Surf Report # 2

Location: Grand Haven, MI – North Pier
Time: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Air Temp: 57 F
Water Temp: 58 F
Wind: From NNW 9-13 mph
Waves: 2-3 feet
Gear: 5/3 wetsuit

So buoyed was I by the previous day’s experience that I decided I needed another dose. The wave forecast looked decent (3-5 feet), so I decided to take another trek out to Grand Haven. Loaded up the 323, squeezed the board in (windshield to trunk), and drove out to the Lake by myself. I realized very quickly that I had probably badly miscalculated the waves when I saw the channel bobbing up and down at about half of yestrday’s height, then confirmed this when I pulled up to the beach and saw nothing but speed bumps on the water. I spent about twenty minutes walking along the shore and the pier trying to decide what to do. Should I jump in anyway, just to float around? Should I try somewhere else? Just head back home?

Finally, I decided to drive up to Hoffmaster just for kicks. Hoffmaster was exactly the same conditions (good beta for future reference), so I decided to try one more spot before calling it a day. Drove back down through Ferrysburg, got lost on a few side streets, and eventually made my way to Grand Haven’s north pier. Definitely bigger than the south side with the wind pushing the water against the pier (instead of the pier sheltering the waves on the other side). Oh , what the heck. I’m not wasting all that gas for nothing.

Spent the next two hours paddling around the sandbars and catching a bunch of short rides. Nothing great. Looked like a lot more fun right by the pier, but I figured that was a sure bet to destroy my board and my pride as I undoubtedly would’ve careened into a wall in front of the dozen or so fishermen milling around. Left the water completely content though. Felt a surge of pride and a little buzz of euphoria as I walked out of the water with my board and wandered back to my car. Windswept, soggy, stretched out skin, waxy hands. Perfect. Changed out of my suit in an outhouse near the fisherman parking lot which was smelly, but still a lovely luxury of privacy as opposed to stripping in the back of my car. Not as good as yesterday, but well worth the trip all in all.

Surf Report # 1

Location: Grand Haven, MI – South Pier
Time: 10:30 am – 2:00 pm
Air Temp: 59 F
Water Temp: 60 F
Wind: From W, WNW 13-23 mph
Waves: 4-7 feet
Gear: 5/3 wetsuit

Yup, first time out. Ever! Waxed up the board last night and caught a ride out to the beach with Dan in his pickup this morning. After a quick stop at Chapter 11 Sports in Spring Lake (so Dan could pick up a leash) we were on our way.

The wind was kicking as much as I’ve ever experienced out at the lake. Rip current seemed extra strong this morning as well. If you let the wind and current suck you, you would be half a mile down the coast in a blink. This was a pain because you had either had to constantly battle the pull or let it take you and get out later to walk back up the beach. Walk back face first into the wind with a sail-like board attached that is.

But really I have no complaints as I had no expectations coming in and I had more fun in those three hours than I’ve had in a long time. The waves were ridiculously big and I got tumbled a number of times. There were also times where I truly couldn’t paddle through those monsters. Just got smacked again and again, then got pulled away as I tried to regain my equilibrium. An equal mix of profanity and laughter to go with the abuse.

At this point I can’t tell you how good the waves were, though the sets were consistent and I did notice some long lines. What I can tell you is that my first time out I caught at least twenty waves, was able to stand up on most of those, and had at least half a dozen extended rides. Are you kidding me? First time out! Now, granted there was no flash in any of this, just rides directly toward shore, but I couldn’t believe how easy and natural everything felt.

I started out in full neoprene glory, wetsuit, gloves, boots, and hood, but dumped everything except the suit after about thirty minutes. Was roasting. After dropping off the extra gear, the comfort level rose dramatically. It’s hard to believe how comfortable sixty degree water can be when you’re moving.

Surfed until I couldn’t walk any more. Then went out for one more session. Then went out for one more wave. Then went out for one last wave. Stumbled back to the car, chugged a Powerade, and basked in the goodness of it all. Should be a great winter.

I meant to write about this yesterday, but the crazy guy threw me off. I was pulling out of the driveway yesterday afternoon and checking over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t running over any little kids and was surprised to see that there actually was a kid coming down the sidewalk. Not really coming down so much I suppose as standing on the sidewalk next door. Just standing. Standing and watching an oak leaf that seemed to be hovering in midair, spinning a little in the breeze. He didn’t touch it. Just cocked his head to the side, walked around it a little, looked up from underneath it. Then walked on.

I can’t explain how happy this made me. I work with kids every day who seem constantly bent on crushing the beauty around them that I forget that that there are “normal” kids out there who, having figured out the riddle of a leaf tethered to spider silk, walk on and leave the magic for the next person. Most of the kids I work with would’ve yanked that bugger down in half a second without a second thought.

…

Oh yeah, and lest I forget. Tomorrow’s the day. It’s all coming together.

I gave a crazy guy a ride in my car this evening on my way home from the gym. Either crazy or a little slow up top, as they say. It wasn’t entirely on purpose. He flagged my down as I was waiting at a stoplight and, after I turned down my music, asked if he could get a ride to the D&W about a mile down the road and I said, “Sure, hop in.” Probably more to avoid holding up traffic or to avoid peeling out in the guy’s face than anything else. He spent the ride mumbling to himself and seemed pretty stressed out trying to give me the right directions to the store, even though I assured him I knew where it was.

When we stopped he asked me for change to ride the bus, but I told him sorry, I just cleaned out my car. I probably could have given him a buck, but I didn’t think of it in the moment. He thanked me anyway and wandered into the store.

So, why don’t I have any change in my car? Well, because the 1994 Mazda 323 has a poorly designed rear hatch of course. First, there is no handle, so you have to use a key to open the back, twisting the key and lifting the door with your other hand at the same time. Second, when the key is inserted properly and turned inside the lock, the key is stressed at its bizarrely thinnest (and therefore weakest) point. This is especially super fun in the winter when the lock is stubbornly frozen. The conclusion then is that after eleven years of key turning things begin to break. Like keys.

Actually I’ve been going through keys for the past couple of years. The problem recently though I guess is that the last key copy didn’t come out perfectly matching and doesn’t open the side car doors. And this past weekend the original master key spiralled like a piece of macroroni when I tried to force it after coming out of Meijer with a cart-load of groceries. So I’m left now with a key that only works the ignition and not my doors.

So, that’s why I don’t keep change in my car anymore. I’m trying to make the transition to being one of those people who doesn’t lock their car doors. And I’m reducing the stress of that choice my removing anything of value everytime I park. Burglars beware, all you’re getting from my sweet ride are some smelly gym shoes, a couple taillight light bulbs, or maybe a few burned cds if you’re lucky.

I checked out my SBC phone bill online this afternoon just for precautionary kicks. And lo and behold I had a random charge for something called ILD Teleservices, Inc. for last month. $7.82, must have been something good. Hmm, odd, I think. The only thing I can recall possibly being charged for was for calling about static on the phone line. I was assured there would be no charge for the repair though so long as no SBC representative had to come into my house and they didn’t.

So, I called up the 1-800 number next to the name, waited on hold for about 5 minutes, then talked to someone who reported that it was a charge for using directory assistance. I explained that I had never used directory assistance. He took my word at it without any further questions and promised to refund the charge. Pretty painless, all things considered. I wonder how many thousands of these little charges go unchallanged every month though.