last camp of season 2009

Pic #1 boards a couple of thses are ten years old. so many people have surfed them, it is cool. pic #2 joanna took this of me, 57 year old guy, only other thing that interests me besides surfing and a few other things is constitutional law and order. pic #3 mike king: main man of the beach stops by and he and i visit, we have known each other for over a decade.
it is about 65 degrees out i have on ski clothes, water temp still over 80 degrees. we had a blast, michele her first surf camp, she is a rocket sientist from houston, honest. karen and terry in camp for their second camp both ladies needed prompting from me, they like the beach chairs and walks on the beach and with it over cast they waited until the sun shined on sunday around one in the afternoon then they went out and i was proud of them, they love it, especially since i tell them that to be a surfer girl all you have to do is let the board do the work and do a tummy ride.

pic 4 Joanna our photograper and florist, she brought a bocay of flowers from her garden to camp. she worked the board and did get some standups on sunday, i know she wasnt going to leave camp without a 30 foot or more ride.

mike doesnt look to chilly, he is on the beach nearly every day year round with his wife and dog. everybody knows him, and out in the lineup he is quite the presense, plus he can surf, he's big and older than me, famous surfboard manufactures give him boards to ride.

Allison and Katie gave it a good try, even though the waves where big and it was kind of stormy, they had fun in surf camp. Ken Jeffers made a standup on sunday with joanna and he was proud. shawn the best tide guide surfer is now charging the drop zone, i surfed him hard which ive done for 5 years now and he is going for it, really great to see...we had red tide thurs fri real bad. my lungs where raw and eyes red but waves where huge friday evening before sundown and about 10 of us where out getting maxxive ride.....well that is the season it is over for 2009.

surf camp #7 trinity university 2009

this has always been one trip i especially look forward to each surfing season. trinity university. we worked hard to make this one happen. a month ago erica our new director and i got her staff members and we went up to the campus outdoor pool on a nice evening and goofed around in the pool, with students. pict #9 football practice was also going on down below the pool, and we could watch the team and cheerleaders and professors all out for the evening, reminded me of the 1940's. (although i wasnt around). so this friday night after dark the school van pulls up to camp, out come danielle staff, jessa staff, they are beside themselves to be in surf camp!!!!! out come, zuan xihaug he is from china, jose he is from paraguay, philip, helen and cleo....all is well, i have been here since thursday, surfing and getting everything setup.....weather will hold and be mild, and we have an east swell, putting up nice lines and on the outside 6-7 foot faces.... saturday morning at dawn and after cooffee and before any one else will get up, i go out pic #8 couldnt wait and it was supurb. later after leisurely break fast i take them up on the sand dunes for surf talk pic #7 . then a full day of practice and it was not long before cleo was getting standups, then jessa, then danielle, hellen a little while, philip imeadiatley, jose imediatley, ziang took him awhile. we surfed all day, excellent camp. pic #6 . after dinner we carved this pumbkin and choose danielle to surf it tomorrow, a trinity 4 year tradition, you have to wear it on your head and ride a wave pic #5 , and pic #4 . every one is quite tired and go to bed kind of early pic #3 surfboards resting at night. pic #2 a night crab near the surfers sleeping cots. next morning sunday i get daneille out of bed and she goes out and we surf the outside sets, and coming in we both grab a 6 footer from outside and ride it side by side all the way to dry sand, she was extatic, and is a surfer girl from now on pic #1 also jose in this pic. he was getting every wave....soooooo fantabulous camp..........

surf camp #6 2009 sept.

Have watched the break for 25 days, from the hotel's 8th story camera, its been practically flat. Arrived on the beach thurs. morn. and a tiny swell is making. Better than flat. So catch a few just to get the moves down. water cyrstal clear 85 degrees, air temp 85, no crowds. get half of camp set up before dark. reading tsar nicohlass II and alexandra his princess, read it three times already, and it is like 400 pages, but it is such a love story, and a unparralelde opulance describing moscow and russia at the turn of the century. lenin, stalin, rasputin, rothchilds etc. friday, waves still make me get out there, catch a ride, then soak, then catch another ride, it is really a idylic morning, huge schools of menhaden in the line up, and pelicans are diving and swarming and gorging, 3 - 4 hundered birds, real close. swell is from the east, current going south. camp up and ready for 5 surfer girls and joe. joe has been in camp before and is liking the sport. heather and julie arive early after getting a little lost on the beach. heather flew in from boston to be with her wonderful daughter. picture #4. mother/daughter surf camp. joe arrives, and has 3 cases of diet coke and regular coke and beer and a big pack of miss debbies honey buns. all i serve is health food, but joe is from mississpii, (no offense). i bum cokes and honey buns all weekend!!!! plus joe brought his vintage motorcycle catalog, we both had dirt bikes in the 60's and he has a restored bsa 650, a classic, and we have fun talking vintage bikes. later meridith, anita, and tangerine arrive and are happy to be in their first surf camp. picture #3 all the surfer girls at ease. this camp is booked thru leisure learning unlimited in houston, so i tease the ladies allittle, saying that they passed the leisure portion of the class, heather was the only one to take a nap though, she gets an "A+". so everyone is in camp, and they go into town for dinner, julie and heather someplace and the other girls someplace else, joe stays in camp and we bullshit. everyone does a little star gaziing and such before bedtime, and i get to talk a little about surfing, i never talk about sharks, but i tell the turtle stories, and explain about all the menhaden in the line up......around 2 a.m. we get a squall, 30 knot winds and a full 2 inches of rain, in about a hour. it is dry in their tent and no problem, they are all on cots and comfortable, i'm in my surfer truck, comfortable, mickey my dog is on duty gaurding the surf boards, but heather gets up in the rain and takes mickey in to her cot, she gives me a lecture next morning???? she helps me all weekend learning how to be a better dog owner, i am a cat person, but i'll learn.....saturday morn waves are going to be excellent for the bigineers, nice form on the wave, even though preety small. i rarely, let anyone use my board, but first i let merideth use it and i give her a push and she stands up, she weight maybe 105 and has good balance, now i let julie use my board, she is tall, i give her a push and she is up and surfing. anita weight 95 and i get her a ride, and tangerine i have on the green fin board and it works for her and she gets a couple of stand ups, heather gets a knee ride all the way to the beach, and joe is going for it all day, i dont help him as much as the ladies, and i see he is progressing. Pict #2 everybody . we do a walk down to the pier and surf all day long, this time of year is so fine, not hot, no crowds, good food, excellent sun tans. late evening everyone stays up late in the beach chairs, some are a little sore, with board rash, and rib bruises, common surfer dings. i have on the weather radio, we have been watching a lightining display to the north, the system by my educated guess should stall over the mainland, but the radio is reporting gale force winds with hail. i get help and we batten down the camp before going to bed. heather takes mickey inside. weather system did stall, and no problems through the night. morning is fabulous, and with an offshore wind, joe is flying to rio dijinero for business later today, so after a couple honey buns i take him out early for a surf before he has to leave. the ladies sleep in a little, but i ring the cow bell anyway, just because i like to, then i say, "surf camp five minutes" ha ha....really this last session that the ladies get to enjoy is more than classic, clear water, 2 1/2 foot swells that my longboards fit perfect in, we spend 2 hours with the pelicans and menhaden, and anita gets 47 rides, i just keep pushing her and she stands up every time!, merideth, has sore ribs but i push her 27 times and she shrieks like a surfer girl, julie is just getting ride after ride, i am letting her use my favorite board, tangerine gets 7 stand ups! heather gets some knee rides all the way to the beach and everyone yells "way to go heather"......wow excellent surf camp, lets do it again....pic #1 practice on the beach>>>>>>>yeah!!!!!

august 2009 surf camp #5

Picture #1 tiny sun - big boat, sunrise august 12. Picture #2 all surfers made stand up rides. Patrick Peden the most with 27 rides. Linda Ware with 26 rides. Cally Simpson with one ride, but she did go 30 feet and got to sign the awning. Allen Simpson at least 25 rides. Elezina Cemer from Yugoslavia, about 5 rides with some help from me and then without any help. Major Minor (your author) 107 rides. ssssssssooo pretty fair weekend. wavves so,so, but wind not to high and waves didnt beat you to death, outside peaks monday morning 8 - 10 foot so good drops fairly fast rail rides. weather all trip long was mighty fine and not that hot, sleeping was cool. picture #3 the ranger station. Saturday night after dinner conversation was good, Elizina shared lots about having escaped from communism as a little girl. Linda and Cally are mothers and Cally a mother of two sons. Linda one son, one daughter and her daughter is quite a surfer, but was in california. These two ladies revealed a deep dark secret of high school agony years to the light of day. they explained to me that the reason boys wonder "what is wrong with me!" is because there is something wrong?///????? young males,,,,, dont have a frontal lobe.....and dont get one until we really need it, like after we have been drafted into wars, or been through hell, drank to much etc. then our bodies develop a frontal lobe. This information was welcomed by me, because now i know that it wasnt my fault all the mischief, disolution, embareasment, illiteracy etc... Picture #4 Allen Simpson age 14, no frontal lobe. Walking back to camp to change surfboards or come to talk with me. He is doing pretty well he got his drivers license last week, and monday has to be at school to band practice, he is one of 29 trumpeters on the squad, and in a band of, he said 200!!. but still no frontal lobe, for another 10 years. so i learned alot this weekend. also patrick during a converstation he and i had, he came up with a solution for our nation. He says, congress and the senate should have term limits of 12 years, no more career politicians........ nobody got sunburned and no one injured, although Linda did get a surfboard on her head after a wipeout, but all in all we all had fun and relaxed alot.......

HE IS HOOKED FOR LIFE, SURF CAMP #3 2009

This first picture is not staged, Natalie (in pink) told me i had surfed her out. and she is now part of the beach, and the other ladies joined her, wellllll that is what i do best is get them on the water. this particular session we paddled out 300 yards from shore, to just see what it was like, and to show them where the line up is when a major tropical swell develops. so it is quite a bit of excersice out and back to shore.

Group photo. and everyone became a surfer, and could stand up!!!!!!!

Now to the heart of the story, Here is the man who is hooked for life by his lovely wife.......after surfing all day saturday, then having a fine evening meal, Keith took Natalie out in front of camp each with a fishing rod, I was impressed, very few men have the privelege of a wife to fish with. The rest of the camp eased into the beach chairs and enjoyed the surroundings. then sometime later, i see Keith approach, he is like cleaning his teeth with a toothpic or something, Natalie is trailing behind. Keith passes by our grandstand and mumbles something, but he isnt exactly cleaning his teeth????? He is holding on to something!!!!! It is a stainless steel fish hook gone clean through his lip..............and sticking out ,,,,,,the barb passed through and is visible,,,,Keith is mad, embarassed and wants no smart remarks. i follow him over to his pick up truck and he has grabbed his fishing pliers and is getting ready to operate. its getting dark too. i get him to let go of this huge piece of metal, and i hardly know what to say or do, again a real fish hook is in his lip. Now i dont say something like "that is supposed to be in the trouts lip"... no i dont say that at all, Keith is 6'3'' and 220 pounds. Natalie walks up almost in tears, well in tears....and we begin to learn the grit. because the lovely wife was complicit,,,,,,hooo yeah, she will never live this one down...Keith was changing lures on his line, and holding the hook between his teeth, a common practice, and according to his version of the story, Natalie 30 yards away, made a neophyte cast and bopped Keith on the back, which then snagged Keiths line and you can guess the rest, that is why we decided that "Keith is hooked for life, by Natalie" i took them to the hospital, keeping them seperated, i put Keith in the front seat and Nataile out of reach in the back seat, Keith was a gentleman and was not to rude to his wife on the drive to and from the hospital. I had the doctor save the hook after it was removed so that Keith and Natalie can show it to their 4 month old son Kade when he grows up.

Oh yeah and surfing was fun to on this trip for Joe and Vanessa and Alex and Ashley and me......

surf camp #2 2009

No bragging rights on this session. Caught a fair amount of waves but they where tough to get to. Wind was so high thursday thru monday. Lots of tidal movement as well plus for some reason the break was chocolate, you could see green clear water 600 yards out? So i arived early thursday and made it outside 400 yards to catch 8 - 10 foot wind waves, they where fun i'll admit but not clean long rides like last month. Oh well. ....Carol came by and we went to an AA meeting together thurs. nite. During the night a squall comes ashore, producing gusts of around 40 knots, with a rain of 1/4 inch. Friday i get camp up in fairly nice weather, windy but just on the shy side of being a problem, surf is the same, but nice to be here, this being my 10 th season. Nothing hurts on my body, unlike last year with my shoulder pain. the pain is Gone!!!! My teeth hurt a little but a month at the dentist will fix that someday, i hope soon. Mark and Martin from Houston appear at around noon??? Carol and i are drinking my expensive coffee, i usually open camp in the late evening. But the gents are welcomed into Surf Camp and find a beach chair, and join in on the discussion, whatever it was.

As the afternoon progresses and we ease into the chairs a little more we learn both these men are executive engineers from Marathon Oil. They are playing hooky today, friday!!! i am very proud of myself for hosting an outing that will encourage this behavior. And these fellows i think appreciate it as well. Before long they want a surf board brought down from the rack, and a short lesson, they both are athletic and are water skiers, snowboarders, snowskiers. Martin shared with me that after 30 years with the same employer he takes 6 weeks paid vacation, 10 days sick leave etc, etc, goes to company meetings around the globe etc . hurruaah i say, Mark the same and he and his wife have just bought their retirement home on the island of oahu just above one of the best surf breaks in the world for longboards, Wikiki....WWWOOOwwww. Later Audra, Lacey, and Chritine show up. and i introduce them to surf camp, but it is to late in the day to surf and i am not cooking tonite, so they go into town for dinner. All surfers for this camp are on the island, pretty good for the size of the econimic shake down going on today in this country. Every one else is being audited, what is the so called federal reserve system hiding from us. they need an audit, and the house of cards will come tumbling down...! No squall's friday night, in fact weather seems real steady, though windy as heck but not that bad, sleeping is fabulous, cool, zero bugs. Saturday morn, a few jelly fish on high tide mark, the stinging type. while out during first session, i explain why we all are itching, the jellyfish are pummeled in the impact zone and their legs are broken up and that is what gets on your skin and in your bathing suit, it itches, but not to bad. water is so warm and the waves are ridealbe. Mark and Martin have got rides and are standing up already, the ladies are instructed to "just let the board do the work" and you just ride along for funand enjoy a belly ride.... The waves are pounders, wave, after wave after wave, so i get everyone out after 30 minutes to rest and eat watermellon under the camp awning. The ladies are becoming tan, and looking like surfer girls. Many sessions are had today, along with a walk down to the pier and out all the way on the deck to watch the surfers below. My vanity has gotten a real large boost, i stopped by Ted's Boardhouse surf shop thursday and one of the gals pointed out some new surf wax, that is glow green, i bought some along with the standard, old, white wax that everyone else uses, but not me anymore, my deck is now getting glow green and it looks cool, looks way better than everyone else....by late afternoon my surfers are finding out that this is definitely a major athletic sport, so we start slowing things down, the ladies go over and get a real shower and i start preparing a grand dinner and everyone pitches in. After dinner and while enjoying the fine atmoshphere we all learn a new word, from Mark. Mark understandably is highly educated and oversees the planning, the procurement, the building of and installation every year of 100 million dollar investments of oil rig platforms out in the gulf of texas. Tonight he uses this new word "STICKTION" , yes that is right , sticktion, he swerars that this is a real word. i've never heard of it or used it although i kind of like it. DEF: (the physical dynamic of the surfboards ability to contnue on plane during a surfers attempt to "hang ten" on the nose of his or hers board and not wipeout by pearling). We dicsussed this word for awhile>>>>> "During the night we are annoyed by some rednecks, driving a fourwheeler around and around and around out in front of our camp pulling a drag, smoothing off the sand. we are to find out that next morning the area is roped off and a wedding takes place later in the day. I called it a "shotgun wedding", because lots of guests arrive and then the bride in a flowing white gown with train, she is barefoot, maybe pregnant, but the odd thing was that as we sat there in our beach chairs watching it all took place in about 20 minutes and then poof everybody left, no real party......Fathers day is tomorrow and also the first day of summer. Lacey this surf camp was not able to get a full 30 foot stand up ride. Beginning surfers who haven't done so are encouraged to do a repeat and keep coming to surf camp. Then they get to sign their name on the awning. An old tradition of Tide Guides, the main thing is to let the board do the work and beginners just do a belly ride. I guarantee that is what i did, and my learning curve is now 30 years or so. We all where champs as surf campers and had fun getting to know one another and the joys of walking barefoot and living life in the slow lane. This is the allure of the surf culture. We all had to say ariva derche, adios, good bye and we did so with good grace early afternoon on sunday. All will be missed, and that is one of the reasons i keep this log, so we can remember this weekend.......

UTSA May 2009 continued

I suppose i should include a little script pertaining to actually kayaking. We probably covered 12 miles during the 3 days, and pretty effortless, although tiring, but no wind problems, so it was really fine. Sunrise's where right out of the water. Lots of reading, in the shade of our group tent. lots of talking and fun interactive word games. Fairly good food, i had asked Eliot Howard our UTSA director for this activity if i could be relieved of food chores, which he agreed so, i digested some velveta cheese, ate a few marshmellos, etc. but i was happy Kevin got the food delivered, hot and on time, with the help of the crew. I already miss our group and the trip, so we just have to go back......

UTSA May 2009 Kayak Kamp

Fine friday morning. UTSA kayakers already at the marina, they stayed last night. I arrive in time for honey dew breakfast mellon. Kevin has the group moving and we are all delighted especially me that the winds are at our back for the 5 mile trek by kayak to my Shell Bar. There where numerous highlight to this expedition, but in writing this i am going to jump to the beauty baths we all indulged in.....(SEE PHOTO'S). This extra caricular activity is somewhat of a tradition during fair weather for the UTSA Kayakers, we've dived in the primordeal oze a couple of years in a row now, and it is fun. We let the mud bake on for awhile while giggleing on shore in the sunshine, then a good dip to make you beautiful again. We found this mud, during Saturdays circumnavigation of Steam Boat Island. Other highlights of this trip to me where just the forecast of steady weather, so for 3 whole days none of us where subject to much stress. How rare!!!!!

2009 FIRST SURF CAMP MAY

The thrill isnt gone: Let me explain, this surfer has not left town for 6 months. Now i had watched an east wind for six days up in town. So when i arrived on the sand and came around the first sand dune, and could see my favorite break, it was big!!!! and had rythm. This is thursday before Memorial Weekend. I pull surf trailer into my favorite spot, in front of Ranger Station. I'm closer now to the break, the seas are alsmost glassy, and the swell is way overhead. Do a few chores tie up guard dog, uload favorite longboard which is already to go and i go. get up on first wave in front of camp after six months of doing real estate development and i wipeout. next wave is at least 100 yard 4 footer. i work my way down to the jpeir and spend two hours getting big rides, - 10 foot drops with about 10 of us out. Next day meet the new Nueces County Parks Director, we talk in my camp under the awning, things are well. Shawn Shulz and Chris Gueriky come into camp a day early to help me tomorrow put up the big tent. Shawn is Tide Guides model student, he surfs with me maybe 6 days a year, for 5 years now, and he is over the learning curve. So i push him so that someday when we get big surf he can get out there. Chris has a home garden and really produces a crop and has brought many vegatables and berries etc. for the camp to enjoy this weekend. His surfing is evolving, this is second season, in his recent life he shed over 70 pounds of his body and is looking trim. Victor and Rhoda arrive and Christian. I heard from Elizabeth, and she is going to be a day late. Every one gets a lesson Saturday afternoon, and the swell is still out there only half as big as yesterday, but excellent for biginners, so i get them going knowing the swell will be gone by monday. We eat well and surf well and enjoy this fabulous trip......