Daytona 1315

Drove 1,315 miles in two days, from Asheville to Daytona Beach to Tampa to Daytona, and back. It wasn’t the purpose of the voyage but I stayed in Daytona on Saturday night, and on both Saturday and Sunday I went surfing on the beach there.

On both days the weather was lovely, the wind was not too bad, and the waves were 3-4 feet.

There was a strong southerly current on Saturday, the waves were turbulent and choppy, and the surfing was awful. It would take a life constantly, regularly practicing surfing for me to be able to show up at a new beach in conditions like that and just surf without any problems. Yet I did stand up a few times, most notably, and naively, on my first attempt! It made me think it was going to be a fun day. But mostly, I got rolled. I was fatigued (from about 9 hours of driving before 12:00 pm, on 2 hours of sleep) and experienced the waves in a semi-dreamlike state.

On Sunday the weather and the waves were nicer. But it still wasn’t great surfing. I don’t know how to handle those sudden close-out shore breaking wind waves on a featureless beach break. Give me a sheltered cove with a long gradual bottom! Give me ground swell with an offshore wind. Give me a perfect day at Short Sand Beach in Oregon!

But, come to think of it, give me another day in Daytona Beach! … today for instance. I’d trade my desk in my office for the sand and sun in a heartbeat. Please?