Endless Session, Day 239: Salty Glass

I was screaming underwater, and only the mermaids, sharks, and fish could hear me.

I traversed north at 7:30 a.m. to meet an old friend at my previous stomping grounds of 25th street, and what looked like an easy paddle out proved to be misfortune.  The third wave I caught I was noseriding into oblivion, then the bowl on the inside rocketed my 20 pound heavy volaned longboard straight into my shin, and the shock of a fiberglass hammer to my leg sent me into starry spirals of white hot pain.  On the beach the protruding knot that thankfully wasn’t a break started showing colors of black and blue, and flash forward past many ice and hot baths and the afternoon was upon me.

After running a few errands I puttered down 10th street in hermosa at 4 p.m., and the normally jumbly afternoon sea looked like smooth, salty glass.  The soreness in my overpaddled shoulders and shocked leg went numb and right outside of my house I saw local bar owner (Pitcher House) Jimmy Young on a surf check mission in his truck, and after his quest for an empty meter we convinced each other to hit the pier, both ditching the warmth of wetsuits to enjoy the sun-filled air and temperate water.

The couple waves I told myself I would catch turned into a two hour surf session, and every second of sheet-glass water and rosy hue on the horizon was enough to make anyone feel like they’d lived a full life. The afternoon crew full of stellar surfers, some familiar faces and some new, had us all hooting and hollering for each other on every glistening roll of the ocean.

Thanks Mother Nature, you rock.