Surfing

Byrce, Christy, and I

My favorite thing I’ve been doing since I’ve been here has been surfing. If you know me at all you know that I spend my summers living on the jersey shore, so the ocean has always been a part of my life and something that I have grow to really love. I am convinced that the ocean has some sort of healing power because no matter how I’m feeling before I go in, by the time I get out I always feel great. While I have always known the basics of surfing and messed around a bit in NJ I have never really put the effort into getting good. So I knew coming here that learning to really surf was something I wanted to do. A few weeks after I got here, around the same time I got great white, I got a used 6’1 short board. I had never surfed a short board before so the first few times out were tough, but once I got catching the waves down, I’ve been improving every time I go.

getting ready

little bush walk to the spot

I typically surf 3-4 days a week and usually ride with kerby, bryce, (aussies) and cooper (DU) but occasionally I go by myself if people are busy. I usually try to wake up around 7 and leave for the beach at 8. Its about at 10-15 min drive depending on what spot you go to. We usually surf at “the spit” or at “main beach” depending on the conditions. The swell has been pretty consistent around 2 feet with 3-foot sets on some days. I have found that the bigger waves are easier for me at the moment because I’m not very good a pumping speed out of small waves yet. I’ve taken my fair share of falls but the feeling you get after a good ride makes it all worth it. Some days it’s closing out to much to really get any good waves so we will just go for a bodysurfing session instead, which is equally as fun especially when your getting barreled in shore break.

Most of you probably know I’m a huge skier and one thing I’ve noticed is the similarities between skiing and surfing. Both depend on the weather, involve riding on a form of H20, use a type of board and are extremely fun and addicting. Even the process of getting to the mountain and getting to the surf are similar. You have to wake up early, usually have to drive, and then put on gear. (utting on and taking of a wetsuit is just as hard as ski boots) Basically surfing has taken over the void in my life caused by no skiing that occurs during the summer and I’m loving it. I’ve be filming with my underwater camera a bit so hopefully ill have enough footage for a little edit soon, which I will post here.

The Cholula Hunt

Ok so its been a while since my last post, the reason for this is that I haven’t really done anything that I would call an adventure but I think that just living here in general is a bit of one so ill try to fill you in on what I’ve been up to.

While most my favorite foods are easy to find here in OZ there is one thing that I’m having trouble locating. That thing is Cholula hot sauce. Cholula is delicious on eggs, chicken, potatoes, pizza, and any Mexican dish. The first time I went shopping when I got here I found some at Coles supermarket, but I went through it quickly and needed more but I have been unable to find any and have had to settle for Tabasco which I’m not a huge fan of. I have gone to numerous Coles locations along with other grocery stores and even tried to find out where I could buy it on the internet but it can’t be found.

The Dream

I tell you this because it was on one of my expeditions to find Cholula that I did something pretty cool last week. I decided to head inland to go to a Coles I had not been to, but of course they didn’t have any. Feeling discouraged but not wanting to go home and sit around I decided to drive out to this road called the panorama, which I had seen while checking out the local area on Google earth. This road basically goes straight up a small mountain; probably the steepest road I’ve ever driven on but great white handled it just fine. Once I reached the top there where beautiful views of the gold coast not to mention extremely nice houses with the same view.

I stopped at a few spots, took some pictures (although unfortunately it was a little hazy) and just enjoyed the view for a while. I headed home a different way I came to kind of get lost on purpose and find my way back, which I did fine but I did stop at another Coles and guess what? No Cholula, the quest continues…