Today (well yesterday since I couldn't upload
my journal) was a fabulous day all around! I surfed 2
new spots for like.... 6 hours. I am tired. I am hungry.
I am very happy!

First I hit a legendary spot called Swami's. I watched
from the bluff for a while and it loooked like the waves
were rolling really slow. There were about 10 longboarders

out. And mostly they were catching rights. I wasn't sure
if I could even catch any slow moving rights. But there
was a left.... over past the longboarders... and no one
was even trying for it. So....I figured, "what the heck!"

and grabbed my gear.

The best part about "grabbing my gear" this week has
been that the water is sooooo warm down here compared
to home. No wetsuit required. This is a MAJOR plus! I love
being able to just grab my board and fins and hit the
waves. What a welcome change.

The waves were really mellow. And the tide was coming
in. Most of the surfers bailed and it was just me and 2
surfers. hehehehe....... the patient shall be rewarded!
We had to wait a little between the sets.... but I tell
you what! Some really good waves came along every
so often! Big, peaky and very fun! I even rode some
rights!. It was beautiful.... warm.... and peaceful.
The surfer guys were nice and we just had a blast
with the place all to ourselves for a couple of
hours. :-)

Probably most people know this already.... but they
call the place "Swami's" because there is an eastern
religious (Hindu, I think) Self Realization Retreat
located right above the break. My friend told me
stories about this place when he used to surf it
"back in the early days". He's about 65... so.. I'm glad
I finally got a chance to surf it too! I will probably go
back there!

What a cool place! And.. I really learned a lot there.
Catching slow waves is a big problem for me. I think I see
now how important it will be for me to learn to judge the
timing for paddling into the peak and then turning back.
I have a long way to go on mastering that. But... at least

I think I understand the mechanics a little better after
today.

I got out to get a snack and rest and then I decided
that maybe I should try a little faster breaking wave
since I was pretty tired... and... the place was getting
crowded now that people were getting off work. I
looked in my book and saw that there were quite a
number of good breaks nearby. But the one
that caught my attention was in Del Mar. A fast
breaking wave with rights AND lefts. I grabbed my
peanut butter and appleand hit the road!

I could saw a lot of things about Del Mar. The vibe was
completely different. But... not bad... I dunno. It was
sort of a shock after the peaceful, humble, mellow
vibe of Swami's. Del Mar is kind of like "Beverly Hills
Beach". Crowded, upscale neighborhoods and shops....
people drinking wine spritzers on the lawn overlooking
the beach. Just..... VERY different. But the train that co
mes
along and passes right by the beach every so often was
pretty cool!

The waves were definitely faster here! We still had
to wait a bit between sets.... but there were some
hellacious, peaky A-frames that would come along. It was
really something! The inside just pumped! But.... I like
the outside. So... I waited. I caught a few rides....
and I was really amazed at how fast the waves pushed!
And... there seemed to be like.... 3 pushes for each wave
.
The initial drop would just send you screaming down the
face. Then (because I haven't mastered the cutback either!
lol)
When the foam would catch up.... it would just give
another push and I would be thinking, "wow... this
is really fast!" And then... just when I would be thinking
...
"hmmm... I should probably try to turn outta this thing
before I get flopped up on the shorey.... ANOTHER push
would come along and there'd I'd be.... in 3 feet of water

and having to paddle back through. It was brutal.... but
magnificent! The power of the ocean really gives one
some perspective.

I'm sooooo tired... and... so greatful.

....and I get to do it again tomorrow! :-)

p.s.(I surfed Black's all afternoon today... more later
)