Ready When You Are

You never know when the tides may change in your favor and you get that ultimate phone call that says, "Surf's up!...come NOW" or "I'm at Grand Caribe about to do a long distance paddle, you coming?" or "It's a beautiful day, come meet us on the beach." I'm into spontaneity so my wanna-be surf mobile needs to be stocked with what I need in a moment's notice.  I don't want to have to go through a long thorough checklist of things to grab. So, most of my beach gear is already in my car, ready to roll.

I don't have a cool truck or van that makes it easy to stow whatever you need.  I have a 10 year old, compact 4-door Galant as my play vehicle.  It's not your ideal surf mobile but I make it work for me.  I use every nook and cranny:

In my center console, I keep my sports watch, sunblock, chapstick, hairt tie and valet key (Hmmm... maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the key.)

In the back seat, I carry a 12-gallon tupperware which holds a towel (or two), hat, more sunblock, a fleece jacket (for those chilly days flat-water paddling), make-up bag with chick stuff and tie-downs.

In the trunk, I keep a couple of beach chairs, blanket, long paddle (flat-water paddling), short paddle (surfing), cooler with water and gatorade (stays in the trunk fully stocked) and gps.  It took me a while to figure it out that it was easiest to just keep everything in the car instead of unloading each time and then forgetting something when I did get out to the water.  So basically now, I'm ready for some fun in the sun anytime.