Sand, Sun, and Surf

Day 3 of the Muffin:

It's the close of the third day of Wags' Hawaiian vacation. This morning, the trio threw our towels and body boards in the back of the car and drove to White Plains Beach in Kapolei, where we soaked up some sunshine and splashed around the Pacific.  (point "B" on the map below)

The waves perpetually rolled in with enough promise for a good day of beginner surfing. 

It didn't take the boys long to throw off their shirts and grab their boards. Nick and Wags dove into the water and paddled out far enough in search of a quality body boarding experience. 

Rather, I settled into my towel on the shore and made a conscious effort to be in the moment. 

The blazing sun.

The cool breeze.

Rolling sand grains between my fingers, 

sticking to my legs.

Salty air prickling my skin.

December 21, 2011 at a beach in Hawaii with my husband and our muffin, the sunshine and the sea, and I wasn't going to miss a moment of it.

When the boys returned, Nick and I decided to rent a couple of surf boards and take a lesson. The pristine waves and the abundance of water-goers inspired me to journey into the ocean despite my innate fear of it.

Well, perhaps it should have been a sign that surfing lessons were filled for the day AND I couldn't physically pick up the board to carry it out of the shop on my own. Nevertheless, off we paddled. 

I won't pretend that I didn't panic. Leaving the shoreline means relinquishing some amount of control, which, let's be honest, is not something I like to ever willingly do. Nick and I paddled out passed the buoys before I froze in terror. My thoughts at that moment:

I can't see the bottom.

The waves look awfully big out here.

I saw "Box Jellyfish" warnings on the weather channel this morning.

Help.

Unfortunately, regardless of the distance that we had already paddled, Nick and I were not quite far enough out. Far enough? Yes. Far enough. 

And the waves rolled in...

Each time, the waves would break about 10 yards in front of us and the surf would crash over us. This meant one of two things:

1.  If my board was parallel to the wave, then the wave lifted us (me and the board) into the air, flipped us and crushed us under water. 
2. If my board was perpendicular to the wave, and I didn't want to be flipped backward, I had to go through the wave, meaning it had to crash over me. This seems harmless, perhaps, except that the force of the wave and the constant waves the followed meant that it was semi-equivalent to drowning, I'm sure of it.

The water was in my nose. The sand was in my eyes. Both pulled at my bathing suit bottoms. Every time I was knocked off the board, which was damn often, I was sure something was going to bite me, sting me, pull me under, or just plain touch me. Let's be honest, after about 20 minutes (which is far longer than expected), I was exhausted, water logged and ready for solid land. 

I am positive that you are all wondering about Nick's surfing experience. For those closest to him, you are exceptionally curious because of his dislike of water and swimming. That husband of mine rocked it. In fearless boy nature, he caught at least two waves (that I saw) and stood up on them both! Aside from needed a quality rash guard if this is going to become a regular Reis activity, Nick absolutely loved surfing. And for our very first time hitting the waves, he surely displayed promise for being good at it!

I wish I had pictures for proof. Before he and Wags retreated to the 'man room' with their Johnny Walker Gold, I promised Nick that I will be persistent in my surfing until I'm either decent or I enjoy it. Hey--- I did better at Day #1 surfing than Day #1 snorkeling.

Off to drink my Wags-made daiquiri and watch Elf. Goodnight all :)

M.