I am all about taking chances and exploring new adventures. Anything that is scary and new sounds exciting and fun to me. Yesterday was the first time I have ever been surfing and it was nothing short of scary, fun, tough and exhilarating!
The sun came up on a beautiful Thursday morning, and as I took my morning walk with my puppies I could feel the warmth from the sun, and I knew that it was going to be a fantastic day for the beach. With the cooler packed full of water and containers of pre-portioned healthy meals I was ready for the day. We went out to the Barbers Point White Plains Beach in Kapolei where they had a place we could rent surfboards. Within our group of friends there were both experienced and new surfers and there was a variety of boards for us to try. Being new to surfing I was very open to hearing any sort of advice and tips I could get from people who had grown up surfing. They told me that for my first time it was best to get a big board. The board was 10 feet long and super buoyant.
The sun came up on a beautiful Thursday morning, and as I took my morning walk with my puppies I could feel the warmth from the sun, and I knew that it was going to be a fantastic day for the beach. With the cooler packed full of water and containers of pre-portioned healthy meals I was ready for the day. We went out to the Barbers Point White Plains Beach in Kapolei where they had a place we could rent surfboards. Within our group of friends there were both experienced and new surfers and there was a variety of boards for us to try. Being new to surfing I was very open to hearing any sort of advice and tips I could get from people who had grown up surfing. They told me that for my first time it was best to get a big board. The board was 10 feet long and super buoyant.
Starting out we practiced paddling out and “popping up” on the board in the sand on the beach. We got a quick run down of the dos and don’ts of surfing. Let me tell you, there is a lot more to it than it looks like. One of the things I was most nervous about was, “learning the rules of the road.” Since it is a massive ocean rather than a clearly marked two lane road, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t being dangerous or getting in peoples way. For the most part I wasn’t nervous but when I had the leash on my ankle and the board in my hand it got real. With one deep breath in and out it was time to go. Walking into the ocean and getting positioned on the board we started to paddle out. The waves looked so much larger when I was actually in the water. Breaking over the first wave and paddling out I could feel my adrenaline rushing through me.
We got out to a far enough distance and turned our boards around. Now I was in position ad was ready for the big wave in the distance that was on its way. For my first attempt, one of the experienced surfers was there holding my board talking me through it. He gave me verbal instructions to start paddling as the wave was approaching and just at the right moment gave my board a push. Trying to remember everything I had learned in 5 minutes, I jumped up and rode my first wave almost all the way back to the shore. I was excited and shocked at the same time that I had actually done it and on my first try! I paddled back out and the experienced surfer teased me and said, “ Great job, but I gave you a push so that doesn’t count.” Now that I had a feel for what to do it was time to try again on my own this time. With a mixture of completely wiping out and some great successful rides I ended up catching 3 more big waves and multiple “body boarding” attempts.
Some intense board rash on my legs, a coral cut on my foot and some new tan lines later it was time to call it a day. I didn’t realize how much of an amazing workout it was until I was carrying my board back up the beach. I was so busy having a blast that I didn’t even think about the calories I had blasted through during my adventure. Since we will be closing on our house soon and living near that beach I can definitely see this being a new morning routine. Getting some exercise, a tan and having fun each morning sounds like a great perk to living in such an amazing paradise!
Go out and try something NEW and have an amazing weekend!
<3 Jess
Some intense board rash on my legs, a coral cut on my foot and some new tan lines later it was time to call it a day. I didn’t realize how much of an amazing workout it was until I was carrying my board back up the beach. I was so busy having a blast that I didn’t even think about the calories I had blasted through during my adventure. Since we will be closing on our house soon and living near that beach I can definitely see this being a new morning routine. Getting some exercise, a tan and having fun each morning sounds like a great perk to living in such an amazing paradise!
Go out and try something NEW and have an amazing weekend!
<3 Jess