Home Away From Home

I'd say the main reason I moved to Hawaii was for the ocean. The year round 80 degree, clear blue water. Since I arrived I have been surfing as much as possible. Usually I will go 4 days a week for a couple hours. Surfing has really become a part of me, and it is sometimes hard for people who haven't surfed to truly understand that, but just think of something you are passionate about, that you totally enjoy and have to do as often as you can. If I go more than two days without surfing I basically freak out. Surfing provides so many things — harmony with nature, serious exercise, socialization with friends and strangers, time outside getting vitamin D and a tan, etc. etc.

So the photos below are of my favorite surf spot. It's in a area called Kohanaiki and is nicknamed Pine Trees for a huge cluster of trees visable from up and down the coast. The trees are actually mangroves, not pine trees, but oh well. To reach Pine Trees you have to drive to the coastline by the Natural Energy Lab and then follow a sand and rock 4 wheel drive road for a mile. It's a bumpy ride but I love how it's rugged and inaccessible, with the ocean just 50 feet away. At Pine Trees, everyone parks on the beach, sometimes lining up side by side at the bay or pulling under a tree away from other people. There are four different waves here: the bay, sidewalks, the rocks and elevators. The bay is where I surf most of the time. Sidewalks is super shallow, pretty much for body borders. The rock and elevators break faster and steeper, and are usually surfed by the shortboarders that rip.

Anyway, I have learned many lessons about surfing at this place including riding too far into a shallow area and getting cuts on my feet and hands as a result, taking a surfboard off the head and getting stitches in my ear, having my leash break in overhead surf and having to swim parallel to the shore while diving under waves to get out of the water, how to be patient and wait to resurface when a wave holds you under after wiping out. Of course, those were just the tough times. Everyday is a blast talking to friends on the beach and catching nice waves.

It's amazing sitting out in the water off the Kona coast because it's so clear, probably the clearest water in the state. So you see yellow tangs and other fish swimming around you. The rocks and reef are totally visible while sitting and surfing. Sometimes you have to dodge a sea turtle too. Probably the best part of surfing is being home later that day and feeling the rhythm of the ocean in your body, the waves still passing by. Close your eyes and you can see the waves swelling up in front of you.

The photos below are of a couple waves, my car parked at the beach, signs reminding everyone to keep it clean with Hualalai mountain in the background and a look toward the beach at the bay where people park.