Close Encounters of Tom Keener Bodysurfer/Boomer Beach La Jolla-San Diego, CA

Since then, I've met and surfed with a bunch of A.Sers. And despite any satirical trolls to the contrary, they've ALL been good, fun interactions.

On that same bike trip, I stopped in at Bodega Bay and met Will Borgeson. He gave me a great tour of the institute there, then we hit the surf for a chilly session.

Neal Miyake's trips to San Diego were the incentive to meet some other San Diego A.Sers. I got wet with Tom Tweed, Neal, Rontiki and met Bill Andrews.

Foon's trip to San Diego instigated a great day cruising with George Barnes. George has been good about spreading the points around. He introduced me to Carson and Rod Rodgers, although the meeting with Rod seemed awfully short. Perhaps we can fix that on his next trip west.

JoAnn VanMeter and I had a nice lunch with tons of gossip at the Brockton Villa, a nice place overlooking La Jolla Cove.

There have been a few San Onofre get togethers, including a couple of Paloozas and the Dale Davis party. I met Neon, Craig, Dan "Crag T. Bagger" King, John Hermesman, SD Beachguy, Tim Maddox, BK, Dan'L, Sunash, and Son of Sunash. There were probably another ASer or two that I don't remember, and I'm not sure how many of us were in the water together, but I think the list at the bottom is correct. for the latest Palooza, Ben Rak was in town. i gave him a ride and a tour of the coast.

My trip to Hawaii in November of 2000 was a great opportunity. Sus, Glenda, Jules, Mr Jules (who i don't think has ever posted,) & I had a fun session at Sus's home break. later that week, Bud took me out at Gas Chambers for some fun waves. Later, on Kauai, I had a nice phone conversation with Denny Waller. It's a shame we couldn't hook up. (Do phone calls count for 1/2 point? It is a real voice, after all.)

When Andy Woodard came west, I gave him another guided tour of the North SD County coast.

And Rick Ciaccio has come down to surf my home break a couple of times.

 No overnight trips yet.

Talked to:  Denny "River Rat" Waller -- 1x.5=.5 [AS rules don't count points for email, talking, IM'ing, etc, but will consider these in the event of a tiebreaker.]

Aug. 29, 2001.  Hooked up with Neal Miyake, Bill Andrews, and Joanne VanMeter for Sushi after their session at La Jolla Shores (Dan King also surfed but didn't stay for sushi).  Truth be told, J & BA were too chicken, er, had chicken instead of sushi. (Sheesh. What is it with a little seaweed and eel that turns people off?) I just hope it was up to Neal's standards. FWIW, Neal drank twice as much beer as the last time I saw him. The lush. As usual, whenever A.Sers get together, it's a fun event. Thanks for the laughs, folks.

In the Lap of America... The Four Points Bike Tour of the Contiguous USA.
In the immortal words of Dennis Miller, I Am Outta Here!  FWIW, I'll be living at : keensurf@hotmail.com for a while.

Aug 13, 2001. I'm bored. It's time for me to see some new places, meet some new faces. I've got itchy feet and a fast motorcycle. The Silver Surfer (my trusty Honda) is tuned and ready to ride. I'll be leaving soon to see how many miles I can put on it in an all-too-short vacation. So, if any of you are desperate to score another point on the A.S spreadsheet of camaraderie, drop me a line and we'll see what my itinerary looks like.

Sorry, Havard and Alex, you guys will have to wait til next year. This is strictly on the North American continent.

Tom Keener 

Sept. 3, 2001.  Agent Utah reports meeting Keener with typical PNW hospitality.
Sept. 3, 2001.  Lemmings relates stiffing Keener with a PNW-sized bill.
Sept. 5, 2001.  Greg Wolf tells about Keener's visit:  TK blasted in quickly, and left almost as fast. We went to the Point, but there were no waves at the Point; nor, apparently, was there any point to the waves. He said the waves Tuesday were as big as the ones Monday that had Johnny U. drooling. I guess he had a longboard that needed to see some action..... Tk is a funny guy, good stories to tell, and an inquiring mind. Since surfing wasn't going to happen, we took a nature walk through my private
forest, BSed about computers, and threw dirt on folks in the newsgroup.  And he wouldn't fess up to
the truth about Glenda's bed.  [See GregWolf's story and pics:  The Swell That Santa Killed.]
Sept. 13, 2001.  DeeDee bubblelates, "...But, I am at least glad that Santa got to witness first hand,
a New England Beach going off, even if from shore!....and it was so great to be there by his side, as he observed it with much stoke and interest, & as he asked questions of some NE surfers walking by after their sesh, with boards in hand.
     I knew every second of our visit, that I was a lucky New England gal, to get to spend a few hours talking story & hearing the knowledgeable, indepth stories & observations about surfing, life & this amazing planet that we all reside on, that Santa most generously shared with every question I asked. It was equally so great to hear more about growing up & surfing in San Diego!
     It was really inspirational watching him take off from our drive way....in full rain gear, with the rain pouring down ....on his Righteous, Rumbling Motor Bike, 'The Silver Surfer', heading for I-95!!!!!! Talk About Pure Adventurous Stoke!
Sept. 14, 2001.  Rico, Doc and El Roca.  A _very_ good time was had by all.  And we didn't have to fish anybody out of the fireplace this time......
Sept. 15, 2001.  John Webster of Providence, RI, comments, "I heard a little about his trip, and man does that guy know how to miss waves. I hear he missed them in the PNW, he missed them on Cape Cod, and now he missed them in Rhode Island.  Never take a surf trip with this guy! :-) "
Sept. 15, 2001.  Mark push started Tom on his way out this a.m. Mon.....He really didn't want to leave after we turned him onto some of Jerseys finest pizza,chicks and waves and other things I won't mention.. =) (SurfSarge)
Sept. 17, 2001.  Santa visits his elves in Baltimore, drinks way too many porters, discovers true crab cakes and declares peace with all of the world except for Flek (despite our efforts).  Scott Woodling, Bruce Gabrielson, Neal Carver, my wife Beth and I (Rod) share dinner at a local Baltimore Pub.  (And he calls it the 4-points tour -- Santa added 3 points just in Baltimore!)
Sept. 19, 2001.  Keener in the Triangle.  Yes indeed, after a session at Hatteras and Frisco, Keener appeared in Cary (Concentrated Area of Relocated Yankees) to visit a friend. This being done, he was welcomed at a local beanery by the AS delegations from UNC (Catherine Elkins) and Duke (neither being a hip school, this amounted to exactly one person from each university).  By virtue of a secret token, we made him an honorary local for Nags Head. He now enjoys the protection of the First Street crew, and the right to drink beer at Eve's in wet trunks without being called a poser.  When last seen he was headed west, toward the mountains, on a fine fall day. [by Strayhorn.]

March 30, 2002.  Steve 'the Mind" Marshall's Visit to San Diego.  Did not surf but did get together with Bill Andrews, Joanne VanMeter, SteveM, Dan King and Terry Hendricks at Joanne's place (see pic).

Tom Keener Visits Oahu - 2003.

Early Morning Surf Check Tom, Friend & Rich, Feb. 9, 2003

Photo courtesy of Bud Williams,  http://www.wavelust.com

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AS Party at My House - March 2003. "That's right - it's party time. Alt.surfing's Drew and Glenda are visiting SoCal, so we've got to have a party." ~TK.  Pic posted at Joanne's site: Pic 1 and Pic 2. 

Yellow Bamboo Power in San Diego - July 2004. The evidence is pictured here. 

August 2004.  Bodysurfed with Sully.

August 2004 - SurferBob.  Turby responds to SurferBob's storyline, "Bullshit. It's all lies. Every last one of them. Well, except for the surf-riding. We did bodysurf the smallest rideable waves on the planet
that day. Where're our points? (Didn't you sign the non-disclosure agreement that was posted upstairs?)"  [See SurferBob's story here.]

Yooper Comes to Dinner - June 2005. Read the reports and see the pics here.

Turby the Turbosurfer

Point totals: 80