Dawn Patrol…
Crisp Foggy Dawn at SanO.. April 17, 2012 at 7am
5:30am alarm goes off
hit snooze
5:39am alarm goes off again, silently wonder why snooze is 9 minutes instead of 10.
hit snooze
5:48am alarm goes off, roll eyes, make general internal statement about “stupid surfing”
get up
step on frozen floor, immediately regret not hitting snooze again.
trip over cat
apologize to cat while reminding him he was under your feet
scratch cat under chin to avoid further attempts on your life
make coffee
say morning prayer thanking God for coffee, but asking him if he could send winning lotto numbers so you didn’t have to work and could surf at a civilized time
drink coffee
say second prayer letting God know you were just joking about the whole lotto thing
text surf buddy
assure friend you are packing truck right now and will bring spare leash
pack truck
wave to neighbors on their way to work, weird that they aren’t smiling back
truck packed with 5 extra minutes before having to be on road to meet surf buddy
lay back down
get woken up by multi text from friend at beach waiting
jump in truck get on 5 Freeway South heading to SanO
get off at Christianitos, make dramatic U-turn onto 5 North
get back home to get forgotten leash for surf buddy, loudly curse “stupid surfing”
trip over cat
make mental note to get cat a collar with a bell on it
arrive at gate for SanO
wave to guard and read surf report sign
eyes laser focus on water temp of 53 degrees
look in backseat for booties, check
drive down road craning neck to look at churches
forget about giant pot holes, almost lose front axel
park next to fully wetsuited surf buddy, hmmm she looks a little testy
shut off truck at the crack of 7
surf buddy reminds me that dawn is actually at 6
shake out wetsuit
still wet from yesterday
curse “stupid wetsuits”; struggle to get it on
step on sharp rock
curse “stupid sharp rocks”; wonder aloud about paving the whole road in a nice coat of cement
bunny throws shade at me and hops back into the “nature”
get to the edge of the water
kick frozen boulder with piggy toe, lose balance
fall in 6 inches of water, ding rail of board
remember booties in truck, curse “stupid booties”
paddle out
paddle into beautiful glassy early morning wave
purl board
take the next 6 beautiful glassy early morning waves on the head
get ice cream headache
curse “stupid cold water”
paddle successfully into beautiful glassy early morning wave
get snaked
straighten board out and fall in whitewater
take chip out of center fin
paddle around for next hour or so alternately catching waves and chatting with buddies
check time, realize that you are already supposed to be in your office
ocean goes completely flat for next twenty minutes
resolve to do the “paddle of shame” and just head in
make it to the impact zone when a set of perfect head high bombs comes through
take everyone on the head
catch whitewater on belly in
hit patch of kelp, launch off front of board
stand up under board, rub new knot on your head
get out of water after kicking frozen boulder with your other piggy toe
forget to take off leash, trip over it
ding other rail
shower off and de-wetsuit
step on another sharp rock
curse “stupid sharp rocks”
repack truck, only late for office by 30 minutes
get text from buddy who flaked on Dawn Patrol asking how it was
text back “It was ALL TIME, you missed it!!”
-Tracey Engelking
