Green Morning Water

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12th. I was pissed that I pressed snooze three times. I was only going to give myself one time. Then two times. Then I hit it the third time.

I shoulda been out there sooner.

It was perfect.

A green water day and the faces were so clean. No wind. Pink from the sunrise etched gently on the surface.

This morning’s session was so peaceful. The waves were gentle and had the perfect amount of push.

It filled my heart with stoke and gave me such ease for the whole day. I felt like I’d swallowed the sun. I really couldn’t think of a time where I felt so at ease. I hopped on Timmy’s skateboard at lunch and just pumped along King’s and hadn’t a care in the world beyond that one driveway that’s all pebbles and scatters pebbles in my path.

Today was another day where I surfed with other people around me whereas usually I’m a total agoraphobe and about ten miles from the biggest peak and crowd. But I’m getting a little more comfortable taking off with other people around me and taking waves.

6th. I went out for a second sesh with Jill and didn’t get much. Got one wave within the first ten minutes then nothin’ the rest of the time. We were at dead low tide. The waves looked promising then just died. The wind picked up and it started to rain. At one point, by 12th, it felt like we were living in a black and white photograph, it was so beautiful and strange. It got stormy and I didn’t like the vibe with the crowd and I was exhausted so I headed in. We hit Throwback and Kenny Brothers Band were playing.

They were out of Donkey Jote IPA and it was sad but Campfire Porter made it better.

Everything's Always Wet but Life Is Good

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8th and 10th. Peter Matthiesen said it in The Snow Leopard. Something about — in order to know, you really have to go.

There are days that just look like nothing on the cams and when you first get there, they seem like nothing.

And then some sets roll in, or you ride one, and you realize there’s some power to it.

And you look around and no one else is out there save the gulls and the monarchs and you think, “Suckers.” In the kindest way, of course.

Today was such a day. Although to their credit, there were maybe four other surfers out.

I had a couple really sweet, surprisingly long rides given that the tide was rolling in fast. I got out at 4:15—high tide is set for 7:52pm and by 5:30pm we were nearly getting some reverb and losing sight of the boulders that sit by the stairs.

It started raining when I got out there but no lightning. It felt like a day for gloves and booties when I first got out there, which was a little sad.

Backside is coming more natural, and I tried to gas it with my front leg a bit and it didn’t go terribly. Not having touched the water for just two days felt so weird. I’ve basically jumped in every day I’ve been here this summer—I didn’t Sunday b/c I lost the light coming home from Melissa’s lake house and didn’t yesterday b/c I was a wave snob for once.

I can’t be a wave snob.

It’s terrible.

This situation on my ankle from the skateboard fall is not healing. It sits right where my leash pulls if I lose my board and just keeps ripping it open. For the next week I’m going to practice better control of my board. I’ve known for a while I need to be better about not losing it on the wave and now I have added incentive b/c my ankle looks like hell.

I got to do laundry today and meet Ozcat. He likes to sit in the tub all day and especially likes when the water hits his head. He’s gray and wears a bowtie.

Even though everything is always wet—my wetsuit, my bathing suits, whatever I put on the porch from morning dew, life is really, really good.

“Success isn’t about how your life looks to others. It’s about how it feels to you.”
— Michelle Obama