Surfing Again!

I still can't believe it. The best three hours of the entire day, of the past three weeks, for that matter, came this afternoon. And, I could go! Not only that, but someone took a picture of one of my waves. Yep, this shot is of me returning to joy island.

I kept calling the reports from work all day. The winds started out onshore, which is always good, a sigh of relief for me. Good, I think, I'm not missing anything. But, by afternoon, I noticed the wind seemed to have lightened up... hey, I think it's offshore! Holy God of Oreo Cakesters... get me out in the ocean!

I listened to my messages as I walked home. The bike ride was on. Oh, no, not for me it's not. I am going SURFING. Andy had called, telling me to check it after work, that he had surfed on his lunch break, and it was definitely worth it. I was like a crazed addict then. I changed clothes, grabbed my board, and was at the beach in ten minutes.

Damn! The parking lot at tenth street was full. I went to eighth. I ran over the dunes and saw it, clean and green! Not real big, but fun size, and warm. Summer is nearly over. The first chilly weather is coming this weekend, they say. I could see it was a bit crowded, so I moved to the edge of the crowd. Oh, what a feeling... the first wave felt so good! Then it was non-stop fun. Wave after wave, they just kept coming. I never sat for more than 30 seconds, it seemed, for three solid hours. Those were some of the most finely groomed, absolutely gorgeously fun waves I have surfed since Hurricane Bill and Danny.

It just got more and more crowded, to the point that I looked around me and realized there was no where to go. As far as I could see, north and south, were people. Then it happened. This one perfect wave, bigger than the rest, came to me. I could see it rolling in out the back, and I paddled to meet it. It was almost too perfect, really. It A-framed right where I was, and I stoked hard to catch it. I took off and there it was, lined up like something out of a dream. The only part I didn't like was that there were about ten guys paddling out, and they all started hooting (well, that part I kinda liked), but it made me nervous. I know I was grinning because I was in it, and it just kept rolling along for the longest time, the guys passing over as I went, one by one. After it was over, I was so embarrassed at how loud they were all yelling that I paddled way down the beach. Auggie came up to me, and said,"That was an awesome tube you just had!" I thought to myself, it's probably pretty good that this young surf rat sees that the middle-aged lady that keeps order in the mornings in the school lunchroom can be out there surfing with him after school. When I was his age, I would have never imagined anyone my age would be out surfing. I would think someone my age would be home sitting in a rocking chair with a heating pad on her aching feet. Score one for the seniors!