Surf's Up aka Shark Week

Now that I’m back on track with crossing things off the list I thought I’d tackle one of the bigger challenges. Surfing. Funny that I should pick this task to complete on the very day Shark Week started but I’ll get to that later on. This past weekend I, along with a few friends including my friend James, who is a surfing instructor extraordinaire, caravanned out to Cocoa Beach. The whole week had been so dreary with rain that we were all worried the weather was going to ruin our day. Fortunately, Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous day for the beach and the conditions were great for catching some waves.

Cocoa Beach is about two hours away from Tampa and we left around 8:00 a.m. and arrived a little after 10:30a.m. Our first stop, after the mandatory breakfast at Chick fil A of course, was the surf shop down by the beach so we could rent some boards. The guys at the surf shop were super cool and let my friend Julie and I borrow rash guards so we wouldn’t get burned. We didn’t have our own to bring and probably would have completely fried without them so they were a total godsend. Out of the whole group of seven there were four of us who hadn’t surfed before so James got us set up with boards that were nine feet long. Apparently the longer the board the easier it is to learn on.

After getting the boards loaded up into the car which was a lot more difficult that one would think we finally got out to the beach. If you think surfing might be hard let me tell you it wasn’t nearly as tricky as getting all your beach stuff and the board out onto the beach! I’m about 5’3 on a good day so trying to balance the nine feet long surfboard on my head along with carrying my beach bag, cooler, and chair was slightly problematic. Thank goodness for boys because after seeing the trouble I was having my friend Tommy swapped boards with me since his was a lot smaller and less awkward to carry. Eventually my sweaty self made it out to the beach and unloaded all my baggage. Being a total girl I had to take a few pictures before getting in the water and taking on the look of a drowned rat. Check us out…..

Julie, Loren, and Me

The crew

catching a wave

 

Onto the exciting part. James gives us a few tips while on dry land before we hit the waves and then we were off to the ocean. I’ve been a Florida girl my whole life but most of my beach trips are to the Gulf of Mexico. I don’t think I’ve ever actually swam in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a lot colder than the Gulf that’s for sure but by the time we sting ray shuffled into the water it felt fantastic. Once we got out far enough we jumped on our boards so that we were lying down and started paddling out further into the water. Once we got out past where the waves were breaking we were able to sit up on our boards and get used to the feeling. I could have stayed that way forever. It was so peaceful just sitting there on our boards in the water watching the waves roll in but that’s not why we came out there. We came out to surf and that’s what we were going to do! Well, we were at least going to try. Haha! We had to paddle up closer to the beach in order to “catch a wave” so that’s what we did. Once we saw a wave coming in we had to paddle as fast as we could in order to “catch” it and ride it into shore. After a few failed attempts to catch a wave I finally got one and was able to ride it in while lying on the board. I could believe how fast I was going! It probably wasn’t all that fast but it sure felt like it. I tried it a couple of more times while lying down and then finally got up the courage to try making it to my knees. I was able to ride a couple of waves in on my knees and it was the coolest thing!

By this time we had been out in the water for a couple of hours so we decided it was time for a little break and we headed up to the beach. I don’t know what exactly is in the sand over in Cocoa Beach but holy guacamole it was hot. I’ve scampered over some pretty hot sand but this was ridiculous. The skin was melting off my feet it was so hot. I think I screamed and threw down my board to make a run for my towel. After a short break it was time to head out again but by the time we got in the water we heard the lifeguards aka Baywatch whistling for everyone to come to shore. Now I’ll explain the Shark Week reference. Apparently there had been a shark attack pretty close to where we had been surfing. The beach was closed down for about 30 minutes while everything got back under control. As crazy as it sounds we could not wait to get back in the water even with the shark sighting. I guess it’s the out of sight out of mind mentality because you know they’re out there swimming all around you but if you don’t see them it’s like they aren’t there. Later we found out that a little girl had been attacked while wading in the water with her parents. The shark got her on her leg and she was taken to the hospital. While we were waiting to get the green light to go back in the water we did get to scope out the Baywatch guys strutting their stuff along the beach! Ha!

Once we got the ok to head back out it was later in the afternoon so the waves were picking up a lot more than they were in the morning. Altogether James says we were in about two to four foot waves that day. It doesn’t sound like a lot but think of something that high over your head coming straight at you and it seems like more of a big deal. Since I’m so short I kept having a problem getting back out past where the waves were breaking and kept getting swept back to shore. That was the most frustrating part of the day though. James took pity on me and helped me get further out in the water so I could keep trying to surf. At the end of the day though I managed to stand up on my board once. Only for a second or two but for me that was a huge accomplishment!

I’m so glad I was able to cross surfing off my list and even more glad that I had such a great teacher to help me out! James was awesome and so patient with all of us newbies. It definitely wasn’t my athletic ability that kept me out there all day more likely it was my stubbornness and determination not to quit and be the only one who didn’t make it her feet. I would totally go again and actually can’t wait for another weekend to head out to catch some waves!  

 

Wok N Roll

I’m back! Finally after a long hiatus I’m ticking things off my fear list left and right. I’m combining two tasks this week to make up for my long summer absence and the first up is tackling my fear of uncooked fish or raw sushi. Without further adieu…

Wok (Raw Sushi)

Usually Fourth of July is spent with fireworks and bbq but this year I decided to spend it with two friends, Heather and Russ, taking in a comedy show in Ybor City at the The Improv. Good decision too because it ended up raining all day. Before the show we needed to grab dinner and Russ decided we should go to Samurai Blue, a sushi restaurant, and cross this food challenge off my list.

Just to give y’all a little background on my issues with sushi I’ll take you back to where it all began. I’ve always been a little picky. A couple of posts ago I told you that a friend has said that I have a “conservative palette” and that is absolutely true but I’d like to think that in my later years I’ve become somewhat more adventurous with cuisine choices. The first time I tried sushi I was on a law school trip to Washington DC. We were exploring Union Station and lunchtime rolled around and the group decided they wanted sushi. “Try the California Roll” they told me. “It’ll be good, you’ll like it” they said. WRONG. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever put in my mouth. I guess that’s what I get for trying sushi from a to-go place in a train station. That experience led to a long time sushi ban until I let myself get peer pressured into trying a Tampa Roll at SoHo Sushi in South Tampa. The Tampa Roll was made with tempura shrimp so it wasn’t raw. Turns out it was delicious so that quickly became a favorite. I still wouldn’t try the raw stuff though.

Fast forward to Samurai Blue. Here’s what we ordered….

Spicy Tuna Roll- which is just tuna, sriracha sauce, and scallions

Volcano Roll- crab, scallop, cucumber and spicy mayo on top of a California Roll

Tuna Summer of Love Roll- tuna, scallions, and mixed greens

Mexican Roll- tempura shrimp and cream cheese

I threw in the Mexican Roll because I knew I’d like that one so it doesn’t count towards the task at hand. I tried all of them and actually loved them all. I think the Volcano Roll was probably my favorite though. Who wouldn’t love anything that has spicy mayo on it? So in the end I discovered I actually like raw sushi, well at least the tuna rolls. Maybe next time I’ll branch out even more and try something with eel!

Volcano, Mexican, and Spicy Tuna Rolls

 

Roll (Public Transportation)

Last week I was able to cross using public transportation off my list with the help of my friend Lindsey. She’s ridden the bus before so I thought it would be a good idea to go with her rather than try it out on my own. Who knows where I’d end up if I went by myself! Riding the bus isn’t something I’d really consider to be a fear but is definitely something I’m not super comfortable doing just because I’ve never experienced it. I’ve grown up and continued to live in an area in Tampa that isn’t very conducive to using public transportation or even walking so it’s never really been a consideration.

We met down at Britton Plaza off of South Dale Mabry down in South Tampa. This was a good idea on Lindsey’s part because it’s a shopping plaza and we could park our cars there while we rode around on the bus. I met Lindsey at 10:15am to catch the Number 19 bus arriving at 10:30am going downtown and to the surrounding areas. We took a pretty laid back approach to our travels and decided we would get off whenever the mood struck us. We decided that since we weren’t sure how long we’d be on the bus or where exactly we were headed we would just get the all day pass which was only $4. As someone who isn’t familiar with bus riding I took a little longer to get on and pay for my ticket which I’m sure didn’t endear me to the people waiting to get on behind me since it was stifling hot even at 10:30am. At least the lady bus driver was patient enough with me while I was sorting out my change and trying figure out where to put it. Apparently you don’t pay the driver, which is what I tried to do. You actually put your money in a machine and it spits out your ticket. How I didn’t see that I’m not sure because it pretty much blocks your way onto the bus. Rookie mistake.

Our bus was pretty empty so we had our choice of seats. I guess not too many people were headed downtown at that time of day. It was also absolutely freezing on the bus which was great because like I said before it was hotter than you know where. Now time to figure out where to get off the bus. Lindsey and I referred to our map and checked out where the bus was taking us and before we knew it we were cruising down South Howard Avenue. Being the old souls that we are we made a last minute decision to hop off at Howard and Azeele because we saw an antique store that caught our eyes. After a little shopping and lunch at Ribbet’s BBQ we decided it was time to catch the bus once more. We located a stop a couple of blocks away at Armenia and Azeele next to the Greenwise Publix that would take us back to Britton Plaza and was due to arrive within the next few minutes.

I have to say I’m so grateful that I don’t have to use the bus my primary means of transportation because it was so hot outside and we had to stand there for several minutes without much shade. It sounds like a silly thing to complain about but just try it some time and see how long you last in the unforgiving Florida summer. I was also super glad I had Lindsey with me because I could not get a grip on the bus schedule.  I mean I passed the bar exam for heaven’s sake so you’d think I could figure out a bus schedule, but sadly no. I can’t even imagine trying to deal with that on a daily basis or if I was traveling with children or in the rain or other bad weather. Needless to say we were so glad when we caught sight of the bus rolling down the street with its much anticipated air conditioning.

While I don’t think I’ll be jumping at the chance to trade in my car in favor of the bus I’m glad I now know (at least somewhat) how to navigate the public transportation system. Task completed!   

   

Number 19

Britton Plaza Stop