Saddleback Sunrise

Man, this never gets old. I don't know what I like more about dawn patrols, the empty, sometimes glassy waves, or the routine. I get up before the sun, sit in my dark house sipping my steamy cup o joe in the silence, load the van while trying not to wake the neighbors, plug the ipod into the auxiliary jack, playing my amping surf playlist on the way to the beach, and enter the gates to the lot first and knowing I am the first to lay eyes on these particular waves on this particular day. I then turn around to see another beautiful Cali sunrise and know most of the population is still under the covers. Suit up, wax up, leash up, stretch, and try to do it all faster than the other guys just showing up. After the session, I reflect each and every time, on the walk up the beach to the lot, how lucky I am to have the life I have, and the ability to do the only thing I want to do every single day. Then there is the hot water parking lot shower out of an old gallon orange juice container, that after about one hundred uses, still has a hint of OJ smell to it. Bend over and let the sinuses drain the rest of the seawater through my nostrils. Reggae for the ride home with all the people on their way to the cubicle farms, "Hi" to the couch full of sleeping dogs, rinse and hang the wetsuit, second cup o mud, shower, and off to work. And like I said before, it never gets old. I have yet to take one for granted

Enjoy the silence