What happened? Where was I?
Well... I had some employment troubles, and then got into a job I like. But even larger than that, the last 2 years I've been a father.
It's funny to think about it. I used to feel bad for new fathers because they had to stop surfing to be there for the family. I wanted to never be a father because I didn't want to give up what little free time I had to visit the ocean. As it worked out, I stopped wanting to go to the ocean.
Sure, a big part of it was general exhaustion. I didn't want to load my car, make the drive and the search, and then drive back home, clean up, and still do the Daddy Duties. But after the first year or so, things got easier. My child required less of me so I could get some good rest, and I still didn't want to go surfing. I wanted to stay home with my family. By my choice.
I tried to convince my wife to bring the family to the beach, and we even did a few times. For those first two years that was just about the only time I went surfing. I still thought about it, but I just didn't do it.
So now I'm at the 2 year mark and feeling good. I don't surf every weekend, but I will probably surf more. There are weekend days when the family has plans that don't necessarily include me and so I can go off to do my thing without missing out on family things. I'm not free from responsibility, I still have a child to take care of much of the time. But the pull of the ocean is gaining strength.
I bought a used SUP a while back. I have used it for exercise in the harbor on days when I didn't feel free to spend half the day driving to the beach. I used it when the waves were small but the weather was great. I even used it to battle shifty head-high waves. But the other weekend I used it for the "ultimate" adventure.
There's a spot that can have good waves, but no road goes there. The closest parking is still an hour walk away. I parked at the other parking lot that was even further away and embarked on a 2-mile paddle on the SUP. I found that if I kept a relaxed pace I could paddle for a long time. People were strolling along the beach and I found paddling is faster (slightly) than walking.
So I made the paddle and even got lucky. The waves were small but had good shape. I was alone which allowed me to push myself. All things worked out and I felt like I learned some more about riding this huge board in small waves. The waves shut down after an hour and I made the long paddle back to the car.
The SUP adventure was a long drive and 3 hours on the water. I was tired, but not nearly as exhausted as I would be if I had been surfing a regular board for 3 hours. The muscles used are not as unusual as surfing muscles, so the exercise isn't as strenuous. That being said, it misses some of the things I like about surfing. It feels less connected to the ocean and to the wave. I can't see myself getting a tube on a SUP. The board is less maneuverable than the longest log I've ever ridden. But, if it gets me on the water, it's worth it. In fact it's just a bonus that I can ride waves at all on the thing. Now I've started looking around at where else I could make a long paddle to get to a remote wave. I've got a few in mind already and I'm just waiting for conditions to be right.
