January 31, 2012

Texas surfing



I got my undergraduate degree at a small branch of Texas A&M in Corpus Christi where the campus was on an island, where Mark and I met, and where I fell in love with surfing. I had never been to a Texas beach before Corpus Christi. Most of my beaching had been done in California with the occasional family vacay to Hawaii or Florida or some other fun place. So I'll be honest and say it was easy to be a little harsh at first on the South Texas beaches... I'd seen the pictures of all the spring breakers that would flock down there. I thought flat waves and dirty beaches with cars parked all over them? While the beaches in the city are still not something I'd really want to dive into, the nearby beaches on North Padre Island soon became one of my favorite places to be, not nearly what I had assumed.

I was surprised when I saw people surfing in Texas water and after many trips to the beach watching the surfers I knew I had to try it. A few friends showed me the ropes and that was it. I was hooked. While the waves aren't quite the quality or as consistent as they are on other coasts, it was a great place to learn with plenty of fun waves to go around on most days and a pretty mellow crowd in the water. I didn't quite have the upper arm strength I needed when I started, but I would go everyday until my body gave out and I couldn't push myself up on my board anymore. I loved keeping track of the surf report, ditching classes on the good days, going to work with salt in my hair and sand between my toes. And hurricane swell... that was a special treat. Those were the days when we would get the 10-12 foot waves that we rarely saw. And there is nothing like the feeling you get when you catch a good wave. It was my absolute favorite thing to do. It was like laying out, exercising, enjoying nature, spending time with friends, and playing in the water all in one. 

I can't wait until we can move back to a beach town and be a family of three in the surf. For now I'm glad to not have the tease of the beach closeby because I definitely don't need to be skipping classes. : )

We took a trip last summer for a friend's wedding and had a perfect beach day. Usually the "summer doldroms" keep the surf flat (we're talking ankle high) but this was such a special day where surf was actually a few feet high and a pod of dolphins showed up to ride the waves with us. For the only surf session that year, you can't ask for much more than that. 





1 comment:

  1. Saying Hello from the link up @ The Wiegand's :)

    Kristina
    http://www.yomichaelmichael.com

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