Growing up, we had a summer house on the beach on the Matagorda Peninsula where the Colorado River empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Once school was out for the summer, we moved down there until September. My big attraction to the beach was riding the waves on inner tubes. With my dad's construction company, we had a ready source of used truck, tractor, and wheel loader tubes. The truck tubes were "single" pilot vehicles, but the Loader tubes could carry three or four friends along with you for the inevitable wipeout.

When The Beach Boys kicked off the surf craze for the rest of the world outside California and Hawaii, I obviously had to have a surfboard. The problem is that the waves on the Gulf weren't exactly conducive to surfing - too small and too erratic because of the long flat coast. Still, I worked on techniques to the point were I sometimes could actually stand up for a few seconds long ride.

Next step - California Here I Come! My first trip way out west after contracting "surf fever" was to La Jolla. The waves were incredible! So I rented a board and prepared to really become a surfer! Cowabunga!!

Uh - one of the things The Beach Boys left out of their surfing songs is that the Pacific Ocean should be more appropriately called the Arctic Ocean. Fifteen minutes of advanced hypothermia and my surfing career was over.

Reeves

Surfin' Safari was created using 6 Acoustic Grand Pianos, 1 Hammond Organ, 1 Nylon Strung Acoustic Guitar, 2 Acoustic Basses, 1 Acoustic Bass Drum, 1 Acoustic Snare Drum, 1 Low Tom, 1 Closed Hi‑Hat Cymbals, and 1 Ride Cymbal 1.