Longing for adventure

It's been more than a year now since I bought a longboard and returned to surfing the reefs north of town. It rekindled my stoke when I rode tiny waves at formile with few to nobody else around. One day when there was a decent swell that spot was crowded enough that I shifted to the outside peak which was doing it's typical mixed-up thing. I took a bad drop and twisted my knee after less than an hour in the water. When I got dressed back at my car I wasn't satisfied, but couldn't surf. Instead I drove around to look at waves at other spots. That's when I was reminded of how good and relatively uncrowded some of the other reefs can be. I reasoned if that was the crowd when it was good (8 people) then it was likely less crowded when it wasn't good. So I started checking it and decided it was worth surfing even when not perfect like I'd seen it. It's a bit off the map and not easy to get to, but I realized it was worth the extra effort for me. I took that same mind-set and applied it to other spots in the area, further north, and way further north. And so began a renaissance in my surfing.

But lately I've been traveling in the same circle a little too much. I'm ready for the next "discovery" and to surf somewhere for the first time. My sights are set on Mendocino. It's 3-hours away, and I have only ever surfed one spot in that county. There must be more, but it's a schlep to get there and back. I found a campground and got reservations for the earliest weekend available, November 3rd. I don't want to wait that long, so I'm keeping my mind open to an opportunity to go up before that time.

But I haven't forgotten about SLO, which is about an hour further away, but to the south which is away from the wind. I can't imagine that being a day trip, so camping is the way to go. I should probably make reservations now, since it's likely to be booked for many weekends as well.

And what about the canoe across a lagoon to a surf-spot idea? SLO has that, Salinas River, Humbolt has those wonderful huge lagoons and empty beaches. Even Mendocino has some options (one of which is where I'll be camping.)

So I've got the adventure itch and plenty of options. The only thing is, adventure implies difficulty, and I'm kinda lazy lately :D