My alarm went off at 5:30am and we eventually got up just before 6am. We had to rudely awaken ourselves thanks to the street sweeping that was signed to start at 6am meaning no parking. I later discovered we could have slept until 7am, but it didn’t matter much. We drove back to the Ocean Beach carpark to our usual spot, me having to stop as we entered the carpark for an emergency pee on the beach behind a barrier. We parked up and I crawled back into Air Force for more of a sleep in. By the time we got up properly, the carpark was abuzz with morning surfers and sunbathers.

We crawled out and again, without much breakfast food, we left Astro where she was and drove Air Force One to the local supermarket to buy us some groceries. It was my first drive in Dan’s van and it was luxurious for both me and Cleo. Cleo took the only installed passenger seat while I lay on the bed, the wind in my hair and the scenery gliding by. What a wonderful way to travel! At the supermarket, we used their bathroom before strolling the isles like a domesticated couple (it’s fun to play grown-ups sometimes) with our baskets full of goodies. We got the usual, eggs, bacon, bagels, cheese and some chippies to snack on. We declined to pay $2 for an avocado. The whole while we were in the isles, I was texting back and forth with Kaila trying to coordinate the purchase of a canopy for our Coachella camp. By the time we left the supermarket, I had one ordered from Walmart for $50 that I could pick up that day.

While Dan went across the carpark to get cigarettes, I stayed with Cleo in the van. He came back with his self-proclaimed breakfast of champions. The homeless man nearby the man laughed at Dan’s joke and asked if he could have a couple of cigarettes to which Dan kindly obliged. We drove straight back home to Ocean Beach. After parking, Dan had a wonderful idea to string a hammock up between the two cars so we re-parked with a space between us and backed in. It was a winning idea. Some slings and a couple of carabineers later, my hammock was sturdily attached to both vans. Brilliant!

Dan enjoyed the hammock while I cooked up breakfast. He chatted to a couple of ladies about pitbulls just as I was finishing up. Our egg and bacon bagels were delicious. As Dan was putting some water on for coffee and hot chocolate, I was lazing in the hammock writing when a beach bum came up to us for a chat. He was properly tanned, tall and skinny with shoulder-length shaggy hair, a cool set of shades and a laidback demeanour. He was probably in his late forties and seemed to be enjoying nomadic life in his Toyota tray camp with his two black cats. Also named Dan, he walked up to us because his hammock was similar to mine, though they’d come from completely different places.

Tanned Dan hung out for a good hour or so as we sipped our coffee and hot chocolate, listened to music and chilled in the hammock. We learnt his story and some cool tips about Ocean Beach, including a Japanese bar that apparently had a great beer and sake special and a Father John Misty show that was happening that evening. Tanned Dan was eyeing the surf the whole time he was with us, trying to decide whether to jump in or not. Eventually, he rounded up his mates who were closeby, donned his wetsuit, grabbed his board and jogged off into the water.

We hung around a little bit more, alternating between lying in the hammock and lying on the sand. After working on my tan for a bit, it was getting a bit hot so we retreated into Air Force One to play some cards. With the back doors facing the ocean, it was a perfect setting. It was an even game, a perfect way to while away some time. Since it had warmed up plenty and we hadn’t had our shower for the day, we used the beach showers to soap ourselves down. I only felt a little bit like a bum using soap at the beach showers, but no one seemed to mind.

Dan came with me to the nearby Walmart where we both did a bit of shopping. It was obvious very early on that Dan is not a fan of shopping, just like me, so we tried to make the whole process as quick as possible. I decided to do the Coachella shop and get everything I thought Kaila and I would need for the four-day weekend except for the alcohol. Dan scored with a cheap pair of work boots for his tree climbing and a couple of bottles of Aussie red wine. No excuses now to not cut trees! On the way out I picked up my $50 canopy, informing the lady when she asked that everyone was buying canopies because we were all heading to the music festival.

We made one more stop at Harbor Freight to pick up four tarps to form walls of the canopy, per Kaila’s instructions. Not a lot of this made sense to me or Dan, but I assured him that Kaila was a music festival veteran and an expert in these sorts of things, so I was obeying her instructions blindly. Tarps in hand, our errands for the day were finally done. Back to OB! We drove right by highways that were packed with cars, but thankfully none of them were on our route back so we were back by the ocean within a half hour.

Back at camp, we tried Dan’s hammock between the cars this time and had much better success. His hammock was synthetic, light and wide so made for a good sitting hammock, even working for two people. Within minutes of us getting back to camp and cracking a beer, Tanned Dan was back. Now in a light Hawaiian shirt and shorts, he looked more chilled and happy than ever. He sat and rocked with me in the hammock and the three of us chatted while Cleo hunted for rats in the barriers between the carpark and the beach. Tanned Dan gave us his surf report for the morning and we found out about the farmer’s markets and hippie gatherings going on just up the beach from us.

We finished our beers, packed up the hammock and, leaving Cleo in Air Force One to nap, me and the two Dans wandered up the beach towards the fun. It didn’t take us long to find it. On the grassy area behind the sand, there were people everywhere and mellow music playing. Girls were manoeuvring hoops around their bellies and entire bodies and men were lifting women with their legs and arms in feats of great balance. There were drum circles forming, hips swaying to the sound of clanking jewellery and joints being passed between hands of all types. We lost Tanned Dan when he stopped to talk to a man in his VW van and he never ended up catching up to us. We wandered past the circus crowd and on to OB’s main street.

We were immediately immersed in the farmer’s markets, one of my favourite places to wander. Dan and I were on the same page in terms of our way to enjoy markets, just walking by, looking at stuff and people watching with no interest in actually buying anything. I even got a shoulder and neck massage from Dan as we walked! Now there’s a service he could charge for! We walked the length of the markets admiring the different types of artwork and enjoying the smells of the food and flower vendors, of which there were many. We reached the end pretty soon and turned about, going down the opposite side. We popped in to a grog shop to get some beers but didn’t find anything to tickle our fancy so carried on. Dan’s keen eye caught a Japanese place and he immediately thought this might be the place Tanned Dan was talking about with the $2 beer special. Sure enough, when we enquired, we got an enthusiastic nod from the tiny old Japanese lady and she set us up with our sake and beer at a prime spot by the window where we could people watch.

Only halfway through our first round, I got a call from Kaila. She was due to fly into San Diego at 6:40pm, but she was delayed by an hour. I feared I would be drunk by the time she arrived so we made a plan for her to Uber to Ocean Beach and meet us. Another round please! One thing led to another and we continued drinking, sipping from the sake and chugging our beers. Our talk became animated as we talked about our short history together and took inspiration from the people walking by us until we were in complete fits of laughter. I was amazed when a short, skinny Indian-looking young guy approached us through the window and asked if Dan would like to buy some weed for $5 a gram. This was just so easy for him! The seller got the attention of his colleague, a young girl who had that tired-drug addict look around her eyes. She was the one with the product. I marvelled at the smoothness of the exchange. Dan asked if they should meet around the corner, but Mr. Weed just said he was interested in looking at Dan’s beanie. They each took their beanies off, Dan trying on Mr. Weed’s and Mrs. Weed having a look at Dan’s beanie. Dan made a comment that Mr. Weed’s beanie was much too small for his head. During all this, the weed and money was exchanged with the beanies. Dan’s slide of hand was so effective I hadn’t seen where the weed ended up in his pocket.

We continued our drinking and talking with yet another round, probably about our third by now. When Dan, in his animation, knocked a bottle of soy sauce onto the ground, spreading glass and soy everywhere, he immediately put his hands in prayer to apologise to the restaurant owners. They were not phased and had a mop and bucket out with minutes. We temporarily relocated to a place by the kitchen but quickly retook our seats by the window. The whole while I couldn’t believe that the restaurant owners didn’t have a huge sign out front advertising this drinking special! We managed to entice a group of guys into the restaurant as they perused the menu and we told them of the great deal.

After four rounds for me, five for Dan (at a total cost of $20 with tip!!), we made a move to get back onto the streets. Kaila’s flight was due to land soon and we planned to meet her by the cars. On the way back, we were stopped by a local band playing, “No Kings”. We stopped to shuffle around a bit and even got into a bit of dancing, encouraged by the young kids around us moving their bodies like crazy people. Dan bantered with the band between songs while I held onto him for support since I was completely drunk. After I tried the Starbucks for a bathroom, which they didn’t have, we made our move to get back to the beach. We stopped at the first public restroom we saw, then walked through the dark back to base.

We’d only been there long enough to set up Dan’s hammock again when I got a call from Kaila who was in the carpark with her Uber driver looking for me. After standing with my arm raised, she eventually pulled up. She was actually here, it was hard to believe! We hugged, laughing as we did so, excited to be together after such a long time between hang outs. She met Dan and we got a beer into her hand while I cooked dinner. When Cleo made a new friend in a young man who was standing nearby, we invited him over to join us. Will, a 20 year old guy with a hipster look was enthusiastic to meet and talk to us. Kaila talked with Dan as he lay in the hammock while Will and I got chatting as I cooked. Will had aspirations to be a musician or an actor but seemed like a floater. He was friendly enough and when I asked if he’d like to join us for dinner, he happily accepted. The chicken, pesto and broccoli went down well and was well overdue for Dan and I with bellies full of beer and sake. Kaila, Will and I talked a fair while as Dan conked out in the hammock after all that food.

The talking continued as Will learnt about Kaila and my history with Tesla while Dan retreated into Air Force One to conk out for good. Kaila said that we had to finish our Coachella shopping tonight so, despite the very late hour of around midnight, we packed the hammock and kitchen away and got ready to drive off to the shops. We left Dan and Cleo snuggled up in the van and said goodbye to Will, declining his offer to drive us to the supermarket. Kaila drove the Astro the two miles to Ralphs since I was much too drunk to do so and she adjusted super well to the car’s character.

We didn’t much around at Ralphs, picking up only what we needed and getting out. Kaila used the bathroom as I packed everything in the car. When I say “packed”, I mean “threw everything onto the bed”. There was only so much organisation I can do, but with a canopy, two full cases of beer and an ice chest, there was no arranging that. We drove back to OB to meet Dan who was sound asleep under the covers with Cleo. I gently woke him and he followed us out of the carpark to find a spot to camp, as we’d done the night before. It didn’t take as long this time and we found two parks right next to each other. I set Kaila up in the Astro, shifting all our Coachella goods to one side so she had room enough to sleep. Once she was settled, I got into Air Force One for what would be the last night in a while. It must have been around 1am. No DVD tonight.