Surfing

Yesterday C and I rented a surfboard for an hour and I took him down to the beach and gave him a surfing lesson. What better place to learn, where the water is warm and the waves break close to shore. So on the beach I taught him how to stand up on the board and then I took him out in the water. I had him stand up on the board in the water while I held it. He was pretty unsteady and I wondered how he was going to do when the board was actually skimming through the water. So we waited for a small wave to come and I game him a push. He had great balance and was able to stand up several times! The board is actually more stable as it moves through the water. He wasn't quite prepared for the swimming when he was off the board, and this is why I have been waiting. I want him to be a strong swimmer. After a few swims in the ocean to climb back on the board he was ready for a break. I gave the board a try and after looking like a total dork in my Tevas, sitting too far back and having the thing tip upward and shoot into the sky from under me, and my inability to catch a wave despite how hard i paddled, I came in. (Well, it WAS an 8' foot board... that's too short for the waves I was trying to catch.)

K had a few rides on the surfboard too, but she is much more tentative about it. Another family passed along a little boogieboard and K and I took it out to the beach and road the waves up onto the sand for the better part of an hour. I was proud of her because she hasn't liked to do this at home. But the water is warmer here and that helps.

But we have managed to completely wear her out and her cold and cough is back with a rattle. She has to rest today, as we need to put her on a plane tomorrow.