Going Outside

I took my third surf lesson yesterday and was hoping to learn how to actually paddle to "the outside" of the breaking waves and actually catch an incoming wave as opposed to the whitewash after it has broken. This lesson was definitely more difficult and exhausting than my first two. We did paddle to the outside, but we spent a lot of time paddling up and down the coastline, trying to get me lined up perfectly to catch a wave that would be an appropriate size for a novice. Ultimately, I caught a wave, but the feeling was so strange and new that when I tried to pop up into a standing position, I pretty much lost track of what I was doing and wiped out. I'm kind of glad that I fell off because my biggest fear about surfing was how rough that part of the experience would be, and honestly, it wasn't that big of a deal. I fell off my board into the wave, rolled around underneath it for a couple of seconds, and then it passed and I came to the surface.

I was really hoping that I would be able to stand up on at least one wave during the lesson, but after I caught and wiped out on that wave, it was the end of the lesson, and I was pretty exhausted by that point. Now that I have had a little taste of "the outside" and what it feels like to try to catch the incoming waves, I am going to keep practicing my pop-up skills in the whitewater and maybe in a couple more weeks I will sign up for another lesson to try again.

Summer At Last

Well, this summer has been an unusually cold and gloomy one for those of us in LA. It is pretty typical to have primarily chilly, overcast, foggy days in May and June, the "June Gloom" as it is called, but usually by July the weather starts to turn around and we have a least a few weeks of very warm (if not sweltering) weather in August and September. This year, though, it seemed like summer was never going to come. The idea of the summer months passing us by without a season of hot days and warm breezy nights was just about to send me into my own state of gloom, and then finally, the heat wave came.

Over the past few days, LA has seen the hottest weather in all of the recorded weather in Los Angeles. On Monday, the temperature in downtown rose to 113 degrees and I heard reports of temperatures as high as 130 degrees east of LA out towards the desert. While many people have been complaining about the heat and praying for it to let off, I have been in pure heaven. I'm not exactly sure what it is. Maybe the weather reminds me of summertime as a little kid-definitely the most carefree time in your life, when you play outside long past dark and have nighttime pool parties. Maybe it is the way the heat just melts your body and makes it absolutely impossible to hold onto stress and body tension. For me, there are few things that give me more joy than simply driving around in the car, with all off the windows down and the music on, and warm air swishing around you or being able to go out at night in sandals and a sundress. It feels like pure freedom and it just makes me smile.

I know the heat won't last. It has already started to drop off into the 80s and by next week it will be back into the 70s, but for now, I will enjoy my little taste of summer at last.

Birthday in the Bay: The Eating Tour

I spent my 28th birthday on an eating tour of the Bay Area and I couldn't have had a better time. After a year away from my former home town, I was beginning to dream about meals that can only be found in Berkeley, Oakland, or SF. The destinations included B44 on the enchanting Belden Place Alley for Basque cuisine, Dona Tomas in the Temescal district of Oakland for the most delicious Mexican food (and Dona Coladas!) in the East Bay, Ici in Elmwood for yummy Italian ice cream (yes, Italian ice cream, and no, that is not the same as gelato), and Brazil Cafe in Berkeley for the best Tri-Tip sandwich EVER!

There was also wine tasting in Napa, a stop off at the cutest convenience store in wine country for their amazing sandwiches, and one bar in particular that seemed to provide an endless amount of amusement. The fact that I was able to visit all of these places with some of my favorite people in the world was the icing on the cake.

I am pretty sure I gained a few pounds on the trip but it was worth every bite.

:)

I just finished reading the last installment of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series. So good! Lisbeth Salander is my hero-in some totally twisted kind of way.

I had my second surf lesson today and I am officially hooked. Today my lesson was in Santa Monica and my friend, Wendy, joined me. It was another foggy day unfortunately, but the waves were nice and came in in even, rolling sets. I was able to stand up on about 50-70% of my attempts and I had one really good , long ride that pretty much sold me on getting a board and a wetsuit. Oh, and my instructor informed me that there is nothing wrong with the way I stand up on the board, and in fact, it is actually the way that non-beginners usually do it. I guess I am just a natural. :)

So, I have been saying that I wanted to learn how to surf ever since I moved back down to LA a year and a half ago, and I finally took my first lesson. I got up yesterday morning at 6:30am to cover myself in 100SPF and then head over to Venice Beach. I was excited, but definitely a little nervous because, although I am in decent shape, I have never been particularly gifted athletically.

I met up with my instructor, Peter, at 7:45a on the beach and he gave me a wetsuit and a board. After I got all suited up, we went over some surf terminology, the mechanics of the waves, and the basics of how to go from lying down to standing up on a surf board. I practiced that for a few minutes on the sand, and then it was time to get in the water. We went out into what Peter called "the soup" which is basically the whitewater area where the waves are breaking closer in to the beach. Peter had me lie down on my board facing the beach while he would tell me when to paddle and help give me push off to ride the waves in on my stomach and get a feel for the waves. We did this a couple times and then, as I was riding in, he told me to stand up and I did! It was very brief albeit, but I made it from lying down to a crouched position and then up for a split second before falling off. For the rest of the lesson, Peter stayed on shore and watched me while I tried to catch waves in. I was able to actually stand all the way up and ride the wave in to the shore about 4 times and apparently, I have my own way of getting into standing position that is different from what Peter taught me. He kept trying to give me pointers from the shore on what to do, but after a while he gave up and told me that what I was doing seemed to be working alright for me :)

All in all, it was definitely a fun lesson and I plan to sign up for more lessons in the very near future. I think with another lesson or two, I will be able to paddle out and attempt catching some of the larger waves that break farther out.

The craziest thing about the whole day was that, after the lesson, I went over to the beach club to read and everyone was talking about all of the recent shark sightings. Apparently, in the past week there have been a lot of Great White sightings along the local coastline. I am so glad that I did not know about this until after my lesson!

Go here to see all of the recent shark activity: http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/pacific_coast_shark_news.htm

Sunset Beach is about a half mile up the beach from the beach club and it is a really popular spot for surfers. If the surf is good at all, you can usually see 10-30 surfers hanging out in the water, and I have frequently sat at the club and watched the surfers catching the waves. If I ever see them all come in at once, I'll know why.

Eclipse

I saw Eclipse tonight :) (happy sigh)

Every time I go into that world, I don't want to come out.  I'm sure that's not healthy, but I really don't care.  Do we really have to wait until November of next year for the next installment?!