Thornton Beach

02/03/22 - posted by John Martini

Thornton Beach below Westlake was the site of my “surfer summer” in 1965 when a bunch of us tried to hang out on the sand and create a semblance of California beach culture.

Actually, it was more of a “hodaddy summer” since none of us had a surfboard, which was kind of a prerequisite for being a rad surfer dude. Someone eventually came up with a skim board but we never really mastered it. Lots of falling, though.

We spent a couple of foggy weeks hanging out down there, below the now vanished ranger station, trying to meet girls (not a lot showed up). We spent our time talking endlessly about cars, girls, rock music, girls, movies, girls and sports.

My mother later told me she felt heartsick watching me head out to the beach every day during that unendingly foggy Westlake summer. I think it was one of the factors that led my folks to move to Tiburon the week after I graduated from SI.