"on the verge of too much gnar" by dr. gay panda
if there is such a thing, it's called washington street. washington street is a "diy" skatepark project comparable to burnside (by idea).
we went to san diego with brian and mike of old man army for ASR. i had never been to one but my main excitement was getting out of town and going to some new skateparks. we got into SD on thursday, made our way up to encinitas to stay with mike's brother. the next day we took the train back down to SD and i got one picture from the train.
asr was kind of boring, the food was expensive and rather disgusting, no beer to keep me alive (unless i wanted to spend a ridiculous amount on shitty beer - no thanks). the coolest things i saw: index ink booth, the skateboard art show, and a crazy looking guy from tapout. seriously i stepped into another world when i saw this guy coming through and people stopping to gawk at him and kiss his hand.
the guy in the camo on the right (photo by mrz):
http://www.concretedisciples.com/skate_photos/details.php?image_id=7582
i met some super rad people at asr as well.... we left after about 6 hours and went back to our hotel... the next day (saturday) it was ON though..... going to washington street in the morning and then asr later that day?
so we grab our boards, a bagel, and a cab and head to washington street. when we got there, i was thoroughly intimidated. first of all, i was lucky to be there. this place was built by locals and it's their "territory", i don't RIP like them but i know i'm privileged because of my company. my boyfriend helped do some work on the early stages of construction AND HE RIPS. so i'm the lucky one.
after being there for an almost an hour, he could tell i was feeling timid. so he comes over and says "come on, you're going to skate!". phew!! i was just sitting there thinking that i wish he would come over and make me get off my ass. so he takes me over to the bowl in the back, OMG. i crawl in and my legs are already shaking. he says "it's like tempe" (referring to the bowl at tempe - the tight little one) and i think "oh no it's not" just looking at it. here we are in the pink heart going over strategy :) (photo by oldmanbrian)
i knew i had to approach it like he said though. i fully trust him. so i get about halfway on the waterfall and slowly roll into a toilet bowl carve. coming out of it, i felt the ripples in the concrete and i was so stoked i jumped off my board and was like "wooHOO!". i did the same thing probably another ten times, feeling more and more comfortable each time. eventually more rippers started showing up so i took my spot by the grill and the secret beer stash and chit-chatted to anyone that stopped long enough. needless to say we never made it back to asr.
that night i went back to the hotel dreaming of the bowl. and i woke up thinking about it. the next day which was sunday, we go back to washington street. the gate was locked so we waited for the locals to show up. within 15 minutes we were in the gate. i headed straight for the bowl. i probably carved it 50 - 60 times through the few hours we were there before we had to leave for the airport. i'd take 10 runs, take a break, get back up and do it again. each time i felt like starting over and after the 4th or 5th time, i was back into it. my bf gave me pointers on how to get up higher in the bowl and turn more. scary at first but i have to say that it was one of (if not THE) best time i ever had skateboarding. my legs were exhausted for the next week but it was totally worth it!!!!!
oh and here is a rad griptape sticker a guy named frank that we met was giving out....
more pictures from old man brian (i really need to get a camera!!!)
my boyfriend in the bowl...
