I saw Pono's thread about Maui.... absolutely beautiful!.... and a 180 degrees different from the Hawaii I lived in during the winter of 77'-78'.
I had just started to digitize all of my old photos and slides.
The Mexico thread started it... I pulled out Boxes and albums and took pics with my point and shoot so I could put them in my computer.... much tidier.
Last night I found a batch from my winter in Hawaii
I lived directly across the street from Sunset Beach, North Shore Oahu.
It was a different world then.
The North Shore was
country... old school Hawaiian... and surf bums like me.
All my friends lived in shack's, chicken coops, and rundown houses... and they were ALL right on the beach.... at Sunset Point and Pipeline. My buddy Phil lived in "the" Pipeline house... next to the old Quonset hut...RIGHT in front of Pipe... and it was a rundown shanty. Bet it's not like that now
I rented a little 2 room hovel built behind a house... $75 a month
I had it GOOD!
There were 4 surfers living in the chicken coops and 2 in cinder block rooms next to mine.
1 shared bathroom
1 garden hose shower
a HUGE garden with all the fruit you could eat
NO cable...internet...TV...phone
Plenty of 3" cockroaches, spiders & geckos
The "Compound" crew were all hardcore surf bums
Big Beef, Caveman, Peanut, Surf Dog, Brimo, Casual George and Avril... plus 2 trolls we ignored.
My landlord's father was the first postman in Hawaii. He was an ancient Japanese man... who chain smoked and sat in the front yard reading. His lap was covered with newspapers. He had dogs and cats sitting
all over him... they would crap in his lap... hence, the newspapers
(see the picture of Papa san and his dogs)
Downtown Haleiwa was old.... and awesome.... more like an old western movie set.
I saw the classic Surf Flick "Five Summer Stories" at the old Haleiwa Theater... before they demolished that piece of surf lore.
I watched Eddie win the "Duke" from my tree house... actually, 3 boards nailed to branches.
I hope you all get something from these pictures... it's not SUP... but it
is the spawning ground.
I need to post a
bunch of pic's to adequately portray the era.
And yes... I will shamelessly include the
only shot of me surfing Sunset... taken by Fred Piry from the water. He's the only one wearing a vest in "chicken coop" shot.
My house is the furthest right in the following photo... the metal roof behind the house was my piece of paradise. You can just see the chicken coops behind and left of my place. Notice how "country" the North Shore was then... all still local owned.
