A Guest From Hawaii

If this blog and its links are about the lives of 4 individuals scattered miles away from each other, I'm glad to report those times when we have the opportunity to reunite: I picked up Henri at San Diego airport on Friday night with plans to surf the morning after. His flight from Honolulu arrived on time. It would have been the first session together after almost one year apart.
We woke up at 5:45 am on Saturday morning and bolted to Sunset Cliffs where Travis would have joined us for the ritual moonlight walk to the surf. We paddled out to an empty line up to soon realize there was going to be enough swell for a fun session; waist high with chest high peaks: I was stoked! My first wave of the morning turned out to be the most memorable. I took off on the 6'3" McCoy and I started racing a perfect reeler for 50 yards or so. The feeling of acceleration on a small board like that is intoxicating. I have a hard time descibing how I felt in trimming the tail of the board into that smooth liquid wall... Travis said I looked loose and fast... equipment can radically affect our surfing.
The luck of being alone for almost 3 hours allowed us to relax and take turns and goof off as much as we pleased. A sea lion kept following us and almost jumped on my board. The theory that the animal was attracted to the scent of coconut-mint power bars hidden in Henri's wetsuit was hilarious!
Travis surfed exceptionally well and Henri showed good style on a borrowed long-board. We had a blast 'til the end. Surfing with friends is a great thing...