California Diary no.1: Surfin’ USA

While I am here in California, I thought I would do a travel diary. I have tried and failed to keep a regular diary while traveling, so I am making this California diary into a small series of blog posts! I will also be scattering travel guides and other such blog posts in between the diary, so stay tuned for a lot more CA content coming!

I’m starting my trip off with a bang doing California right: surfing. Surfers have always been so cool to me, and I always enjoyed watching them from afar…but I was very unsure about trying it myself. I might be an adventurous person, but all my life I have had a fear of the ocean. I was the kid who, on beach days, enjoyed digging for crabs rather than playing in the water. And if I did venture out into the water, I usually didn’t allow it to go past my waste. I didn’t like that I couldn’t really see what was below me, and nightmares of shark fins and sting rays messed with my mind.

Every time there is a shark attack story in the news, I read it…so the idea of surfing conjured up images of Bethany Hamilton’s surfboard with a huge bite out of the side of it. Not going to lie, the idea of surfing really freaked me out. BUT, when my uncle and cousin started surfing, I was determined to have them teach me the next time I was in CA.

So I suited up in my wetsuit, and we grabbed our surfboards and headed into the waters of Mondo’s Beach in Ventura, California.

Do you know what happened? From the moment I started trying to surf, until we left the beach, I never once thought about sharks, or sting rays, or jelly fish. Well…maybe jelly fish, but let me tell you, I was no longer afraid. My mind focused fully on trying to learn how to paddle, catch a wave, and stand up on the board. Nothing else mattered.

My goal for the day was to catch a wave and stand up on the board, just once, that’s all I wanted. I was able to meet my goal, and I stood up 4 times; twice completely unassisted, which let me tell you, is a real confidence booster. Now I am IN LOVE with surfing, and I’m dying to go again! I am trying to figure out how many times I can go this summer while I am in CA, and have already purchased a full body wetsuit. Haha! It feels like I am already hooked, even though I have only been the one time.

To anyone who is interested in, but intimidated by surfing, my advice is to JUST DO IT! You will probably love it and wish you didn’t wait as long as you did to try! Rent a board, take a class, and get out there in those waves!