Trestles (write-up from Nat Geo Traveler)

In the October Issue of Traveler, our Destination Watch department looked into the ongoing controversy surrounding Trestles Beach in Southern California, a shore made famous in the Beach Boys classic, "Surfin' U.S.A." National Geographic Magazine production coordinator Jeff DiNunzio recently visited the beach and sends us this update.

What comes to mind when you think Southern California? These days, its infinite sun, boundless blue skies, waves…and traffic. Given that cars now outnumber drivers nationwide, a bit of bumper-to-bumper can be expected. Yet, recently it’s put the community in an uproarious mood. Just below San Diego’s northern border with Orange County sits San Onofre State Beach, or San O. The park includes three distinct areas, the Bluffs, San Onofre Surf Beach, and San Mateo Campground. San O has been a source of volatility over the past year—a battleground between supporters of highway infrastructure development and challengers who favor fewer cars and preserving the park.

The Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) wants to extend the Foothill Toll Road—route 241—and link coastal Orange County with its expansion eastward. In order to combat the estimated 30 percent population increase expected in south Orange County in the next quarter century, the TCA believes the six-lane, 16-mile extension will be a vital accommodation. The road in question falls under the California highway system but is operated by the TCA, which “is funded by the sale of bonds to both private individuals and institutional investors.” It even boasts a list of supporters—and research on congestion induced environmental hazards—to prove it.


The addition, however, would cut through a patch of well-maintained terrain in San O. Opponents fear it will threaten the operation of its campgrounds (eliminating all of San Mateo’s 161 sites); slice overall water and wildlife quality (San Mateo Watershed purportedly contains seven rare or endangered species); and assault the waves that clobber the beach. The assertion that new roads will mitigate, rather than worsen, congestion has met persistent skepticism. Organizations like Save San Onofre, the Surfrider Foundation, and United Coalition to Protect Panhe are campaigning to counter the TCA’s lobbying efforts for approval, boosting press coverage to rouse public support.

The surf break, known as Trestles, hosts the only Association of Surfing Professionals’ World Championship Tour (WCT) contest on the mainland United States. Each September, thousands of spectators crowd San O’s shores—already the fifth most visited of California’s roughly 270 state parks. So, on Friday, September 12th, I went. But the contest was over and the pros had skipped town. (WCT events have about a two-week waiting period so they can be held in the best waves, thus, end dates fluctuate.) A blessing perhaps. People travel far to attend the contest. But on a normal day, it’s mostly local surfers and beachgoers hiking the two trails—one paved, the other not—to the beach. Rather than watch surfers and talk to out-of-towners, instead I surfed and spoke with the locals.

“It’s pretty amazing that sandwiched in the middle of San Diego and that whole L.A. mess is a relatively pristine natural habitat,” said Kyle McGee, a skinny, curly-haired San Diegan who frequently surfs Trestles. “You were out there. You saw how clear the water is. And the white wash from the waves—where else in California have you seen anything that blue?” Nowhere, in fact, except the sky.

Surfer and science teacher Nick Ritchie has been camping at Trestles since he moved to Los Angeles five years ago. “Just look at this place. North and south are all paved—stores, houses, parking lots, freeways. I don’t think saving the park for its own sake is a bad reason for denying the Toll Road. There are mountain lions in the hills and steelheads in the creek. And those waves...there’s a reason the contest is held here and not anywhere else on the West Coast.” He makes valid points. “Here’s what I don’t get: how can the government override the Coastal Commission’s decision against the construction? I understand the right to appeal, but at some point the Feds have to concede that the local community knows what’s best for itself.”

The decision Ritchie referred to was made by the California Coastal Commission (CCC) last February to deny the TCA’s request to build the extension. The CCC “is an independent, quasi-judicial state agency” charged with planning and monitoring “the use of land and water in the coastal zone” in coordination with the California Coastal Act of 1976. How does the CCC view the controversy? They voted 8-2 against the toll road earlier this year. At the February hearing, Executive Director Peter M. Douglas said, “this is the most significant project to come before this commission since the San Onofre nuclear power plant in 1974. I know of no other coastal development project so demonstrably inconsistent with the law that has come this far in the regulatory review process.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an apparatus of the U.S. Commerce Department, reviewed the TCA’s appeal at a public hearing on September 22 in Del Mar. A decision by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez is expected by January 7th, 2009. If the appeal is won, and the newest extremity of the 241 approved, there will still be a reason to visit San O’s campsites, trails, and beaches: legal and logistical delays. The implications of the road are debatable; the status of the park is not. For now, it's open for all to enjoy. So, as Orange County wave rider Alex Knost suggests in the 2007 film One California Day, “enjoy it while it’s here and quit complaining.”

Sara from 2123 confessed!

Simple proclamations can be amazing, especially those shouted in silence to an unintentional audience. You see, apparently Sara, my housemates’ neighbor, has been stealing figs off the tree out front. Firm, but not free of bruises, these odd fruits have long been associated with the Keebler Elf and his freshly baked newtons. The green rounds would result from copulating golf-and-tennis balls. This fig tree is bountiful, and often underused.

Sara’s over at 2123 North Oakland--to the right or the left of the driveway who knows? When I arrived at 2125 tonight—to surf another in a quiver of couches—Sara’s note was on the dinner table. Nobody was home; there still isn’t. As the grocery bag hit, the note awoke. I was obviously not the recipient, but we’re all snoopy some times—occasionally it doesn’t require more than standing in one place. I read it.

Real time internal monologue: Drama?

“I confess,” she declared.

Really? Is this the “I backed into your parked car” preface? It goes on.

“I have picked some figs from the tree in your yard.”

(Gasp!) Figs? Ok. You mean she took the time to politely inform them that she’s been violating the boundaries of the property…for figs? That…is…very cool. Sara wasn’t finished.

“I’ve knocked on the front door when cars were here twice to see if you’d mind,” went the explanation. “But no one answers.”

Well, can’t fault her there. She did knock; the missing figs received roughly equivalent attention. Why wouldn’t she just take them? (<- Observe cynical, conditioned thinking.)

Sara concluded with an inquiry: “Do you intend to use those figs, or would it be ok if I pick more?” (Nice comma usage.) And an offer of pacification: “P.S. – Can swap some tomatoes from the garden if you like.” (Ah, so you're on that side of the house.) “Your neighbor.”

There’s a lot going on that illuminates the darker tendencies of our kind—it draws curious crowds. But sometimes, once that media reaches a saturation point, acts of unadorned politeness and general respect for people—things that have somehow been detached from normal expectations—become profound. Maybe none have happened lately—maneuvers that sharply contrast those confronted on Dateline. Sara didn’t need to write that note. No one living in this house over the past five years has ever shown a legitimate interest in those figs. This woman gave a shit about something that has gone all but neglected and still took the time to request permission the publicize the affair. But she did.

An incident of plain, unexpected pleasure at an expression of common courtesy. Sara must enjoy a light conscience.