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!!!!!
