Newport Beach Parking MADNESS

Sunday I went surfing at Newport. I parked in the parking lot as usual and hiked it three jetties down to find some surf, as it was pretty flat everywhere. I did find a wave breaking off the 36th St. jetty. It was a makeable left, about 2ft. so I hiked it back to the parking lot to get my board. I surfed it for maybe an hour, catching half a dozen waves and then calling it a session. Waves were pretty few and far between.

After I got back to my car and changed, I took a walk on the pier. As it is every holiday weekend these days, the pier was packed with people fishing, as was the parking lot.

As I approached my car to leave, I noticed a woman who was blocking a lane in her SUV as another woman tried to sneak her SUV into the spot. The woman closest to the spot yelled at the other woman, saying that she was saving the spot for her mother, who was winding her way through the packed parking lot to try and snag the spot. You see, the woman who was trying to save the spot drove an SUV that wouldn't fit in the spot because there was an RV parked in the next parking spot.

I was beginning to get amused at the exchange taking place.

The woman in the other SUV tried to get in and then the other woman would move forward, then back, effectively blocking her. The lot began to back up as one could only imagine, as these two grown women had an exchange of ideas. At that point, I walked up to the woman who was trying to get into the spot and told her, "I am leaving, you can have my spot." She said thanks, and as I walked to my car, she was slow to move. The woman who was blocking the spot, yelled at her, "Move it Bitch, the guy is parked all the way down there." I was really beginning to get amused. As I pulled out of my spot, the woman waved a thanks and finally parked her SUV. I didn't see how the other woman fared, or if her mother was able to wend her way through the bottleneck created by her daughter.

It was really a sad reflection on the society in which I live. Two women, probably soccer moms, arguing over a stupid parking spot in Newport Beach, CA as people still perish in New Orleans. These women were unbelievable, especially the one hoarding the spot so her mother could get it. At that point in her life, that spot was the most valuable thing to her. Pretty sad commentary on life's priorities.