Good Stuff - Drive Thru

So being in a blah, lacking inspiration, yucky weather sort of mood , I decided to turn on the tv and watch something.

Much to my delight, FUEL TV (an extreme sports channel) is playing Drive Thru. Drive Thru is this awesome series where a group of pro surfers go on a surf trip and their adventure is documented. It is informative, interesting but best of all it is hilarious. And I need a chuckle today.

The new series takes these surfers across New Zealand and films their surfing and their hijinks. These are some seriously funny (and cute) boys. In fact, I think I may love Benji Weatherley.

However don't think the show is just for girls who want to drool over surfer boys, it's a super cool show, with awesome surfing and super fun adventures in amazing places, not to mention a cast of extraordinary goofballs.

If you can, check out some of the other series', Drive Thru Caribbean, Drive Thru Europe and particularly Drive Thru South Africa (where South African Airways happened to go on strike at that time and threw the guys for a few loops). I can relate, SAA threw me for a few loops in the past as well! Ha ha ha.

Inspiration

Inspiration, or the lack thereof, that's my problem right now. I didn't feel I had any interesting material for yesterday, Music/Movie Monday. Not that there aren't tons of cool bands or movies to write about, I just wasn't feeling the writing part of it.

Today I was harassed by some readers and thought well, I'll go for a surf and then maybe I will get inspired. I was tired of being on the internet and am having issues today with my creative process for logo and website designing anyway. I wriggled myself into my wetsuit, packed my backpack and grabbed my board. I get downstairs and it's pouring, somehow I missed that when I looked out the window at the grey sky above. So I emptied the mailbox and went back upstairs. That was a fruitless exercise. I mean I could have gone surfing anyway, being that I'm gonna get wet in the ocean in any case but somehow driving 45 minutes in the rain wasn't that appealing.

I sprawled out on the sofa and read some of my Outside magazine that has all this great stuff about summertime and still nothing. I decided it was time to move my car and go to the grocery store.

I think I am a little stir crazy and suffering from vitamin D deficiency. My body is refusing to accept that it is spring and it's raining and 50 odd degrees outside. My lower half decided to wear capri pants and flip flops, while my upper half decided to wear a sweatshirt and a rain jacket. It's like my body is trying to will sunshine and warmer weather. Maybe I need to do a sun dance or something in my apartment.

Movie Mondays - Sipping Jetstreams

Saturday I went for my usual weekend surf with my friend Jen. A nice swell was hitting Long Beach, but it was cold and the sun wasn't making much of an appearance. After suiting up and psyching up, we got in the water. The size of the waves produced a bit of anxiety but we each managed to catch at least one. The tough part was getting back to the outside, every time I would get past a wave and make some progress the next wave was just behind it and would push me back towards the shore. After battling a while, we decided we had enough for the day.

So not our most successful day.

I went home and decided I needed to watch something to make me think about the good parts about surfing rather the frustrating parts and popped in a dvd I bought a few weeks ago. Sometimes I think I am weird when it comes to books and movies, I may have a book or movie for months and not watch it until I'm somehow in the proper frame of mind. Maybe other people do that too but if they do I'm not aware of it.

Anyway, so this movie - Sipping Jetstreams, is incredible. It is the perfect balance of surfing, travel and music. It is inspirational and visually stunning. An ode to the adventure that is travel and how it becomes part of your life. The movie is shot with different kinds of film stock and has this almost luminescent look to it. Funny enough they cover Bali, Hong Kong and Italy among other places, and being that those are destinations I have been to in the last year it was awesome to see these places in the same light as I have them in my memory. Really beautiful.

In addition to Bali, Hong Kong and Italy - the film is also shot in Morocco, Egypt, Japan, Barbados and Cuba. It made me want to go discover those places too - remarkably even Cuba. I have often been asked if I want to travel to Cuba, being that I am of Cuban parentage on one side - my standard answer is no, that there are lots of other places I would rather travel to before going there. I still want to go to lots of places in this world but after this film, I would add Cuba to the list. (I know - not ok until the Castros are out).

Anyway, check out the movie if you have a chance. It is really incredibly gorgeous and inspiring. Kudos to the filmmaker and photographer who decided to take us on this amazing journey and on that note, I leave you with a quote from their website.

"Travel keeps you young. It does this by simply putting you in situations that make you feel like a child again. Magically lost in a moment of discovery. Beautifully confused. It could be the first time you awaken to the 5:00am call to prayer from the local mosque on Morocco's far Atlantic shore, the first time you feel the weight of the Egyptian sun on your shoulders, the first time you paddle out over the shallow reefs of the Caribbean, or the first time you realize that people living in squalor can achieve happiness as easily as those living in mansions. These are life's opportunities to shed the hustle of modernity, to join the moment, and stop sprinting towards some prefabricated goal. Your heart races. Your metabolism shifts into a lower gear. Everything is new again. You're sipping jetstreams."

AMEN!!!

Cool As Sh*t Job

This morning I got up and got on my computer as I do most mornings. I checked my email and then checked my blog reader. For those who are not technically "with it", (usually I fall into that category too), you can use google or yahoo and probably some others to subscribe to a number of blogs. Then you can read all your favorite blogs at the same place rather than going to 35 different websites. Pretty handy.

I digress. Anyway, I get the all the job postings for Patagonia in my reader. Patagonia is a SUPER cool company that designs outdoor clothing and gear. They have been actively involved in environmental initiatives for over thirty years, it's about cherishing the natural world we all live in.

So this morning I'm reading their job postings, one was Surf Sales Representative - East Coast, the other was Surf Sales Manager. The Surf Sales Manager reports to the "Director of Surf" - how freaking cool is that?! Imagine you are meeting some people and going through the usual what do you do for a living nonsense and you can say "Yeah I work for Patagonia", then comes the "Oh what do you do there?" and you can reply "I'm the Director of Surf." Too cool.

If I was inclined to move to California at this stage, I'd be all over these jobs!

Just sharing!

The Seasons First Surf!

A cold and nasty day last winter, I'm lying under the covers of my bed, watching a cheesy surfing chick flick (ok I'm embarrassed to admit it, yes - it was Blue Crush) and I have this thought - man that would be kind of cool to try. I have loved the ocean since I was a little girl and when I was a teenager I started getting really into the the whole surf culture, and of course I always loved those surfer boys. Anyway, time passed, I grew up and sort of forgot about all of it. So on this winter day I come up with the whacked out idea that I'm gonna try this. Maybe it was part of an early mid life crisis or something, who knows. After researching on the internet a bit I see I can take lessons in Long Beach, NY about an hours drive away. So a year ago I started taking lessons and well, you know the story, I quit my job, took off and went to learn to surf in North Carolina, Bali and Miami.

About two weeks ago I reunited with my crew - we are three girls and we met in the surf classes we started taking last year. We are not any good but we love it and we have a great time together being stupid and cheering each other on. After a lunch in Long Beach we head to Unsound surf shop to get properly outfitted. We have wetsuits, they match - it's retarded, but for these waters we also need neoprene boots, gloves and hoods. This in itself was a hilarious excursion, the gloves are so thick you can't move your fingers, the hood makes you look like an idiot and the boots. Well if you can actually get them on it's an accomplishment but getting them off - that's an exercise in patience, willpower and strength. Much to Jen's mortification, Reena literally had to pull on my boot and drag me across the floor of the surf shop. Funny.

So this last Saturday, now being properly outfitted, we met up again. Jen and I to hit the water, Reena to assist us in getting dressed and cheer us on. One definitely needs a helper because once you have one glove on it's practically impossible to get the other one on and rocking the Michael Jackson one glove look is not wise in 43 degree water. Once fully dressed, Jen and I braved the water. It was not actually that cold but the wind was a killer. We caught a few waves, they were baby ones, but that was just right for us. Despite the cold and the extreme exhaustion from paddling in neoprene it was so good to be in the water again. You are out there on this deserted beach, it's so beautiful, the birds are fishing and you are working hard to paddle, stand up or not fall off; but somehow it is so incredibly calming. All you can concentrate on is the ocean and for a little while all that crap driving you crazy just goes away. Corny but true.

So kook that I am, I'm gonna keep doing what I'm doing, get out there and keep paddling.

Sunrise in Bali

I went for my last Bali surf of the year yesterday and Marcy admittedly kicked my ass out in the water, it was a lot of work but I had fun nonetheless. I had a lovely last lunch at Lanai with Marcy and Melinda and made my way back to the disaster that was my hotel room.

Putting off packing, I went for dinner, went to the internet cafe and had that night swim in the pool under the stars. The stars are so bright here and so beautiful and if you watch the night sky long enough you see shooting stars. After chillaxing ( as a good friend calls it) I finally decided to tackle the nightmare of packing. I loaded about 10kg of clothes into my surfboard bag, I hope the board is now well protected against any possible dings or damage, but I really hope that it will get loaded without a problem. Good thing I have cargo experience, I'll get down on the ramp and do it myself if I have to! So a board bag, a nearly bursting rolling duffel and two carry ons later, I was finally done and off to sleep.

I got up at 6am after having about four hours sleep and dragged myself down to the beach to watch the sunrise. Yes getting up early is totally underrated.

God what a view! It was clear and low tide. You could see the volcanic mountain range to the North so clearly as the haze and pollution had not yet enveloped them, who knew there was a MASSIVE volcano right there! I walked far out into the ocean, the tide was so low and you could see live coral and little fish swimming in pools of water. I saw fishermen and women spearfishing and collecting seaweed, I saw tiny little crabs scurrying across the sand. I saw the local wild beach dogs playing, flocks of birds feeding and taking flight. I saw a huge live starfish on the sand and I sat down to watch it. It looked like it was tempting sand flies and then eating them. I saw lots of little insects go in but none come out so I assume they met their end.

I sat on the beach for a few hours and eventually had breakfast and got going. As I had to check out at 11am but my flight is at 4pm I thought to do another post and show some pictures from this morning.

What a great way to end my trip, with the hope, aspiration and life of a new day. Back to America I go with the spirit of adventure and absolute wonder in me.

Back to Bali

Monday the 3rd I got in a taxi, got on the Airport Express train, got on Singapore Airlines and got back to Bali.

Wow, its been a really long time since I have been really impressed by economy class service. Singapore Airlines are amazing - the cabin is tastefully decorated for the holidays, you get pillows and blankets, there is decent leg room, a huge on demand movie selection, a menu with good food and truly impeccable service from the cabin staff. The only unfortunate incident was that I lost my glasses somewhere that day!

Anyway, so I made my way back to Bali and it has been so great to come back. I have been surfing (trying to), smelling incense, watching the ocean, walking past the frangipani blossoms and dogs lying around on the ground, and seeing new friends that I feel I have known forever.

I have been back to lessons with Marcy (aka Mr. Marcy Sir!) and getting frustrated as all hell - 3 weeks out of the water did not do my weak paddle much good - but hey, I'm not complaining, I get to go out into the ocean every day and take it all in! I picked up my gorgeous new surfboard and we did a few lessons on the beach and up the coast. Last week I killed it going for two surfs in one day, a lesson with Marcy in the early morning and then a surf with Chelsea up the coast in the later morning, suffice it to say I slept really well that night.

Saturday I moved to a new hotel in Tangung Benoa on the Bukit Peninsula. At the beginning of my trip my mom very graciously and generously arranged for me to stay at a time share in the Nusa Dua resort area. So I packed up and schlepped my bags and my surfboard over to the Peninsula Beach Resort. I spent my days reading, swimming in the ocean and watching the fishing boats go by, swimming in the pool under the dark purple night sky with stars and frangipani trees overhead.


I have been taking taxis back to Legian where I was back on the tanker board for remedial surf lessons working on my pop up (jump up as they call it here) but the remedial lessons started to pay off on Thursday when Marcy took me out at KuDeTa and I probably had the funnest, best surf session I ever had. The conditions were gorgeous - glassy and not too big. I was able to get in a few super fun rides on the right hander. We will have to see how that translates on the significantly smaller board I bought!

I am really excited to go back to the US and see my family and friends but given the amazing experience I have had in Asia, it's no big surprise that I never want to leave.
So I'm going to pack in one last surf this afternoon, a swim under the stars, watch the sunrise, pack my bags and get on the plane for one long trip home tomorrow.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Part 1

This is the Bali beach where we surfed, not Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur was an interesting experience. I left Bali on Wednesday afternoon, after another early morning surf. Despite the big knock on the head the day before, it was good to get in the water the next morning. Anyway, the quickest way to get over any fears is to just jump right in again.

I flew to Malaysia on Air Asia and caught a taxi to KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Center) where my hotel was. For a good portion of the way we passed a vast expanse of palm groves, with the songs Rhinestone Cowboy by Glenn Campbell and Love Is Strange by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers playing on the radio - I KID YOU NOT. (By the way I looked up the details for these songs on google - just in case anyone is wondering.) Anyway, the palms are used for cooking oil and now are also being used in bio fuel technology.

So we made it into downtown Kuala Lumpur and the traffic came to an absolute standstill, much to the aggravation of my insane speed racer taxi driver. We drove past the Petronas Twin Towers, which are the second highest buildings in the world. They are really very beautiful, they sparkle like diamonds when the sun hits them or when they are lit up at night. It was really weird to be in a big city again and I was somewhat strangely energized by it. I checked into my hotel, dropped my bags in my room and went to find a place for dinner.

I found a great restaurant called Top Hat. It is in an old colonial house that has been converted to a restaurant. The decor is colonial, the floors terrazzo, and the music? Well the music was Cuban! Candela by the Buena Vista Social Club - if it were not for the Malay, Chinese and Indian staff, I would have thought I was somewhere else in the world.

I had a starter of "top hats", a phyllo like dough shaped into little top hats and filled with a spring roll like filling. The top hats were delicate and delicious. I then had a smoked salmon tartare salad. Salmon with mango, creme fraiche and lemongrass sauce. My inner foodie did rejoice. Besides the food at the Surf Goddess Retreat and the banana pancakes, I was not that taken with Indonesian food which was surprising because I eat almost anything.

Anyway, I made sure to leave room for dessert as I spotted panna cotta on the menu and could not resist. The first time I recall having panna cotta was in Switzerland. My aunt who everyone loved so much, had passed away. After her funeral we had a big luncheon commemorating her and panna cotta was served for dessert. Somehow I just associate it to family now. Anyway, so panna cotta is like a vanilla flavored pudding with a jello like consistency, this one was served with starfruit and watermelon. Fantastic.

Being that I had been up since 4:45am, I was pretty exhausted and I walked back to my hotel, had a bath and called it a night with the down comforter.

Legian, Bali - Part 3

The last few days I took a bit of a break from surfing. I have been trying to take care of my cold and my shoulder and doing a whole lot of nothing.

Saturday I met up with Alain, we hopped on his moped and drove to Redz, a surfboard shop. We had stopped there on our way back from the beach on Friday and checked out some boards. I had no intention of buying one but when I heard the price Alain was getting, I decided to join him on Saturday. So I ordered my surfboard and Marcy will kindly pick it up for me next week and hold it, while I make my way through Malaysia,
Thailand andHong Kong, until I get back to Bali in December, when I will be able to christen the board in Balinese waters!

After the exciting outing, we came back to town and I had a rest at my hotel. Later I met up with Alain and Dan at Melinda and Marcy's bungalow for afternoon tea. Alain had brought over a fantasticPont l'Eveque cheese that he brought from France, I brought American grapes, Melinda supplied the crackers, tea and coffee and Dan and Marcy brought their stellar personalities. We had a lovely and highly sophisticated afternoon at the beach bungalow.

Sunday I read a book and met Chelsea and Melinda for a few mango daiquiris and some dinner at Lanai.

Monday my day started like any other, breakfast of papaya, watermelon and pineapple by the pool. I eventually made my way to Tri, my massage therapist, who Melinda set me up with to work specifically on my shoulder. Tri proceeded to stick about 10 acupuncture needles in my arm and shoulder and hooked up the needles to this electricity transmitter. Needless to say once he turned the current on I looked like I was having a seizure. After 20 minutes of twitching, the needles came out and it was time for massage. Now this is not a spa massage, this man goes to work- this is
deep tissue work that brings tears to your eyes, but for $15, less shoulder pain and an extended range of motion it was well worth it.

I was supposed to go for a surf after but my lesson got canceled due to bad conditions, so we rescheduled for this morning and I went off to do some sidewalk/window shopping, headed off to theapothek (pharmacy) for some cough medicine and made my way to Lanai to watch the sunset and have some dinner.

This morning Marcy and Melinda picked me up at 5:45am and we went for a surf at the break in front of the bar KuDeTa, I have been advised the correct name for this break is Poofies.
In any event, it is a long paddle out past some pretty heavy shore break but once you got to the outside the waves were really nice, not too fast and not too steep. I caught the first one on my own but I went left instead of going right (on therighthander ) like I was supposed to. Duh! I kind of exhausted myself with the paddling and the rest of the waves were a combination of me paddling and Marcy pushing me. You'd think all this time in the water I would be a stronger paddler by now! It gets a little frustrating. Anyway so towards the end of my lesson there's a big wave coming my way - I ditch the board and dive under. Well, somehow me and my board went in the wrong direction and I had a head on collision with one of the fins. Yes I covered my head, but apparently not well enough. So once I popped up to the surface Marcy was all "Are you ok ??" I just rubbed my head and said yeah I was fine, I just knocked my head and I ask him if I'm bleeding. He says yes! I figure he's just being full of it and touch my forehead. Sure enough, blood! So I got out of the water, Marcy got me some ice and we got the bump back down to non alien like levels. I did suggest we amputate, as my dad used to say when we got a cut when we were kids, but Marcy was not too much into surgery. Ha ha ha

So after a shower and suitable application of antiseptic for cuts, tiger balm for sore muscles and arnica for a number of bruises, I had some breakfast and made my way to the internet cafe. I'm off to Kuala Lumpur after a morning surf tomorrow.

Note 1: Not sure if the monitor is bad it if it is the compression of the photos that is making them look crappy. Will fix them once I get to a proper high speed connection.
Note 2: To my family, I'm a little banged up but I'm OK, don't worry - it's not like we have to amputate anything and I've got a hard head anyway.

Surf Goddess Retreat - Part 3

On Thursday we had a rest from surfing and went on a cultural tour. We met Joachim, who runs a small tour company, at his family's hotel and stables. Quite the gorgeous place where one can arrange for horse rides in the rice paddies or on the beach. Anyway so our tour began in an air conditioned van (a good thing because Bali is very hot!) and we drove to the region of Tabanan. We were graciously welcomed by the King of Tabanan, Rai Girigunadhi, at his 17Th century palace,where we were invited to join him for iced tea, a snack and a chat. Rai Girigunadhi used to work for the national department of tourism. The country of Indonesia is not ruled by the monarchy from a political sense. We sat with the King and heard his fantastic stories about his travels and trips to California and Hawaii.

After our visit with the King, Joachim turned us over to Yani, a charming local Balinese man, who would be our guide for the rest of the day. One of the most amazing things about Yani is that he speaks Swiss German, not formal German, but the dialect I grew up speaking! Here I am traipsing through Bali, speaking Schweizer Deutch with a Balinese dude!! Amazing and hilarious all at the same time.

Yani and our driver took us further into the hills. As it was full moon, we encountered numerous religious celebrations and processions.
The men, women and children were all in their "Sunday best".

After a bit of a drive through the countryside, we stopped for lunch in a forest clearing close to a little village. The farmer, whose land we were on, prepared a most delicious meal of Balinese food for us. It was amazing to be in such a serene place surrounded by such a variety of fauna and flora. My sister has become an expert in the way of tropical fruit, so I snapped about a million pictures of the local agriculture! All the girls know about her proficiency with exotic fruit so the running joke of the day from Sheila was, "Let's call Carmen, I bet she knows what this is!" It was funny! We even had jackfruit for dessert, which Stephanie pointed out, tastes exactly like Juicy Fruit gum!

After a lovely rest in the bale after lunch, we packed back in the van and drove on. We stopped at the top of a most amazing hill with a tremendous view of the volcano and hiked down the hill through the rice paddies. The steepness of the rice paddies is amazing, its unbelievable to think about the millions of farmers around the world who trek up and down hills to cultivate rice. We crossed paths with a random German tourist, some farmers and some cows. We took tons of pictures and had lots of laughs. Yani truly was a great guide with a stellar sense of humor.

At the bottom of the hill we came to a temple. I am not sure which god or goddess the temple was for but it was spectacular. We covered ourselves with sarongs and entered the temple, where it was just us and a priest. After a look around, we were permitted to join Yani and the priest in prayer and received blessings (like I DON'T already have enough!). I definitely want to learn more about Balinese Hinduism, their rituals are so sacred and so beautiful. Indonesia is comprised of many many islands, all of which are mostly Muslim. Bali is the only island in Indonesia that is predominantly Hindu. After our time at the temple we headed back to our villa in Seminyak and were treated to a class of restorative yoga.

The next few days we continued to surf, do yoga and get our daily spa treatments.

I went on this trip to work on my surfing ability and my yoga practice, but I came away with so much more than that. I came away with the experience of a lifetime that I was blessed to share with five fantastic women. I thank them all - Anne for her grace and calm, Stephanie for her unfailing generosity, Kim for her enthusiasm and chats, Sheila for her beautiful, hearty laugh and Karen for her openness and guidance. Many blessings to you all! Also a million blessings to Chelsea, Melinda and Susan for cultivating the sisterhood!

Surf Goddess Retreat - Part 1

A funny thing about Bali. I once, many many years ago developed a fascination for Balinese art and decided I wanted to visit Indonesia. Time went on, years flew past and Bali went out of my head. So one day this summer in New York, I was busy researching my traveling to Asia. I was looking for some sort of yoga retreat and I come across this link for Surf Goddess Retreat in Bali. The retreat consisted of daily yoga and surfing instruction for small groups of women. It sounded luxurious, invigorating and restorative. What a great way to start off traveling in Asia, I thought. So I booked it.

Sunday I checked out of Le Meridien and made my way to Seminyak for the retreat. My God, it was more than I could ever have dreamed. I struggle to put into words what I experienced in the last week and you better believe it is going to take more than one post.

First off I arrived at this gated door and when it opened I saw nothing but an aquamarine pool and a lovely lush garden. From the pool, pipes up a voice and says "Hi! I'm Kim!!". Funny enough, Kim lives in New York too and ended up being my roommate for the week.
Aside from trying to cut off my leg with a miniature saw in the middle of the night, she is a totally fantastic person with a gift for turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Kim also has sunglasses bigger than Bono's. See photo


Moving right along and jokes aside, Kim and I met Chelsea, who did the phenomenal job of organizing the this week for us, and chattered away until the other girls arrived. We met Karen, Sheila, Stephanie and Anne - all wonderful women who we would share the next week with. We also met Melinda, who works with Chelsea, and would become our surfing big sister over the next week.

We shared the first of many wonderful home cooked meals together and after dinner, Karen says she is going for a massage and anyone is welcome to come along. Now I'm not one to skip out on a spa treatment, so off we went. A word about Karen, she is a fantastic, vibrant Australian woman whose goal in life is to attempt to overdose on spa treatments! I had secretly decided I wanted to try to get a treatment a day or at least several times a week, I mean at under $20 per massage in Bali, why not? And now I met Karen, my spa guru - could things work out any better??

The next morning we were up for yoga class by the pool with the lovely Susan, who is full of humor and gracious humanity, qualities sometimes lacking in yoga teachers ( I have to be honest and say that my current teachers are just that, so it was nice to feel at home).

After a great yoga class and a fabulous breakfast we were off to Rip Curl Surf School in Blue Ocean Beach, where we began the first of many lessons filled with great instruction and tons of fun. Somehow I personally find it easy to burst out laughing if I catch a wave or I get dumped and fall off, which still happens quite a bit. Suppose its got to do with being with tremendous people and being i a beautiful place.

As the days went on we pushed our sore muscles through yoga classes and surfing lessons and invariably ended our days with either a massage or reflexology. Not a bad life huh?

Miami

It's 1am and after the last 6 days in Miami, I'm as ready to go as I'm going to be for the next 2 months in Asia.

To rewind a bit (since I have been called a slacker for not updating the blog....) Tuesday I had my first attempt at surfing in South Beach with my friend Rob, who is thankfully an infinitely patient man. Yeah, it was pretty bad - Rob was very kind to blame the conditions but it is clear I have years of practice to do. So after hours of being in the sun and paddling my heart out, we met Kiki (one of my best friends and Rob's wife) for dinner - we had a craving for pulled pork, so off we went for bbq (braai for you in SA) again.

Thursday morning I was up and off to the beach again, this time I was supposed to have another surfing lesson but it fell through. So I said to myself, "What the hell, I'm just gonna rent a board and go for it." Thanks to Victor (my quasi brother in law), I was sent to see the guys at South Beach Dive and Surf Center. So I walk in and ask to rent a board, no problem but had I checked the conditions? Toby and Anthony check the conditions and tell me it's really not worth it, pretty cool right? I end up hanging out at this shop for 2 hours, cracking up, hearing crazy stories about half pipes in back yards and bands playing on roofs, getting advice on where to go in Thailand and just having a good time all around. I even "sponsored" the day's surf report. Kiki & Rob were able to record it for me and once I figure out how to post it I will - it's really funny.

Friday I did lots of running around but quite frankly I can't remember what I did except for having dinner with my sister, Carmen, and Victor. We went to an AMAZING Indian restaurant in Coconut Grove, and Carmen did indeed have the best dish of all of us - I think she was quite lucky that we did not fight her for all her butter chicken.

Saturday the frantic shopping "for the trip" and laundry phase commenced. Thankfully I had decided to have a barbecue at my family's home for my closest friends and among them was my friend Kiki, who had agreed to help me pack. This woman helped me pack my car 7 and a half years ago when I moved to Washington DC. Imagine if you will, all my possessions are strewn all over the driveway and I'm crying telling her "I'm never going to fit all this stuff!" Anyone who knows Kiki, knows she has a special gift when it comes to organizing. My stuff got packed and I even had a clear view through the back window of the car! So Kiki and Rob showed up early and we approached my room, which literally looked like a tornado struck. Kiki, being the trouper she is says "Oh man, this is awesome! This is gonna be fun!" And she meant it too (however she did later confess she did have her misgivings about getting everything to fit in 1 rolling duffel bag and a carry on backpack).

Anyway, we finally did have the bbq and have a few well deserved beers.

Today, Sunday the final packing commenced, once again with the expert assistance of Kiki and after several hours of sorting through clothes, toiletries and any possible medication/first aid need we managed to get it done (well, Kiki did - I think I was a little shell shocked and did better with just taking instructions).

I'm off to Atlanta at 7am Monday morning, on to Los Angeles, then to Taipei and I finally get to Bali on Wednesday afternoon. So, in otherwords, don't expect any postings too soon!

Wrightsville Beach, NC to Charleston, SC

Friday I drove from Wrightsville Beach, NC to Charleston, SC - another 178 miles on my trip.

I signed up for a surf lesson with the people at Surf Camp and met Brendon, my instructor, at 7:45am. Check their website out WB Surf Camp.
The lesson was great, I learned about rip currents and a better way to "pop up". While I love my teachers in Long Beach, NY, my main teacher runs the lessons a little like surf military camp, lots of "paddle like you mean it!!!" gets yelled in the ocean. It's cool anyway and kind of funny. One of the things I really liked about my lesson with Brendon was his easy going nature and encouragement. It was actually really funny, before we got into the water he tells me "I'm gonna yell at you in the water a bit, because otherwise you won't hear me, but I'm not really yelling. Ok?" Very charming, as I am used to trying my instructors patience and getting yelled at quite a bit.

It was a great way to start the day, being outside, in the ocean, catching some waves, learning new things, chilling and talking (also nice when your surf instructor is a nice guy and a hot one to boot!).

So after checking out, I hung out in a cool internet cafe and eventually moved on and got some lunch.

Wrightsville Beach seems like a cool and relaxed beach town where people are friendly and ride around on their bikes and seem to have a laid back approach to living. However it was time to move on and head to Charleston.

I drove along the Atlantic coast line on I17 South.

I17 was a weird stretch of road. There were lots of pawn shops, fireworks shops, strip clubs and trailer parks along the way. I drove through Myrtle Beach, which was apparently holding a bike week and I don't mean bicycles. I was literally surrounded by a pack of bikers at one point, they were in front of me, next to me and behind me.

I don't think I have ever seen so many Harleys and handlebar mustaches at one time. Here is a picture but it really does not do the situation justice. Personally I do not understand the appeal of Myrtle Beach, maybe it's nice along the ocean but I17 was riddled with neon and weird stores. Not my thing at all.

I kept driving on I17, I drove through beautiful desolate parts of "Lowcountry", which essentially runs from parts of North Carolina to parts of Georgia, where the land is actually below sea level. I passed a number of big plantations and felt that the whole area has a spooky vibe to it.

Finally I made it to the outskirts of Charleston and crossed the Cooper River Bridge. I have a bit of a fascination with bridges, I find them to be both engineering and artistic masterpieces. The Cooper River Bridge is no exception, it is the longest cable stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere. It is seriously gorgeous and left me truly astounded. You can read more about it here http://www.cooperriverbridge.org/.