A Surf Mat kind of weekend

I surfed Mi4le Friday mid-morning hitting the sweet spot between the dawn crew and the late morning crew. The tide was really low and the dawn crew wasn't having much luck on the inside reef. I was, though, on my 5GF. Late drops with occasional lip launch belly flop then run the inside hollows. I did this on fast rotation for about an hour before the hard board surfers caught on and started competing with me for waves. I took the opportunity to take some waves at the outer second peak. Then the late morning crew came out and pushed me off that peak too. I ended up at 1st peak dumps, which was showing potential for connecting all the way in. I was tired by then so I took one in and called it a successful session.
As I was first heading out a board surfer coming in stopped to ask me about the mat. He had plans for a vacation to Mexico and wasn't sure he could bring a board. I told him the mat is difficult at first, but plenty of fun. It travels well, and I gave him a few fin options with a quick lesson on how to choose. I directed him to the 4GF website, but also offered the option to pick up a Krypt in town at Sawyer if he didn't have patience to wait for what I told him was, in my opinion, a better mat for most people (4GF.)
Friday was fun and fulfilling, so I didn't feel a need to challenge the in-town Saturday masses for marginal waves. I checked at dawn and didn't like what I saw at Suicides. I ate a big breakfast and cleaned up the house a bit. I was ready to leave town but made one last check of the conditions. On my way to the beach I ran into another surf matter suiting up and decided to suit up too, site unseen. We ended up disagreeing on the best choice and he went to Sewers while I went to Suicides. I think I made the better choice, because I got quite a few waves in one hour while he got three in the same time. While I was out surfing I got a few questions from some board surfers in the water.
Things have changed for mat surfing in the last 5-10 years since I first tried a mat. At first the questions were more like, "What the F is that thing?" Now the questions are more like, "Is that one of Paul Gross's mats." and "Where can I get one?" I still get a snide remark just about every time I ride, but it really doesn't bother me because I'm usually having a great time riding tons of waves away from the main peak!