California Love
Two weeks ago Chip and I hopped on an early flight to San Francisco, California; a state I have been dreaming about visiting ever since I started wearing Billabong and Quiksilver like a local Cali grom in the third grade. When all of our farmers markets started to wind down last year many vendors asked us if they would be seeing us next year. Our response was often, “ We hope we will be doing some bigger events next summer.” I never thought these bigger events would take me on a trip that I had been dreaming about since I was a little kid. In just a year this job has taken me across the country, the world, and on my dream trip. Not many 23-year-olds can say this about their job and what makes it even sweeter is that with every trip we watch this business that is our baby grow.
Although we only got to explore for two days I know that we definitely made the most of it. Within an hour, of touching down we were standing on the pier with a foggy view of Alcatraz asking one another, “Who the hell would try and make that swim”?! After some lunch, with a similar view the sky opened up and we decided to see as much of the city as we could. Our first stop was to a local skate spot where we got to see what the hype was all about (we still think east coast skaters are just as good). We couldn't stay in San Francisco without getting a good look at the Golden Gate Bridge so we rented some bikes and started our 4.5-mile trek to the base of the Bridge. Although I recently tweaked my hamstring attempting to wakeboard and STRUGGLED through the ride it was worth every second. The beautiful piers, homes, and views of the water made every second of the bike ride worth it. When we got the base of the bridge we were in awe at its size and ability to make a massive building look so small; the perfect waves that were breaking to the left of the bridge were not a bad sight to see either. Chip and I agreed that we had seen some of the best sights San Francisco has to offer and decided to call it a night.
The next morning we woke up early and decided to take a little detour on our trip to Fremont and stop by Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. This gave us a chance to drive down one of the most scenic routes in the world, The Pacific Coast Highway. Driving on the winding roads along the Pacific ocean made me feel like I was in the scene of a movie. When we got the Half Moon Bay this feeling was only amplified by the sight of the world famous wave Mavericks. Movies have been made about this specific wave and getting to witness it in person was a truly humbling experience. It wasn’t a big day by Maverick standards but Chip and I were still floored by the power of the waves crashing against the rocks. The stop at Half Moon Bay gave us so much respect for the surfers that have died there doing something that they truly love. After this epic experience, we decided to head down to Santa Cruz to chill and take in some culture. I instantly fell in love with the laid-back vibe of Santa Cruz and at one point I looked to Chip and suggested that we just buy a surf shack here and call it our office. An idea that was not instantly shot down so I still have hope. Now it was time to head up to Fremont and get ready for a long two days of selling at the Fremont Festival of the Arts.
The Fremont festival was filled with great vendors and people with so much diversity between the booths. We got put right across from a pirate ship so speaking over a screaming pirate all weekend was interesting, to say the least. Throughout the weekend so many different people were excited about our idea; one of the most common things we heard was how cool people thought it was that we were so young and owned the business. Hearing this only motivates us more to keep growing this business. Overall, the event was a great success. We got to show our brand to a whole new region of the country and made some new friends along the way.
At the end of the day, I can say that Cocochew put it down for Californ-I-A
P.S.- Big thanks to Cindy Bonior for letting us be a part of such a great event and a huge shoutout to@jaylimavisions for the pictures of our booth. Check him out on Insta and FB for some great content!
