I came back to life today...

All it took was a little swell, some offshore winds, and a few of my friends.

Happiness.

It took some searching this morning. My phone was ringing non-stop at the crack of dawn. Tom called first, and said he wasn't going to drive all over looking for waves today. Famous last words, as they say. The wind was supposed to come up soon, and he was going straight to the ramp at Matanzas, where it had been good yesterday. Again, famous last words.

Andy called from his ramp, it looked knee high, he said, "Shoots."

Bob called to say he had checked Summerhaven, and it was "sort of breaking." Ack! I want to surf, but I don't want to ride my funshape! I need to get ready for my trip, and surfing on that board makes me feel lazy. I need to ride the Dominator.

Everyone wanted the report from the pier. But, I was delayed a tad. I had to get up at dawn and take the cattle herding dog (the one I am baby-sitting this weekend),Taz, for a walk before I could get into my wetsuit.

Once there, I could see the tide was too high. It wasn't even breaking. I called everyone, but by then they had done all the traveling and checking (Yay!), and it had been determined that the new wash through quazi-river mouth was the best spot. When I pulled up there, they were all pulling on their wetsuits. All except Bob, who was following a hopeless hunch to some spot further south.

Mark was there, and we hugged. It was good to see all my surf pals. It had been so long!

Spring was in the air. The sun was warm, and the sparkling water was pulling me. I was the first out, then Andy, Mark, and Tom. Oh, what joy to be in the ocean again!

Tom and I stayed out for hours, until the clouds began to roll in overhead, and the wind picked up. There were two waves, just two, that were more than worth the paddle out. I never thought that I would look out of a tube on a day so small, but it happened. But, beyond that, there is just something about being out there in the ocean, the sun sparkling on the waves like a thousand diamonds, the waves so clean and smooth, that just makes everything else stop...

The wind wasn't so bad, the water wasn't even that cold. I determined that if New Zealand's water temps are not too far below today's, I will be fine. I left off the gloves, and my hands never cramped. I did feel a bit slow on the fun shape, after surfing so little over the past month. All the yoga in the world can't help as much as just paddling out. I must paddle out every day to prepare.

Famous last words.