Surfing with Students

On a warm Friday afternoon, 12 Cal Poly students piled into a four door Chevy and a small rental Sedan. The trunks were loaded with food, clothes, sleeping bags, camping stoves, and most importantly, surfboards! With no time wasted, the car set off, northbound, for the secluded shores of Big Sur and Monterey, passing Hearst Castle, Sea Lion Cove, Los Osos NP, Willow Creek and so on... On and on, for 140 miles those tires drove north. White beaches changed to rocky coves, while flat oak covered hills grew into towering mountains of pines...

The sun set slowly and as the cars pulled into the campgrounds all worries were driven away by the sheer beauty of the beach. People tumbled out, gasping, tasting the fresh smells of the pines and salty air in the warm fall breeze. Yelps of joy and wonder spread throughout the group as expressions of awe were heard, "Dude its so awesome!"and "Whoa!", "Living in the moment.

A group of calculating judges stood atop a cliff as if passing sentence upon the cove and all within. Precariously positioned, the sandy cliff dropped off below them, out of sight far down into the cove. Surf broke upon the reef in a never ending beat and impatience struck two surfers who quickly submerged in the water. Suddenly a startled shout from one of the clifftop observers caught our attention, "Shark!" he cried. All eyes strained to see what this new development could be, but there was nothing. The excitement of this threat stirred up questions about what it might have been, all the while each person kept their eyes peeled for the mystery to be repeated. Then, along the face of a wave, a smooth black fin pierced the surface. Excited now, all eyes were locked upon this flashing animal. It came within a few yards of the surfers, causing fear amongst them, but then disappeared again beneath the surface, never to be seen again. While it was agreed that the mystery animal was probably a dolphin, the excitement and thrill of that moment made the next days surf only more gnarly and thrilling.

Dude, Saturday surfing was "Buttery". Which means good and tired in surfer lingo. The midday siesta and pasta dinner were perfect conclusions to the days activities and as the happy campers sat about the fire, as joyous and content spirit welled up within the group. Songs were sung, slam poetry read, and stories told. Life in the present was good. But was it worth the drive to get away from such a crazy life style of school and social communities? Thats for you to decide. Come on out and try it, maybe your life will be changed...