Today we tried surfing.  We woke up, hung out at the house for a bit, and then went to Pacific Beach to try surfing.  It was about $21/ea for an hour of surfboard and wetsuit rentals.  Not too bad.  I thought an hour was going to be too short, but BOY was I wrong.

We parked at the surf shop, walked down to the beach, and took a few pictures before we started surfing.  Molly lost her glasses within the first ten minutes – so that was a bummer.  She has a few pairs of contacts with her, so at least she will be able to see.

The wetsuit kept me surprisingly warm, even though it was chilly water.  The temperature outside wasn’t even very hot, but I wasn’t cold at all.  I paddled out multiple times and was able to ride the broken wave multiple times, but it was hard to stand up.  I would stand up, ride for a second, and then fall right off.  There are two types of waves to ride – the one that isn’t broken yet (the stereotypical C-shaped wave) or the one that is already broken (the white foam afterward).  I tried both, but had much more luck riding the white foam than the first one.  A few times I wasn’t even riding it on purpose, and found myself ZOOMING toward the beach on the white foam.

One time I stood up, did a belly flop into the ocean, but my surfboard kept trying to go forward.  This pulled me head-over-heels, but underwater.  I swallowed a lot of salt water today.  Another time, I was laying on the board and riding a wave, and was about to stand up.  I saw an Asian guy in front of me and I was heading straight toward him.  I ended up running into him (softly) and pinning his leg onto the sandy beach – he was fine.  I don’t know how to steer the surfboard!

Another time, I was paddling out and a wave knocked me backwards and flipped me backwards into the water.  I swallowed water that time too.  Apparently Matt almost ran into me once, but I didn’t even see him or know it happened.  One time I got to the beach and felt something pulling me back toward the ocean.  The line which attached my surfboard to my ankle was wrapped up in kale or seaweed, and it must have been a 10lb patch.  It was tugging at me HARD, and I had to un-velcro the strap from my ankle to untangle it.  One time I was pulled underwater, then came back up, then the board hit me in the back of the head!  This sport will beat you up in various ways, that’s for sure.  It was a blast, though.

I found myself trying to stand on the back end of the board, which was probably not a great place to be.  Now that it’s all over, I can visualize what I was doing wrong.  I wasn’t getting on my knees for a second before trying to hop up, and I was standing with my feet too close together towards the back of the board.  I think those were the two main problems I was experiencing.

To anyone who accepted the “lazy surfer” stereotype – it’s not true.  Those guys are some athletic individuals to be able to do that for over an hour.  I was so tired after about 45 minutes that I had to go back to the beach and sit on my board, panting to catch my breath.  You don’t realize it until you’re out there, fighting the current of the ocean, breathing in vast amounts of salt water, and still struggling to ride a wave.  It has to be one of the most exhausting sports I’ve ever participated in.  I think it’s comparable to soccer, because you’re always moving / expelling energy of some fashion while you’re out there.  I’m sure after the surfers are done for the day, they unwind and can appear lazy, but I’m more than confident that the relaxation time is much-needed to be able to keep up with the physical demands.  I can see how someone could become a beach bum and just surf all day!  It was a blast, and it was some damn good exercise as well.  And the scenery isn’t bad, either.

After surfing, we headed down the street to get some $0.99 drinks, then off to Ocean Beach to walk down the strip for a minute and experience the vibes there.  Real cool atmosphere – we went to a locally owned pizza place and there were two pet owners on the back porch – one with a small dog, and another with a Pigmy pig!  His name was Samson, and he was even litter box / potty trained.  So cool.  The owner has had him for about three months and said he makes a wonderful pet.  That was the first pig owner I have met, though (besides a friend from college who lived in Savannah and had a pot-bellied pig).  This was the first time I got to experience what having a pet pig in public was like.  It had a harness on, similar to the full-body harnesses that dogs wear, and it was acting just like a dog.  It was even side-by-side with two dogs and they were all getting along fine.

Now we are back at Matt’s – not sure what tonight will entail, but I think he is going to be meeting up with some of his friends later.  I’m not sure if Molly and I will tag along to go drinking, or if we will just walk around the city and explore a bit.  My stomach has been acting up since I went surfing..I think I swallowed too much salt water and it’s literally passing right through me.  Not too fun, but today has been a day to remember, for sure!