Tourmaline surf park, Pacific Beach

Name:Bill Dant

Home: Pacific Beach

Vehicle: 1997 VW Eurovan

Surfing: Tourmaline surf park, Pacific Beach

Bill Dant is a soul guy with a van to match his mellow explorer attitude. "It's a '97 Eurovan. They made them for about ten years. It's got a pop-up top and two beds. One of the beds is in the top." Bill pops the tent top for me. "I took my 21-year-old daughter to Texas in it. My son was in Iraq with the Army or else he would've gone too. My fiancé, Maureen, and I take it up the coast, camping and surfing, all the way up to Bodega Bay."

The Volkswagen van is an almost-self-contained unit. "There's no bathroom, so we stay in state parks for the showers, but there's a sink, propane stove, and refrigerator." Bill keeps his wetsuit in a gray plastic tub and his 6'1" Schrozbey fish, custom-shaped, board, in the cargo area. "I've had 8 or 9 boards in there at the same time. There's also a bar I can put across the front of the roof to hold more, but I've never needed it." Near the rear of the van, above the bumper, is a factory-installed nozzle and hose connected to a 20-gallon tank Bill uses to rinse off after a session in the water.

Bill's family is from San Diego, but he says he's from "all over." He recounts a trip to Phoenix to visit fiancé Maureen's mother. "We haven't been up to Alaska to see my mom yet, so we'll probably do that soon." Other plans for the year include a wedding on June 16th, and after that, a baby; Maureen's expecting. "My two kids are grown and I'm starting over," Bill says.

He plans to continue his travel-and-family life, but will always return to San Diego. "I just got back from 8 months in Tennessee. When I came in I went to La Heina's, saw the boardwalk and the ocean, saw the rollerblading g-string guy and Slow-Mo, and I said, 'I'm home.'"

Catch Bill at Tourmaline in Pacific Beach he says, "I surf here everyday." When he's in town that is.