Surfing Trip Day 2007

Home - Return to Fun Page

CREW!!

Where to start? This was such a great trip with a great group of people. Folks showed up on time for our departure and we made incredible time to Avon, arriving in time to do a daylight check-in at our beach house. After a bit of unpacking and organization, it was off to a local pizza parlor for supper. That evening we did a bit of organization and readied ourselves for the week. The next morning it was off to the beach for swimming, frisbee, and sand castle construction. More of the same that afternoon, with some awesome castle work plus some surf fishing. Nisha was convinced she was doing something wrong when the fish weren't flinging themselves at her after about 10 minutes. The game plan was to have a cookout on the beach that night, but a lack of affordable (ie free) firewood halted that plan. However, Lily was able to grill us up a hotdog and corn feast in no time on our handy beach-house charcoal grill, and we were off for a rousing game of volleyball before picking the stupidest movie on tv to watch as we were winding down. Headed to the surf shop first thing the next am for our pre-arranged lessons and to rent our boards. Our instructor apparently had been up very late the night before caring for his aged aunt, but he eventually made it to the surf shop, got all our boards in the back of his truck, and we were off to the beach. After a lesson on the beach on the fundamentals of surfing, we were split into two groups for instruction. Both groups were very successful for a first time approach, with very few face plants or board cuts (you have to watch out for those fins!). We worked our instructor hard, all caught a few waves (although only Nathan was standing consistently at this point), and generally had a great time. Adrian seemed to catch every passing wave, as did Lily and Kathy. Nathan was an old pro and was standing immediately. Once Nisha (who is not a champion wader, being vertically challenged) and Sameer got out through the chop, they did great. Craig, Jake and I were steady performers without doing anything spectacularly bad or good. All in all, a terrific start. Back at the surf shop, we managed to load all 9 boards on or in the van so that it looked remarkably like a modern, Japanese version of an old fashion woody wagon. (For our younger readers, rent a beach movie from the 50's.) We turned a lot of heads going down the road, I can tell you. We were so excited about our accomplishments that we all celebrated by napping heavily that afternoon. Sameer was in charge of supper that night, and wowed us with his secret family recipe for meatloaf, taters and such. Who knew that those were traditional Indian dishes? Not I. The next morning we went in search of another surfing beach, which our instructor had told us about the previous day. After a little misdirection, we found the right road thanks to Jake's incredible navigational skills. Yes, I said Jake, who apparently has at least temporarily recovered from his Philmont lost boy syndrome. Unfortunately, the current and the wind were too strong to allow us to surf, and we were once again forced to swim, nap, and build sand castles. I did a replica of the Hollywood Bowl, which is probably still there with a crowd of people around it trying to figure out what the heck it is. That afternoon we hit the pier for some hard-core fishing. We hadn't been there more than a few minutes when Craig hauled in two at a time. Nisha and Sameer caught their first fish ever. Lily got in the act, catching several and hooking one that bowed her fishing pole as if she had hooked a support pillar for the pier. Nathan caught a grunt. We were all hopeful for a productive day since fresh fish was on the menu that evening. Unfortunately, unpredicted storms made a surprise appearance and we caught little else the rest of the day. Fortunately, there are local fish shops where we scored some great crab cakes, scallops, shrimp and mahi-mahi, which Nathan cooked that night to a fine turn. YUM!! The plan was to have a second surfing lesson the next morning. However, our instructor called (Late again. His aunt has really been ill, apparently.) and reported that the conditions were just not good. Undeterred, we checked them ourselves and agreed. Being the spontaneous, fun-loving group that we are, we decided on a road trip to Ocracoke Island to the south of us in the Outer Banks. After unloading our boards, we headed down Hwy 12 South to the ferry. Kathy insists that she saw an alien spacecraft on our way to the beach. (Some of the girls backed her up, but I suspect they were just humoring her because they needed her as a driver.) Much fun watching the locals and tourists mingle at the dock. We were all amused when 3 men on motorcycles were so slow to get on a ferry that the lead bike almost drove off the dock into the water. Luckily for him, the bike grounded out as the front wheel went over the edge, and folks were able to pull him back before he joined Davy Jones. The ferry ride was fun for all concerned and the village at Ocracoke was as well. We managed to find an ice cream shop after witnessing Jake's incredible pelican calling skills. After our afternoon snack and some obligatory shopping at a pirate shop, it was off to the beach which Dr. Beach had rated the best in North America for 2007. It was a really great beach, although the wind and current were so strong that day that by the time you got out in the surf, you were already hundreds of yards down the beach. Adrian insists that the current pulled her off the sand bench that Kathy had found and forced her to swim. You decide. We hung around long enough to get cleaned up just in time for supper at Howard's Pub, a local landmark. We enjoyed foosball and the ring game (ask anyone about my beginner's luck) while we waited for our tables. After a mixed repast of seafood, burgers, and barbeque, we headed back to the ferry and a lovely sunset ride back home. The next morning our instructor was still operating on island time, but did manage to meet up with us for some more surfing. It was great seeing the progress that everyone made on their second day. We all surfed at once, as one group needed to leave a bit early for our windsurfing lesson on the sound. Group 1 (Kathy, Nathan, Jake, Craig and Lily) took the 1 to 3 shift and reportedly did really well. The rest of us ( Adrian, Sameer, Nisha, and I) took the 3 to 5 shift. No lie, the lead instructor came out afterwards when we were putting on our footwear and told us we were the best group he had taught all year. You just can't buy that kind of publicity! Supper was Nisha's awesome veggie quesedillas with tomato soup with fresh basil. She was grilling for the first time ever, and had magazine picture quality quese's. Wow! Only way to follow that meal up was with some nighttime volleyball! The next morning we all got up at 0:dark-thirty in order to motor north to Pea Island to do some professional-quality birding with Nathan as our guide. Believe it or not, we all got up on time and had a really great time checking out our feathered friends. We saw several nesting osprey pairs that morning (one at the preserve and one on the way), black-necked stilts (you've got to see those legs), and too many more to mention. For our last day at Hatteras, we decided that we had to finish up by hitting the beach. What else? Nathan and Adrian held down the beach against all intruders and continued our tradition of Quality Napping Time. Sameer and Nisha were catching waves like pros. Jake and I managed to totter, if not briefly stand (on our boards). Kathy divided her time pretty equally between surfing (extremely well) and hanging on the beach. Craig got in some major body surfing time (as he had managed to do throughout the week. He is the champ.) Lily.... well Lily was fast becoming the goddess of the waves. She caught every wave within a quarter mile, popped up into a standing position like it was as simple as getting out of a chair, and calmly rode the waves, often all the way to the beach. Amazing. Truly, truly amazing. That night, after Jake's oven-baked chicken and Wolfgang potatoes, we had a lovely memorial for the Spinner Van, led by Sameer, and all shared roses, thorns, and buds for the week. We all then pitched in to pack and clean up the place. We celebrated our achievements with a lovely round of S'mores and a final night walk on the beach. Can't close without talking about the beautiful batches of cookies that appeared magically around the house whenever Adrian was left to her own devices. Delicious!! Thanks to all concerned. Special thanks to Kathy for getting drafted into helping. (Thanks, Nathan!!) This has to be the best trip short of Philmont in the history of Venturing. The company was terrific, the activities were outstanding, and the Crew thought their home cooked meals were easily better than our eat-out meals. I challenge any Crew in America to come up with a better week than we just had. See you next time. October anyone?

Don W.
Advisor, Crew 149