surfed four hours xmas eve day ... steve + i went out to canoes late a.m. - super crowded, not much for waves, steve went in after an hour or so. i stayed, decided to just try to enjoy the social aspect of sitting in the lineup, which at canoes for real can be most of the fun. but that didn't keep it from getting old after a while: tom-A-hawk wanted some waves!

still had lots of energy so i paddled past the sand barge out to pops. funny mixed group out there too, all crowding the peak as usual, but i had already practiced patience so i hung out, got to know the different characters out there, including the local dad + his young adult daughter [who was giving some euro-kook tourist stink eye for boxing in her ride right when i got there]. i watched and waited, staying out of the way, giving away waves left + right like xmas presents. got to know the set rhythm + when the bigger waves were coming through as one by one the crowd thinned out until finally, it was just me and the dad + daughter.

we had all been out there so long that as the other folks left it seemed like we figured out that the three of us were actually surfing in pretty well with each other, and spent some nice family time enjoying it, taking turns going for waves, getting some, not getting others. by the time the surf school and some other tourists showed up i had finally gotten comfortable enough to out-paddle another surfer and maneuver into a late takeoff, which i nabbed for my final satisfying ride: four hours well-spent - merry xmas tom-A-hawk!

was just sundazed and doped-up enough on endorphins to make xmas eve dinner at ted + carl's that night a lot of fun, what w/ the red wine, their french bulldog rupert humping the little nephew every chance he got + the big southern-boy cousins belting out carols at the piano ... steve + i kept saying we were gonna go for a xmas day surf but ended up spending the day in bed watching cowboy movies on amc before a surfclub xmas dinner at kurty's place downtown - w/ conrad from london, who's here through the new year! we are lucky to have some great friends here in hawai'i.

so now it's that awesome week between xmas + new year - a full holiday week! still haven't gone surfing - we needed two days off ... in a row. steve actually worked a little this morning; i hauled the recycling, got an americano and watched the waves at queens from a bench on shore [where some random guy asked me if i knew where to get any pot and i chatted w/ a nice retired french-canadian grandma - ah, waikiki]. jimmy keeps talking about having us over to surf hawaii kai side: some secret new spot he's just discovered - 'like queens w/ no one else there' - or the aina haina death march ... but we're still just planning to get out to pops as early as we can tomorrow a.m.

surf, tom-A-hawk ! [i've started practicing my cross-step again!]