Surf Session Oceanside Jetty South Side

Finally a 4 star day and it would have been a 5 star day, but I didn't have any stand out, FANTASTIC rides. It was just a great day with a great friend and a lot of great waves.


For the past week, I've been having just okay surf sessions. Writing these session logs has helped raise my awareness about the ups and downs I have during any one particular surf session and ups and downs over a period of time. I've realized just how easily I am affected by the other surfers in the water--something I need to continue to look at and think about. I need to come to some equanimity about my fellow wave riders.

For me, being with Kris and having more consistent waves made all the difference. Kris and I have surfed many times together, but it was great to share the stoke with her because we were both catching so many waves and we had a little section of the ocean basically to ourselves. I felt unself-conscious for the first time in quite a while; I felt free to be myself. And that inner freedom translated into better surfing and a more joyful surfing experience.

The highlight of my surf experience was seeing a couple of dolphins up close. One dolphin was almost close enough to touch. It came up from the inside, instead of the outside, just as a larger set was coming in. I heard it blow and startled turned around and saw it within four feet of me! Then I saw it and a baby jump out of the water and swim past Kris. It is always amazing to get that close to the dolphins!

After our 3 hour surf session, we were famished, so we went to Mary's and chowed down on food. Brunch after surf is always amazing! Wow, I am so blessed to have such good friends and great surf!

Trash

I love picking up trash. I actually enjoy it. I find it fulfilling in several ways: the trash I find interests me; it's good exercise; it feels good to do something good; and it puts me in touch with my environment and community. This morning I picked up a 13 gallon bag of trash at Oceanside Pier North Side. There's a storm drain that runs right out into the ocean at the bottom of the Surfrider Turn-out. Because it rained the past few days, there was more trash than usual. This beach is heavily used and gets a lot of trash, despite the plethora of trash and recycling receptacles available on the Strand.

Spending time during my surf-check/ morning walk picking up trash really made me think more about getting involved in environmental work. I am becoming more and more aware of our environmental problems and more invested in what I can do, personally, to help things and change my own habits. I am interested in investigating ways that I can recycle more, use less pollutants, and use products that are more environmentally "friendly".

This morning's walk really helped raise my awareness of the types of trash that are most prevalent. Cigarette butts, but far, are the most pervasive pollutants. For a while during my walk I felt overwhelmed at the enormity of the chore of picking up literally hundreds--or thousands--of cigarette butts. (It is mind boggling how many people smoke despite the obvious destructiveness of the habit.) Also, Styrofoam was everywhere in constellations of a million tiny pieces. Next, were plastic caps—not just bottle caps, but caps for everything—pens, lip balm, all kinds of things… And finally, I found a pacifier, used condoms, pens, all kinds of things we use every day. It was fascinating. I’m looking forward to picking up trash again.

Photos of North Oceansdie Pier

First Day First Blog

Hi this is my first blog. I am going to focus mainly on photography, surfing, birding, and buddhism. I created this blog not so I could ramble on and on about my personal problems (I do that in a private journal), but to create a space where I could share my passions with others who might be interested.

I would welcome comments and discussions about anything I put out here. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do.


Susie