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Peter Maguire's avatar

I needed more space for long recon trips to Baja. Suburbans were my favorite because the Mexican cops could not see your surfboards. This was important back then because surfboards=mota. I later moved to trucks with campers. One of them saved my life in a high speed head on with "un pescador borracho" near San Ignacio. I now drive a slightly dinged Toyota 4x4 to the surf

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@oliviajoffrey's avatar

Did you keep the back of the suburban filled with petrol in mid-desert low fuel emergencies? And El Pescador Borracho sounds like a great name for a novel.

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Peter Maguire's avatar

In fact I did and once went through 35 gallons driving from San Ignacio to San Juanico (100 or so miles as the crow flies). I got lost in the moon dust, broke a shock mount, bent the frame of my suburban, but made it in time for an evening surf. Local blacksmith Leo Cardio fixed me up, but the vehicle never drove straight again. Good innings

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@oliviajoffrey's avatar

Come hell or high water, the water.

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Kris Farren Moss's avatar

This East Coast gal fell hook, line and sinker for a SoCal surfer boy in a Toyota truck!

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Molly Gary's avatar

I’ve dreamed of a red or green mid 1950’s truck for forever. Would that fit the beachtown vibe your describing though? Maybe if it isn’t too shiny?

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@oliviajoffrey's avatar

Oh for sure a 1950s truck is so BB. In Santa Cruz, people parked them out on Hwy 1 and filled them with ollalaberries (they grow only around that geography) at the end of summer -- instant fruit stand. I love the shape of the 1940s trucks too. Curvy.

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Wade Graham's avatar

My first car in Santa Barbara in the early 80s was my sister's hand-me-down 1979 Datsun 720 pickup, which started life yellow, then when it got scratched and rusty my mother spray-bombed it black. With lumber racks to carry windsurfers it went all over the American West, doubling as a camper with sails draped over the racks. I wish I still had it.

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@oliviajoffrey's avatar

What an inaugural vehicle for a teen....You know I love this granular detail. If you have a photo of the old Datsun truck I can paint it as a memorial. The impromptu camper with the sails for walls is cinematic.

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Leslie Lundgren's avatar

We had an orange Toyota truck growing up - much like the one you created in your artwork, same model. So great for hauling things around - sandy kids, hay, furniture, items for picnics. I dream of having an old truck myself. xo

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@oliviajoffrey's avatar

I love this anecdote. I feel validated that my theory holds: the more sophisticated the family, the more useful the truck. I too have a soft spot ....

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Emma Bland Smith's avatar

Oh, how I would love a small, adorable, vintage truck! Mostly to haul furniture and to make bringing home a Christmas tree super easy. :) Maybe one day!

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@oliviajoffrey's avatar

I love that look: Christmas tree in the bed of a truck!

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Pedro De La Cruz's avatar

Love old trucks 🛻

So Bohemian.

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@oliviajoffrey's avatar

Love seeing you around town in yours, Pedro. And it's perfect for transporting the big canvases, right?

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