I LOVE This Sport!

This weekend was phenomenal!  After much ado about surfing, Ted took me to the beach for my first surf lesson and I’m in love with it!

After trying for a few waves that didn’t pan out, I caught one that took me all the way to the shore. I think I actually may have heard him yell, “Jump off! You’re going to run the fins into the sand!”

There were some other rides that were almost as good, and in between those were opportunities to practice popping up on the board.

In between waves, my BF-turned-surf coach explained how sets work and what you look for when trying to spot a wave.  He told me what the shoulder is and what it means to be too deep or too shallow.  I practiced turning my board by moving my feet under water and learned the importance of really digging in as I paddle.

The day was perfect and the gulf was beautiful.  With white sandy bottoms and aqua water, I could see everything from my perch atop the board.  There were surprisingly few swimmers for the holiday weekend so I felt a little like the water was my own playground, even if only for that mid-summer morning.

When I reached my maximum sun exposure (while we may be the Fighting Irish, we win very few battles when it comes to skin cancer), we decided to head in go over to the local surf shop to outfit me with “real board shorts and a rash guard that fits.”  Evidently, I looked like a poser in my Columbia fishing shorts (Hey—they had built-in sunscreen!) and my borrowed rash guard.

Once we finished up at the shop, we had ceviche and fish tacos at the snack trailer next door.  We sat on a picnic table across the street from the gulf enjoying the lime, cilantro, and jalapeno flavors, which seemed to sing the words, “day at the beach.” Even though the next day was a work day, I felt like I was on vacation.

I’m sooo ready for my next surf session.