Why So Serious, SC?
The city of San Clemente is a pretty chill place. It has a laid-back surfer vibe, but sometimes, us locals just get really worked up about certain things. Check out the top 5 below:
1. The Pico Freeway Exit Fiasco: You know the one: Heading north from Southside on the 5, exit 76, the exit to get to San Clemente High School. This exit has been the source of so much frustration, anger, and anxiety among local drivers since the dawn of time. I can't tell you how many posters I've seen over the course of the years at this exit that scream "YOU HAVE YOUR OWN LANE!". And they're correct. The right lane has its own turn lane to merge on to Pico, but for some reason, people ALWAYS wait way too long to go. When it's a red light, you tap your breaks, stop for a second, then merge. When it's a green light, you don't need to stop. People seem to think they'll crash their cars if they merge into this lane while cars are coming towards them, but I promise, you most likely won't. To the rare assholes who merge into the right lane at the exit, you're asking to get hit. Just wait until you pass Mcdonalds to get into that lane! It's simple etiquette people. I get so worked up about this issue, but I know I'm not the only one.
2. Beach Babies: It's an unspoken rule that I'm about to speak: your age determines what beach you go to. As a young kid, you most likely go to the pier with your family. You hit age 10-11 ish and you claim T Street as your own. You stay at T Street until about 7th or 8th grade, when you then make the leap to Rivi. Rivi is the cool hangout spot for middle schoolers and early high school students. But don't worry, you no longer need to mark your name on the Rivi steps in your own blood- us older kids did that for you years ago. After Rivi, you enter this weird limbo state. Your older friends are trekking towards Lasuens, but your younger friends still cling to Rivi's memories of ice cream and Arizona tea.
Eventually you make the transition to Lasuens. With every step down that dusty trail, you enter the world of late high school. You play a game of pickup volleyball at the courts, or watch your friends surf all day. It's the epitome of beach life in San Clemente. It's where every holiday is spent to its fullest. But then, something strange happens. You graduate high school, and go off to college. You come home and hangout with some of your younger friends at Lasuens, but it feels different. It's no longer your beach. You feel ownership slipping away, passing it along to the next generation. The second year home from college is even stranger, because you realize you don't know anyone at Lasuens. The place where you spent all of your senior ditch days and summer nights has been handed off. You no longer feel welcome there. That's the age I'm at, and it's a sad realization. Now, we go to the Hole: aka the beach for college kids home for summer. It's more secluded, untouched by high schoolers, and feels like a new beginning. The Hole will be my beach home for the next year or so, but what happens then? Do we revert back to the pier? When our friends start having kids, do we start the cycle all over again? I'd like to think so. The greatest part about this cycle is that it's just accepted, no one questions it. It's one of the most silent traditions in San Clemente, but it keeps the order in town and the beaches peaceful.
3. Talega 'Traitors': The territory wars are ever-blossoming in good ole San Clemente. Talega was a new housing development added to northern San Clemente about 18 years ago. Still, to this day, some locals refuse to accept 'Talegians' as true members of San Clemente. To those of you who argue that the zip code difference makes Talega 'not a real part of San Clemente', I pose this question to you: what is the zip code of the high school, one of the most 'true' San Clemente features? That's right, it's the same zip code as Talega. Stop hating on the Talegians, we have Panera Bread.
4. The 4th: July 4th is more than just a national holiday. Here, it is the end-all-be-all holiday. People start making plans for the 4th in June. As a high schooler or college student, you better get a parking spot at Lasuens as early as possible, but make sure to bring your cooler down so you don't trek up those steps too many times. Fun fact: a few summers ago, I legitimately slid down the Lasuens steps. I was running down giddily, happy to celebrate the day, when I felt my footing slip on the dirt hill right where the stairs end. I slid all the way down, past families and children with their mouths gaping, past teens who jumped over to get out of my way, past surfers who stopped to watch the horror. My face was as red as my backside after coming to a halt near the bottom of the hill. A nice mom stopped to ask if I was okay, and humiliated, I got up and ran to the water. I managed to wash the blood off in the ocean before re-joining my friends, but I'm pretty sure I still have a scar from that awful slip.
This most recent 4th was the first year I didn't go to the beach, and honestly, it was still really fun. Going to the Harbor was a nice change of pace.
5. Lost Winds v Lasuens: Another wild debate among locals, the Lost Winds vs. Lasuens argument is one yet to be settled. Technically, the electric unit by the train tracks does say "Lost Winds Beach". However, the street you park at and walk down to get to the beach is Lasuens. The fact that these two names sound so similar doesn't help either. Everyone knows what beach you're talking about whether you call it Lost Winds or Lasuens, but people get caught up on the "correct" name of our beloved beach. Personally, I call it Lasuens, simply because it rolls off the tongue more easily than Lost Winds. Recently, a Snapchat geofilter has been created claiming the location is "Lost Winds Beach". I feel kind of annoyed. There should be a "Lasuens" Snapchat location as well, for those of us who refuse to conform to one name. There is also some debate over the spelling of Lasuens. Some people prefer to spell it Lausens, while others prefer to spell it Lasuens, as in the street Calle Lasuen. Whichever way you spell it or pronounce it, it's all the same beach.
What are your opinions on these local debates? Is Talega finally a part of the real San Clemente? Do you honk at the people who take too long to turn off Pico? Let me know in the comments!
xo
*All sources linked to photos