Surfing Adventure

So we did it...well, we tried to do it anyway. Let me just say that 5:30am does not come early enough when you are excited about doing something new. Josh and I woke up Sunday morning at Folly Beach, put on our swimsuits and headed out to the beach for our first adventures of surfing.

The sun was rising, the waves were crazy, the water was warm, and there we stood on the beach with a surfboard looking at each other like we may be nuts after all. After a little nervous laughter and several questions of who was going first, Josh headed out to sea! I stood on the beach, camera in hand, and watched as he made his way out on the surfboard. He actually made it look pretty simple, paddling his way through each wave. Then, after several attempts, he stood up on the board and rode the wave the best he could. It was so exciting! This first surfing picture is of Josh standing up for the first time.

Then it was my turn. A few simple instructions from Josh and I was ready to try it. So I grabbed the board and started wading through the surf. After climbing onto the surfboard, I started to paddle. Let me just say that the rental boards they give you to use are huge! My arms barely reached either side, so it looked like I was paddling with my fingertips. Then the first wave hit me and I thought I just got sprayed in face with water from a pressure washer. I am sure it was an interesting sight; me paddling just as fast as my arms would allow, hair all across my face, saltwater in my mouth and nose, me gasping for air and frantically blinking my eyes in hopes I would regain some sort of vision before the next wave hit me. I remember briefly thinking, "I remember Josh making this look a lot easier." Somehow I did it though, I actually made it to a spot suitable for catching a good wave. So, I turn around and see a wave coming and I start paddling again. At this point my arm muscles, which rarely get exercised, are burning with pain. Then I notice I am not even moving. You know when a big wave comes and it pulls you backwards? That was me, paddling just as fast as I could and not even moving. So the wave catches me... I'm in it! I'm going! Then I think, "Ok, time to stand up!" I put my arms on the board to assist with the standing up process and they collapse like Jell-O. Not kidding at all, they were so tired I barely got to my knees before the wave was over. So what did I do? I got up and headed back out for another try! That is me in the picture making it to my knees before flopping into the water.

This process continued for a few tries before I finally got one. Yep, I stood up....and that was about the extent of it, me standing on a huge piece of foam. It was so much fun! It was one of those things that once you got that feel of how it was supposed to work, you crave to keep trying it. I was pleasantly surprised at all the excitement that came along with it. Something I would definitely do again...LOTS!! :)

A bit of advice for those new surfers out there...the ankle strap can be tricky. Once I regained my balance in the water after falling off, my legs were swiped out from under me as the surfboard was taken with the next wave. It comes as a quick surprise if you aren't prepared for it.

This last picture is great! Really captures the intensity of the whole adventure. Definitely a reminder that you are all alone out there...paddling for your life. ;) I really wish Josh and I would have rented surfboards when we first arrived at the beach, it was well worth having the whole weekend. We will know next time though. SO MUCH FUN!

Folly Beach, SC

What an amazing weekend! I have a feeling I will be blogging about this vacation for a while. We all had such a good time. The drive from home to Folly Beach really only took about five hours. We left Friday morning and after stopping for breakfast, gas, the restrooms to change Ellie, and lunch, we finally arrived about 3:00pm. Trips are always longer with a little one, but it really wasn't a bad drive at all.

So when we arrived, we checked in to our condo and unpacked the car. Packing for Ellie is like moving the whole nursery, so unpacking the car took some time. Then we headed to the beach! Ellie was so precious. She was in awe of the beach and the ocean. She loved every minute of it. Josh and I were going crazy snapping pictures and taking video of her. I am sure the locals were probably thinking we had never seen the ocean before. Needless to say, I will be posting pictures from this trip for a while too!

Then we headed for the water. She was a bit frightened by the waves at first, but it did not take her long before she was giggling with excitement. Josh and I took turns holding her and jumping through the waves while the other took pictures. She was such a sight. She did not mess with the sand at first. When it got on her hands she would hold them out towards you like, "Here, get it off!" She would waddle her way down to the water with me to wash her hands. The longer we were out there the curlier her hair would get. I will post more pictures of her at the beach a little later. This post is just an overview of what the weekend agenda consisted of. ;)

So after an afternoon of playing on the beach, we headed inside to shower and prepare for dinner. We went to the Folly Beach Crab Shack the first night. We ate more than enough and then headed out to the pier for a nice evening walk. We were already wishing we could stay longer and it was only the first night.

On Saturday, we got up early to watch the sunrise and chitchat on the balcony. It was a beautiful sunrise...as usual at the beach. Then, Josh and I went for a walk on the beach before Ellie got up. Those early morning walks are always wonderful, but to add to the beauty there were several occasions we stood along the shore and watched the dolphins play just beyond the surf. It was perfect!

Once we finished our walk, Ellie was up and ready for breakfast. We headed to one of the restaurants in town to eat. That was another thing I found so enjoyable about Folly Beach, everything was within walking distance. The town was small enough that it took no time at all to walk from one side to the other. It was just a great vacation spot (or spot to live if the opportunity was there). So anyway, after breakfast we walked around town for a few minutes before heading back to get all of our beach gear ready for the day.

After the day out by the ocean, Josh and I managed to decide we were going to rent a surfboard. Surfing has always been something we both have wanted to try, so I guess once we saw that we could rent a board for $25 (for 24 hours) there wasn't anything stopping us. We rented the board late that evening with plans to try it early Sunday morning. Why early Sunday morning you ask? Well you see, less people=less audience for our first attempts. You will hear all about that later...that is a post all by itself!

To conclude our Saturday evening, we all got ready and headed for dinner at the Locklear's Pier restaurant. Dinner was delicious and the dessert was even better! A perfect end to another perfect day!
Sunday morning Josh and I got up early and tested our surfing skills or should I say the lack of skills. We had a blast! Then we spent the remainder of the day by the beach and in the water with Ellie. We ended up leaving Folly Beach about 5:00pm...tan and tired. It was a wonderful trip and weekend.