Monday, July 14, 2008

ben(to the beach)






I don't know why they call it surfing? It should be called paddling! Sarah and I got up at Oh Dark Thirty Sunday morning, and headed to Assateague National Seashore. We were joined by Mike and Christi, as well as Sam ("The Man") Teague and his wife Nan. When we arrived at 9, there were not many people on the beach, but there were already a ton of surfers in the water. Mike and I suited up and paddled out. I found Sam out in the line up and paddled over. He had already gotten some rides and was happy as a clam. The waves were good, but try as I might, I paddled like hell and didn't catch a single one. After about an hour, I paddled in to get something to drink and regroup.

After a little break, I headed back out. I got stuck in the whitewater, and I paddled, and I paddled, and I paddled some more, and I just couldn't get anywhere. I was just about to quit when I finally made it to the sand bar and was able to stand up catch my breath. Back on the board, paddle some more and I was out. Yeah! There were still some good sets rolling in, but once again I was denied. I paddled and had the waves mush out behind me. I paddled and had them break behind me. I paddled and had them break on top of me. I paddled until I pooped, but still no rides.

Another rest break and one more try. I managed to paddle out without too much of a problem. I actually caught a couple of waves, but got wiped out before I even came close to getting up. No hits, no runs, a bunch of errors. The ocean wins again!

It was frustrating not to get any rides, but I was great to be at the beach with friends. Assateague is a cool place. It is such a contrast to OC just a few miles to the north. Dunes and wild horses, instead of the boardwalk and hi-rise hotels . Hmmm..... some boardwalk fries or some ice cream would have been pretty tasty. Maybe next time I can have my Assateague and eat it too.

pic's: little horses, big horses, good surfboard(bad surfer), footprints

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