Monday, July 18, 2011

Happy Surf Aversary To Me!

This picture is beautiful San Onofre State Beach!


Well I had a very busy surf weekend. A lot of fun things to share and Sunday was my 2 year surf Anniversary. YEP been surfing and blogging now for two whole years...with many more to come.



I was hesitant about surfing this weekend, sore and healing shoulder and all. SO I saved my strength for Sunday. I really needed to surf on my Anniversary. Last year I was on a plane coming home from Tennessee if you remember? So I missed surfing my one year Anniversary.


I was finally able to go to San O! But sadly,I didn't surf it. It was my first time ever at San O! to celebrate one of my friends/surf club sisters Birthday.We organized a very fun Surprise Party for her. WELL Artie did,She did an amazing job too! We just showed up to celebrate. She is a Ukulele player and is also the person who got me interested in playing. OH have I mentioned I have taken up Ukulele yet? I shall blog about that in a separate post. WELL any way I learned and practiced HAPPY BIRTHDAY for her. So strumming on my Uke, Chowing down on some snacks and watching my friends surf is how i spent Sat. San O looks like so much fun. I cannot wait till I can surf it! The paddle out looks a tad far. BUT that just means a longer ride in. THERE were so many lefts, I was drooling. My friend took my board out. So I can say Tallulah surfed San O. Even though I did not get to ride her. I was very tmepted to just go in and catch one or two on the inside. THEY still looked fun. But I just didn't want to risk pain to my shoulder. I was saving it for Sunday.


So SUNDAY. Happy Anniversary to me. Began by driving to Blackies, Where it All Started. I was hoping it would not be crowded. Sunday+Summer=Crowds at Blackies. It is not fun then. BUT since that was my "teething ring" I really wanted to celebrate there. OF course it was crazy crowded before 7:30 AM NO parking. AND seriously the surf was not all that great! I drove around two times, I had to at least go to the scene of the crime, even if I was not able to surf it.


So I met my friend Laurie and her friend Chris and we surfed Bolsa.


Really not a lot of action. Doable. With my shoulder that was fine by me. IT was not as fun as the last couple times I surfed there, but I did get a few lefts and a few pearls. I would get the wave my board would drop and it always wanted to go nose first. I really thought I was pretty far back on my board. Bolsa wave is so tempermental. HA! Even when small the drop is hard sometimes.


SO a couple things happened in my under an hour of surf. I was so worried about my shoulder, and those pesky stingrays. AND I still have these blister things from the Dermatologist. So I didn't want those to pop. I wore a shorty, IT was soo warm, water and air.The only full suit (that fits me) I had is a 4/3 and I would have died of heat exhaustion in that. I know I was suppose to wear a full suit. BUT.... SO I really was not 100 focused at the beginning. I think that is why I pearled and wiped out more than usual.


But I relaxed and started doing better. I had just paddled back to the break from a wipe out. I looked over my shoulder to talk to Laurie she was paddling back out to, and then when I turned to look back at the ocean... A FIN was in my face. LITERALLY at my board. IT WAS HUGE and I planked on my board, I about had an accident in my wetsuit. My friend Laurie was yelling DOLPHIN!! it is a DOLPHIN!! It's OK!! I was still not sure. I was looking under my board, and all around, I have no idea where it went. It was there and then gone. IT was seriously right at my board. I could have touched it. It all happen so fast too. Even though it was a Dolphin, and everyone says they are friendly. THEY are still a wild animal, and still HUGE and intimidating when right in your face. We decided it came up to say Happy Anniversary to me. Although I was a bit shooken up, I still think it was cool and exciting.


I caught my last wave in and rode that puppy all the way to the sand. The nose of Tallulah was on the beach. It was a nice,fun,fast left. So Yes I was stoked especially since it was my last ride. What a way to end an anniversary surf sesh!

WELL it wasn't over yet. HA! If you ever been to Bolsa you know there are most parts of the beach where you have to walk up and out of the water, not just right onto shore like most beach breaks. I was at a part where it is about a foot of incline to get out. This lil incline consist of soft unstable gravel type terrain that is still in the water. It is covered in rocks,course sand and shells. Well as I was trying to get out with my board ,I slipped. NOT once but twice. The second time, I was hit by some white wash and my board fell on top of me and I got a bit tossed. RIGHT THERE in less than a foot of water. By the time I got out, my legs were scratched up and my left leg was dripping blood. I am sure it was quite entertaining. I know my friend Laurie's surf partner Chris thought it was. He just sat there with his head in his hands shaking his head..BUT he did say NICE Ride in. HA!

This is my mangled (what is the surf name for road rash?) LEG!

Yep at this point I think I may start looking into a wetsuit that is lined with bubble wrap!

This is my happier commemorative 2 year anniversary pix. After I cleaned up the leg!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Don't Forget the SUNSCREEN!

OK So I went to the Dr. yesterday(why am I telling you this? Because why I went is somewhat surf related) to get a mole looked at, and have her check out my sore, shoulder. But I am not a big fan of the scale she had me stand on.. NO wonder my wetsuit is uh hum.. "snug" YIKES!..No more after surf scarf down food sessions for me. ANY WAY.. SHE sent me to a dermatologist. WHO saw me right away. MUCH to my surprise!!I will get to all that in a minute. I want to start with my Shoulder.

I apparently had one or two ribs out of alignment.. I was oh no, it is my shoulder, she said can I give you a bit of an adjustment? I said sure. Then she had me lay down a certain way. I heard cracks and pops and I felt a little better. SHE said see ribs. =) BUT I also have a pinched nerve too. I was putting ice on. She wants me to put heat. My shoulder and neck area still sore. BUT not as bad and I feel A LOT better since she did her maneuver on my ribs. I don't know if you remember in my last post??? I said I hurt my shoulder and felt something pop.. WELL guess it was my ribs. The pain started in my chest to my back and I also had burning sensation shoot down my arm.(hence the pinched nerve) Still surfed though and tried to surf the next day. SO I say I am a trooper. I want to surf this weekend..but not sure yet if I will surf both days. SUNDAY is my 2 year Surf Anniversary, so I REALLY want to surf that day to celebrate. Don't know if I should push it on Saturday yet. We will see how I feel.

Now as for the mole. It is on my leg and I think I scratched it surfing and it scabbed up, then it healed. I am really not sure what happened? But that is what I think, I wanted to get it checked to be safe. Dermatologist wants to keep an eye on it for 3 months. IF ANYTHING changes before then.. She wants to remove it right away. SO that is where I am there. I have a history of Basal Cell Carcinoma, I have scars all over my back, and had one Pre Cancerous mole before. I have lost more than one loved one to Melanoma too. SO I take my skin care very serious. I am very good about applying the sunscreen or sun block and usually a 45. NOW THEY HAVE 100. The Dermatologist said 45 was good, but make sure it says Wide Spectrum and to apply every hour. So Dr's. Orders... ANY way. THEN she gets this blow torch looking freeze drying gun thing and starts attacking me with it. OUCH! I had never had that done before, SHE zapped me 25 times. NOT KIDDING..She zapped a bunch of sun spots.
So now today my arms, back, legs has 25 blisters on me. SHE did say I could still surf this weekend. I am wondering if it is safe, what if these things pop and I get "ocean water" in them, and they get infected? One cool thing I forgot to mention, is she surfs or use too.. and she told me she wants me to surf in a full suit and sun screen..SHE didn't say I needed to give up surfing or stay out of the sun. WHICH I thought for sure I would be lectured on. Especially after the attack I recieved with that gun thing.

Again why am I mentioning this?.. Because I care...SO APPLY THAT SUNSCREEN PEOPLE!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

IT"S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!




No not Christmas or even back to school!! It is time for the "Stingray Shuffle". SO I got to meet one up close and personal yesterday..Luckily it just swam right between my feet..but I felt the fluttering of its "wings" on each of my feet..it was soft. I really thought it would be slimy.. ANY way as that happened I held my breath anticipating to be stung..BUT it just swam through gracefully..HOWEVER one of the girls I surfed with was not so lucky...Later that day, as we were cleaning up,she went whizzing by in a golf cart type vehicle with a state ranger, yelling "STINGRAY" as she pointed down, I think her foot was already in a bucket of water. SHE is a friend of a friend, so I am not sure how she is doing today...I hope she is Ok! BUT since May she is about the 4th surfer I know who has been stung. Just heard someone got stung at Blackies too, so make that 5th. SO as I say..the Rays are coming back to take over THEIR beach.. so be careful out there.

WELL on now to some surfing stories.. I HAD 5 days off in a row for this Holiday weekend. =).. I surfed 3 of the 5.. 2 of which was most excellent.. Yesterday not so much. SO lets start with Sunday! WATER IS WARM!! (hence the stingrays) Wore my shorty..Kills my knees, but worth it!


BOLSA ON A 4TH of JULY WEEKEND AS SEEN FROM THE RESERVE

SUNDAY - It was decided to surf Bolsa Early. I was dreading it..nothing good ever happens to me there...and as mentioned in the beginning.. Sting Rays are out in force. Bolsa is their playground. I now know 2 people in less than 1 week stung there. ANY way I was not happy. BUT since that is where everyone else wanted to go.. who was I to argue...There ended up being 2 other girls from the club their, Cynthia and Irma and her family and out of town guest. So we had a good pack heading out there.

WAVES were fun, ankle to knee slappers with some 2's.. GLASSY..NOT breaking on shore. Everything was perfect. But as I was still shuffling out, Irma rode right past, jumped off her board and said "stingray" right there! She jumped right back on her board, and I mine..and I don't think my feet ever touched the bottom since. Easy paddle out..still longer than Blackies but the small easy waves and glassiness? <-word? made it enjoyable. I caught so many waves MOSTLY LEFTS.. LOVE THEM.. and I snaked a friends wave..and as I stood up yelled sorry..after paddling back he said.."thought you only went after lefts". I said.."I "LIKE" lefts"..haha..but will go after what I can. ;-)..It was all good! THAT is what is great about surfing with peeps you know, you can snake each other and laugh about it..as long as it does not become a habit. FUN day and new found appreciation for Bolsa. MY first happy time there!

TUESDAY...another great day at Bolsa, a lil smaller and we moved closer to the jetty which had a little more pick up. It was me and Irma and we had sooo much fun! I am really getting good at my lefts. Trying to go right,I am trying, BUT seem to wipe out when I try. I will get it. SOMETIMES when I go right, I get up..but not all the time and usually not all the way up! So we surfed about 2 hours. I rode my last wave ALL THE way to shore where my fin was the brake in the sand. I am so paranoid of the rays. I don't get off my board till 2 inches not feet of water. I would have surfed longer, I had the stamina, but I did something to my shoulder/and it was burning. I don't know if it was from surfing 2 days in one week, or also I had been babysitting and holding my 6 month old "teething" Grandson for hours at a time. I have a "bum" shoulder already from previous accidents. So I was not too happy. But I still had fun surfing! I went home and slathered Thermagel all over my neck, arm, shoulder. OH but wait! My right leg is sore too. I realized that is from my stance I use going left. I did a lot of those the last couple times surfing. It is a new "good" pain I guess. So, I slathered Thermagel there too. Took some Advil, went to bed so I could get up early and surf again the next day.

WEDNESDAY- got up early, to do it ALL again. Went to Irma's and got a pass, Met a few of the club girls at Bolsa. Was our friend's B-day so we had a Birthday sesh!

Waves were not as big, and it was WINDY and very choppy out there. We went out anyway. There was about 10 of us I guess? Including the Birthday Girl's friends. It was a hard paddle and very bumpy and swelly due to the wind. NOT enjoyable at all.

I got out 2 times past the break. I only caught 2 waves, the whole 45 minutes I was out. One outside and One inside. MY arm was too sore to try and paddle out again. I was almost in tears it burned so much. I tried to paddle mostly with one arm. NOPE can't.

As I tried to get out with all my pain. A group of teens with soft boards came stampeding by and some of them didn't have leashes. One of the girls boards came flying at me and hit me on the head. I was great, She said sorry and it was a foam board THANK GOD! I don't know who the group was but there was more teenagers, than I could count. Then I decided to try and catch a wave or two inside. I caught a nice left and jumped off in about a foot of water and as I was picking up my board, I felt the ray go between me feet. I don't know if I stepped on it or just missed it. There was a mom with 2 lil kids about 3 years old right there, and I told her a sting ray just went between my feet. She said oh Thank you. They didn't leave. But I would hate for one the lil ones to get stung. They were right in the vicinity.

So I take my board and walk along the beach and try to get out to my friends again. I got out one more time..then I took a wave in and was done. I just could not paddle any more. WAS NOT worth it.

AS me and My friend Tracy were cleaning up, Shannon, who I didn't get to meet, but was surfing with us, went by with the Ranger and her foot in a bucket. SO rather eventful 3 days surfing. JUST wish my arm was not in so much pain.... any way I have 9 days to rest up till I get out to surf again...SO I am sure I will be fine!

I also have a new found "friendship" with Bolsa.. but am still weary of those Rays!