Double Down

We’ll see how many of the clever folks actually catch the blackjack reference a little later on. It’s actually a double entendre.

Let’s pick up at the conclusion of our last discussion. Surfing complete, vows incomplete. Just after my last post, Gwen and I uncorked a bottle of Pinot Noir and settled in for the evening. We accomplished a couple of wedding tasks and I made myself comfortable on the futon next to the computer. The next thing I know I’m waking up from nodding off and Gwen is typing away furiously on the keyboard. I remember asking “what are you doing”? I barely remember her replying “vows.” Everything was out of focus and it sounded more like Charlie Brown’s teacher – wah wah wah wah.

If I were to describe Gwen in a single word, that word would surely be “Amazing.” As I was sauced up and snoring away on the futon couch/taco/bed she had this incredible burst of focus (what alcoholics might call “a moment of clarity”). In the matter of a couple of hours she managed to get the entire ceremony down on paper. Gwen, Amy, and I had worked on the ceremony previously, but only scattered bits and pieces. Gwen pulled the entire thing together into a 9 page document – even printed out a copy for me to look at in the morning. I was – in a word – perfect. I can’t imagine a more meaningful ceremony.

She said my snoring was so loud that it actually kept her awake and focused on finishing. Nice helper I am. She woke me up and tucked me into bed proper at about 1am.

When I awoke at 6:30, the amazing Gwen was already gone. As a matter of fact, by 6:30 she was already in Newport Beach doing a 16 mile training walk with Sarah. Sarah is training for one of those breast cancer walk-a-thons, and Gwen has been training with her for the exercise and company.

After checking surfline.com, I split the house shortly after 7am to pick up Brian and go surfing. We ended up at San Clemente State Beach.

It’s a funny thing, that surfing. Friday evening, the waves were pretty big, but extremely gentle and playful. For you non surfing types, imagine taking off on a wave that breaks about a quarter mile off the coast. The wave at Dog Patch hits a shallow, gently sloping rock reef, and the wave face never gets more than about 45 degrees steep. It breaks so gently that only about the top third of the wave actually breaks. Riding down the wave is similar to riding down your driveway on a skateboard.

Surfers generally ride big, long boards there, and the surfing is more like a dance. Once you get locked into the curl, you just waltz this mirthful dance up and down your board to keep it in proper trim. When I think of surfing Dog Patch, I think of the legendary surfers of a bygone era styling down the line, at one with the ocean… trimming their life away.

San Clemente State Beach is not like that.

At State Beach, the waves sail in off the open ocean and heave themselves violently onto the steeply sloped beach. Catching a wave at State Beach goes a little something like this…

You see the peak coming towards you, so you turn and begin to paddle. As you paddle, the wave face wells up underneath your board, and for a split second you are laying in the wave face, paddling down a 45 degree slope, just like at Dog Patch. At just the very instant that your board starts to catch the wave something funny happens. The bottom of the wave drops out from under your feet, the wave heaves up vertically, then past vertically and into a barreling, exploding wave.

If you’re too high in the wave when this happens, you’re going to be pitched over the falls and destroyed in the whitewater.

If you’re too low in the wave when this happens, the wave is going to land squarely on your head, and you will be destroyed in the whitewater.

If you’re just in the right place on the wave, you’re going to catch the wave, get to the shoulder where you think it’s safe, and then the wave is going to wall up, close out, and of course, you will be destroyed in the whitewater.

It’s fast, scary, exciting, and it’s not at all like riding your old skateboard down the driveway. It’s more like standing on a diving board, looking down into an empty pool and saying to yourself “what the hell, I’m jumping anyway.” You know how it’s going to end! You’re going to get crushed!

But you go anyway, over and over again. There was actually one wave where I had to yell at myself as I was paddling in “Commit!, Commit!, Commit!” I did commit and it turned into a great wave, but if I would have hesitated for a split second, Mother Ocean would have been keen to spot the weakness and would have jumped on the opportunity to kick my ass.

There’s also a funny thing about surfing about calling “one last wave.” If you paddle over to your buddy and say “I’m about done… one last wave.” Guess what… Mother Ocean hears that. She knows. She spots the weakness and starts to play games with you. It’s a fact, ask any surfer.

If the sun is going to set in 20 minutes, and you call one last wave… you’ll probably sit out there until you decided to paddle in or get eaten by a shark. The waves will magically disappear. She knows.

I made the mistake at State Beach of saying to Brian “I’m heading in… one last wave.”

I turned and dropped into what seemed to be a fairly innocuous left, but I stalled my board and ended up jumping off. I went feet first into the down wash of the whitewater and was sucked (or forced) directly to the bottom. Like a carcass on the Serengeti, Mother Ocean was there to feast on me. I hit hard on the sand bottom, butt first yaking my cheeks apart abruptly. It split me like a pair of eights! Arghhhh! That really hurt. Now I’m thinking I’m going to spend my wedding with stitches in my sphincter and a colostomy bag in my suit pocket. Fortunately, there was no blood (I checked, just in case you’re wondering). I stumbled to the beach and collapsed.

After a few minutes I shook it off and got up… but for a minute there I was a) really in pain and b) pretty concerned. It felt like the aliens had landed and taken me to the mother ship for a probing. Ouch.

I know, I know… you’re laughing thinking “why am I reading this right now.” I’m reading a book by Jack Welsh, former CEO of GE, and a major focus of his book is candor. So I thought I’d share a little candor with y’all.

The remainder of the day went off without a hitch, and we made it to the Dave Matthews Band concert with plenty of time to walk around, have some chicken fingers and a margarita, and settle into our seats for the show.

DMB was absolutely incredible. The set list was:
Everyday
Don’t Drink the Water
American Baby Intro
Dream Girl
Grey Street
Hunger For The Great Light
Say Goodbye
Bartender
American Baby
Out Of My Hands
Smooth Rider
Dancing Nancies
Granny
Too Much
Louisiana Bayou (with guest Robert Randolph)
_________________

Best of Whats Around
Two Step

Highlights were American Baby Intro, Boyd Tinsley just destroying Dancing Nancies, and a twenty minute encore performance of Two Step. If you have the means, I highly recommend getting your hands on some DMB live CDs. Start with The Gorge, or Live Traxxs San Francisco.

We’re going again this evening, and I literally can’t wait to see them again. It was that good.