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If you ever feel like what you’re doing won’t last or be remembered, think about a chalk artist. These folks spent 2 days working on their masterpieces, not for money, but because they love doing it. The key is to blend both. I think the top guy in the picture within the picture is trying to figure that out.
When I moved to Tampa, Florida someone told me there were occasionally waves big enough to surf in the Gulf. I figured I’d believe them when I saw proof. Moving from California and the Left Coast, one gets a slightly different idea of what constitutes a ride-able wave. But lo and behold, one day it puffed and puffed and blew in some slop I squinted real hard at until I convinced myself to paddle out.
Finally, in September of last year Hurricane Ike came through, and I really did get to experience good waves on the Gulf Coast (GC). But other than that, and some more squinting, it has been a lot of trips back and forth to Cocoa Beach and further south to Sebastian Inlet.
The angst builds in GC surfers in the Fall. The promise of hurricanes has every one on edge, hoping for some deviation in the otherwise flat landscape. When Hurricane Ida began to blossom, so did our hopes for good surfing. Unfortunately, it turned out to be overhyped and undersized. But seeing as how I am a GC surfer now, well, it was swell worth riding nonetheless.
While I was waiting for the tide to turn and come back in, I walked out on the beach and captured some footage. I am not endowed with a big video camera, so I no doubt looked rather silly mounting my little Canon DV on a tripod. At one point an older snowbird walked by and stopped, stared, and then pointed and remarked, “look at that little camera.” Hey buddy, I said, it’s not the size of the swell, but the motion of the ocean. He just laughed, stared, and pointed some more at my little camera shooting little waves.
Either way, you’ve got to give it up to these scrappy GC boys making the most of it.
Angst-like music is courtesy of Zeptepi.
There are few things in life better than an early morning surf session.
There are on occasion windy days here in Tampa, Florida. Great for kiteboarders and surfers, but not so great for sea kayakers and boaters. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean you can’t still get out and dip a blade. You can head for inland rivers and waterways where the wind is actually your friend. I don’t know about you, but I’ve absorbed enough Deet in my life time to kill a pterodactyle-sized mosquito. Not having to put on insect repellent is always a bonus for me.
When the wind is up, Weedon is a great spot. Many of the birds congregate down in the mangroves, and you can quietly drift along and soak up the scenery.
As always, remember to make your way to Weedon on the incoming tide.
A dog is a dog, and a bad one isn’t worth spit; but you get a good one and they’re like a member of the family.
About a year ago I lost one of the best dogs a person could ever have. He died of cancer on my birthday during a trip to the North Carolina mountains. My wife and I had him cremated, and his ashes have sat in Tampa, Florida since that time.
Florida is not a befitting location, however, for he was born and always has been a mountain dog. Last week we returned to the Fall air and decorated mountains of North Carolina to spend time with good friends from Charleston, South Carolina. We brought the ashes with us for the sole purpose of returning him to his proper place.
The headwaters of the Chattooga River have long been a place of solace for my family, and it was here that we decided to say our final goodbyes. The ashes were released to the river and swirled around in a fast moving eddy until they slowly dissipated and eventually disappeared. I pictured him filling up pot holes and bouncing over pebbles as he flowed swiftly downstream. My hope is that he made it all the way to Section 4 before finally succumbing to a sandbank.
This kind of heady stuff gets one thinking about how they’d like to go. A settled grave or a more mobile mausoleum? Hopefully we have a long while to think about that question. Until then, the picture above was taken as a reminder of that Fall day we poured out his ashes.