I lived in SoCal for years.....I know the area. My pop loved the ocean.....He caught lobster and halibut right off the surf there...Can't do that anymore.
I used to surf up and down the coast. Never surfed Laguna...never was known as a surfing spot. Although did body surf there when I was a little kid.
My pop was a WW2 vet...in the So Pacific. And got called back for the Korean War...and ended up at Camp Pendleton...as he was living in SoCal. I guess..as you have educated me...that he was a PMI..as it rings true..from some of his comments, and where he was.
My dad was a tough guy, but fair. I'm sure he treated his men well.
“Never surfed Laguna...never was known as a surfing spot. Although did body surf there when I was a little kid.”
Yep Luguna was usually shore break of 1-2 feet, but given a south swell it could get real big, real fast. I always headed there when the right conditions arose. One of my mothers aunts lived there all her life. Clean beaches with clear, warm water.....It would be no surprise that Pop chose to suffer the daily commute down US 101.....