Day 9

Woke up this morning to the sound of tropical birds, a cool sea breeze and slight drizzle. After having breakfast on the balcony with Paul, he gave me a tour of the North Shore beaches. We stopped at Haliewa beach, Waimea Bay, Sharks Cove, Pipeline and Sunset beach. After checking out the breaks, we went back to the house. I then took a bike ride around the town of Haleiwa stopping at the many surf shops and grabbing a large bacon cheeseburger at  the Kua' Aina sandwich shop. After a couple of hours in town, I headed back to the house. When we got back, Paul took me to his friends house, that was filled with surfboards of all shapes and sizes.

The waves have been building all day, so tomorrow should be a fun day of surf and hopefully some more sun.

The North Shore at it's finest.

Waimea bay lifeguard set up.

Sunset beach looks like fun!

A vacant country road I found on my bike ride.

Tranquil mixture of clouds and blue sky in the fields.

Day 8

Woke up early this morning thinking that the waves were going to be fun. Jan and I started out to find waves at 6:30 am and much to our disappointment we didn't find any. We stopped for breakfast and then I had to pack my bag for the next leg of the trip. I stopped at Rudy's to get my last Santa Barbara burrito and then I was off to the airport.

I would like to thank Jan, Zak, Justin, Isabel and Mark for their great hospitality in SB and you all have a place to stay in NY anytime you want. Thanks again for a great week!

My flight to lax was short and beautiful as we flew past the Channel Islands. Unfortunately, I had a four hour layover at LAX. Then I had a six hour flight to Honolulu. I met a great Hawaiian family on the plane in fact, I was surrounded by twenty-one of them with kids of all ages. They were on their way home from a two week vacation at Disney world, with smiles ear to ear.

I have officially made it to the North Shore and am excited for the adventures that await!

Sunrise in Santa Barbara

A view of one of the Channel Islands from my flight to LAX.

Day 7

A great last full day in Santa Barbara. Jan and I went down to the city pier and checked out Sand Spit and the city from out at sea. Then Jan, Justin and I headed down to Rincon where it was really windy, so we had to paddle non-stop. After the first lap from the top of the point to the beach Justin and I noticed a little head pop up out of the water accompanied by barking. It was a little baby seal, it saw us in our black wetsuits and must have thought we were it's parents. At first the seal kept it's distance but then it became more and more comfortable and before I knew it, the seal was chasing my feet and barking. Being the animal lover I am, I panicked and tried to paddle away as fast as possible trying to avoid getting bitten by the estranged seal. Justin being the actual animal lover, calmly paddled over to the seal and spoke to it in his best seal bark.  It was about to jump up on his board when a set wave came and broke us up. The seal was washed in towards the shore. We caught a couple of more waves and called it a session. Justin was really upset about the lost baby seal.

After a quick lunch Jan and I checked out the Santa Barbara Mission, up in the hills. We ended the night having dinner with Jan, Zak, Justin, Isabel and Mark, as we watched the surf competition going on at Snapper Rocks, where I hope to surf when I am in Australia. 

I am headed to Hawaii, tomorrow and I am uncertain of what my Internet situation will be there. I hope to maintain my daily updates, and hope you are having as much fun reading them as I have writing them.

A view of the Santa Barbara beach from the city pier with the hills and clouds in the distance.



Another beautiful shot of SB.



Sand Spit at high tide.

Know the code, look before you go.

Rincon, super blown out.



This is where I have been sleeping all week for free99.



Santa Barbara mission established December 4th, 1786 by the Spanish Franciscans.





Day 6

Had a nice lazy Sunday! Sat on the couch and was fortunate enough to get to watch both my NY sports teams, as they were both being nationally televised. The Rangers destroyed the Flyers and the Knicks beat the Hawks. A great day to be a NY sports fan out here in California.

Day 5

We got a late start this morning, after eating some food we headed out for a nice long hike to inspiration point. At the base of the trail, there were a lot of people enjoying another beautiful Saturday in Santa Barbara, California. As we went further along the trail the crowds started to disperse and before we knew it we were on our own. We reached the peak of the trail and admired the breath taking views. Walking a little further down the trail I heard some noise in the bushes to my left, and to my surprise I saw a big black snake slithering along. I quickly moved away from it and up on to a large boulder where I was out of reach. On reaching the top of the boulder I encountered another creature, thankfully this time it was a friendly little lizard. After enjoying the views we decided to get a little sweat going and ran down the trail dodging boulders left and right.

After getting home, I was invited to play nine holes of golf with Mark, Justin and Isabel. So I was off to the twin lakes course. After a few holes Mark lent me his ball retriever that I used to scoop out seven balls from the near by pond. The eighth ball I retrieved was a range ball, I pulled the retriever over my shoulder like one would hold a lacrosse stick. I then launched the ball forward toward the center of the pond and with it went the retriever...I turned to Mark with a look of regret, meanwhile he and everyone else were cracking up. As the sun went down, so did the temperature and with the darkness came the bats swooping over our heads. At the conclusion of the game I headed home after another great day in California.

Jan representing NY to the fullest before we head out for our hike.

A view from the peak at the end of our hike.

Me conquering the world one day at a time.

A little friend we found on the trail.

The beautiful sunset at the golf course.

A view of the straightaway on our last hole of the day.

One last view of the horizon as the light fades away.

Day 4

Woke up to another beautiful sunny day in Santa Barbara after a fun night downtown. Justin picked me up and we went for a stand up paddle session with the picturesque channel islands on the horizon. It was even warm enough to get away with only having to wear my trunks. I caught a couple of  small waves  about knee high, for some long rides. It was a great day to be on the beach. Later in the afternoon I hung out by the pool with Mark and caught some rays. The forecast for the weekend is sun, sun and more sun; so it should be a great weekend to be outdoors.

Paddling out on Isabel's stand up at Leadbetter beach.



View from  Leadbetter with Santa Barbra harbor to the left and the hills of California in the horizon.



Back at Isabel and Justin's house after a fun SUP session.



View of the hills from Jan and Zak's place as the sun goes down.



Day 3

Woke up early this morning to find  it was drizzling and foggy but the buoys were saying that there was some swell. So we headed south to Emma Wood State Park, the waves were about waist to chest high and glassy. Had some fun ones and it was really nice to get back into the water after a six month hiatus. We surfed for about two hours. When I got out my hands were pretty much numb, so I really struggled getting out of my wet suit and booties. We then concluded the session with my first ever "breakfast of champions" at McDonald's.

After a quick lunch and skype session with my buddy from LSE, I was off to my second surf session of the day. The sun came out in the afternoon and the drive north was very scenic. We got to El Cap to find it was larger than Emma Wood at chest to shoulder height. A fin popped up about 50 yards from where I was surfing and I was relieved after seeing it a second time that it was just a dolphin. We surfed for about two hours and got out after the waves started to lose their shape and power. I am looking forward to a great weekend with plenty of sun.

Jan ready to go at 7 am, waiting for Justin to pick us up to go down for a morning session at Emma Wood.



Justin with his truck after a fun morning session. Of course the rain stopped and the sun came out as we were getting out of the water.



My hands were not functioning at this point and I was pumped to be putting warm and dry clothes on.

On the way to El Cap, enjoying the beautiful scenery that California has to offer when the sun comes out.

View from the parking lot at El Cap, we ended up surfing a fun point break about a quarter mile to the right from here.

Hoped off the highway to get to El Cap, we passed this bridge on the way I thought it was a cool shot and wanted to share it.