good long time.”
“I am like the dog to you, eh? Short lived. You will outlive me.”
“And wait until you live again. Such is the fate of mortals. We will meet again.”
“What if I come back as a big breasted woman?” Aragorn mused.
Legolas groaned.
“That would serve you right!” He cracked himself up.
*
So they kicked off surfing for Wednesday, too much trauma for one day and Aragorn had to get himself a new board. They stopped by the Roach Motel to shower and change and made a call to Noe Surf Boards 12 for an appointment at the factory on Delaware Street. They could have gone to a surf shop but Aragorn had his heart set on replacing his plank with something distinctive. He got something electric orange and tricked it out with a new fin and everything. Then they stopped by the surf shop for wax and Legolas agreed to do the treatment on Aragorn’s board himself since Aragorn was so traumatized (or played it up like he was). There was no way they were going to miss the rest of their surfing so Aragorn’s new board would need to be waxed. It would be easy to do since Legolas would only need to apply the wax and not remove an old coat.
*
Blog entry - Estel - November 24 - Shark attack!
So today in the oceanographic scene was totally eventful and my board got totally munched by a great white shark! I am as serious as a shark attack! It ate my long board and I really loved that board too. It almost dragged me down too. Good thing I thought fast and released my leash in time to get to the surface.
Seems a little late in the year for a shark but who knows what their habits are. It was not a full grown shark and I am glad it went for my board and not for me. I would have been toast. Totally a shark snack.
So before this all happened we had been hanging with the sea otters and had caught some good waves and having a good time. It was all copacetic up to this point. Then we had to go in and be all traumatized and freaked out. Well I was freaked out and Legolas was all calm and shit. He is like that - calm in the face of adversity.
Afterwards - of course I had to replace my longboard so we went to the Noe factory and I got a righteous new long board. And I am all tricked out for the rest of our surfing. I hope I am ok going back into the water.
I don’t care what people say - surfing is a dangerous sport!
Out.
-Comment - Oceans11 - OMG!
-Reply-Estel-I know - total trauma.
-Comment - Wavey Gravy - OMG! Dude!
-Reply-Estel-It was totally scary, dude.
-Reply-Wavey Gravy - I bet! Glad you are alright!
-Comment - Surfer Girl - OMG! I am glad you are ok!
-Reply-Estel-Thanks, chica!
(90 comments posted to this entry)
That night after a day of shopping, waxing, napping and sex (major life affirming sex), Legolas and Aragorn decided to go out to eat for dinner again and then would have some drinks at a local pub. Legolas knew that Aragorn would want to tell people about his “near death experience” and so having some brews would be a requirement of the night. Surfers loved to tell the dramatic tale of the tubular wave or the brush with death. It was part of what made the ocean legends live large in the minds of the newbies.
They settled down at their table at Naka Sushi, a locals’ favorite on 41st Street. The service was always a bit rude but the food was always delicious. They found it all a bit charming and ordered some sake to start with as they perused the menu and relaxed in the quaint ambiance.
Aragorn was still reflecting on his brush with mortality earlier in the day and waxed poetic.
“I am glad I did not die today, Legs. That would have been gnarly.”
“That is one way to look at it, love.”
“Yeah.”
They fell into companionable silence and sipped their rice wine, enjoying its warmth and letting it permeate their limbs. Aragorn got a nice floaty feeling and the tension of the day started to leave him. He took Legolas’ hand and entwined their fingers.
“I am not ready to leave you, Legs.”
“It was definitely not your time. You have many more waves to catch.”
“True, that.”
Their waitress came over holding her notepad, standing at the end of their booth.
“You ready to order?”
They had not really looked at the menu but they always got the same thing - miso soups, edamame and selections of nigiri. Aragorn could not help it as he asked, “Do you have any shark on the menu?”
The waitress gave them a withering look.
And that is how it goes for now but this is not the end as the waves crash and the tide rolls out.
References and translations:
(1) Surfboard prep - http://www.surfscience.com/topics/learn-to-surf/surfing-101/how-to-wax-a-surfboard
(2) Godzilla’s roar: http://www.npr.org/2014/05/18/312839612/whats-in-a-roar-crafting-godzillas-iconic-sound
(3) Estel means “hope” in Sindarin.
(4) Their car - Jeep Cherokee - 2012 - http://www.conceptcarz.com/images/Jeep/2012-Jeep-Grand-Cherokee-SUV_Image-01.jpg
(5) Undone by Weezer
(6) Ain’t that a Kick in the Head, S. Cahn, J. van Heusen
(7) http://www.santacruzsurfingmuseum.org/
(8) from Law and Order SVU
(9) http://360guide.info/wetsuits/water-temperature-chart.html#axzz3iHhBDKcZ
(10) About sea otters - http://marinelife.about.com/od/vertebrates/f/What-Do-Sea-Otters-Eat.htm
(11) Shark attack in Santa Cruz - http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Shark-attacks-prompt-swim-warnings-in-Santa-Cruz-5756585.php
(12) Noe Surfboards - http://noeboards.com/index.html