Thank You, Mother Ocean

The waves weren't great by any means. We're talking about the home break. It's never great anymore. Surfing, as we all know, is more than riding waves. I truly enjoy being away from pavement and in what is essentially another realm.

The ocean certainly didn't disappoint today. The dolphins put on a show for no one but themselves. We surfers were lucky enough to be witnesses. The dolphins were out in force. One group in particular was especially active. First, one would jump. Then another. Then another. I'm not talking about little hops. I'm mean full on shot-out-of-a-cannon-SeaWorld-dolphin-show jumps. First, one. Then another. Then another. Finally, all three of them were jumping and twirling simultaneously. Cheers, screams and hoots erupted in the lineup. If waves were rolling through, we never noticed. The dolphins had our undivided attention.

A little while later, a lifeguard boat roared by . . . followed by a cavalcade of dolphins playing in the wake. It seemed that every time you turned around today, there was a dolphin.

Near the end of my session, I took a wave all the way in. I hadn't planned to take it that far, but I was too busy staring at all of the sharks on the ocean floor to end the wave before I was in knee-deep water. They were everywhere. That was an amazing sight.

This is the kind of session that can help you to forget about your problems on terra firma. I got out of the water with a smile . . . and a shuffle. (There's nothing like stepping on a shark to make me scream like the girly girl I'm not.)