Spin cycle

Did I mention I was going to try surfing on this Hawaiian adventure? This whole trip came about through an innocent exchange of emails with my awesome friend Scott, who idly mentioned he was thinking about taking a surfing trip to somewhere warm. I replied that I have an aunt and uncle in Hawaii whom I would totally love to visit and hey I'd love to try surfing too...and so the wheels turned and the plane tickets happened, and next thing you know I'm standing on the beach in Hanalei with a very pretty 9 foot surfboard leashed to my ankle. A few final tips from Scotty, with an emphasis on the bad consequences of being run over by another surfer, and we paddled out. As I negotiated getting my board through the white water, suddenly the little frolicksome rolling waves don't seem as playful. There's a lot of power behind all that surge, and let me tell you it's a thrill when it picks up your board and throws you towards the beach.

Let's just get this out of the way to start: I didn't manage to stand up. I did kneel once, briefly, before plowing into the spin cycle. I got tossed around, knocked on the head, injured my foot, got sunburn, irrigated my sinuses with seawater, yelled a lot, and actually really enjoyed the experience. Would love to try it again, and next time keep the nose of the board up...

Here's a photo from Glass Beach, on the west shore of Kaua'i. The sand there is made up of bits of beach glass, washed out from an old dump nearby.

On the home front, Sunday markets begin this weekend. I also have more freelance work than I can shake a proverbial stick at, spring is maddeningly beautiful, and I hope my tan doesn't fade too quickly.