Surfing with Sally

We were heading to Holden Beach, North Carolina as Hurricane Sally was.

We arrived after midnight and learned she'd been downgraded to a tropical storm here. So we fell into bed relieved to think we might get to stay and not be evacuated.

I awoke to the sound of voices outside our condo window and peeked out.

I've never seen so many surfers in one place in all my life.
Everybody in Brunswick County, NC with a surfboard must have headed to the beach.

Three things are working together this morning to make a good surfing experience:


First, and most importantly, SALLY.
Second it's high tide.
And last it's practically a full moon.

While watching all the excitement on the beach this morning we discovered some things.

There seems to be a father/son bond with this sport.

We'd see teenagers standing on the beach stretching out and soon an older man would join them, and they'd head to the water.

Sometimes we'd see a man standing on the beach with his surfboard strapped to his ankle studying the guys in the water. He'd move down the beach and head back up. I felt sure his kids must be out there.

We even saw a few moms standing on the beach with big umbrellas (yes it's raining), with their eyes glued to the water.

One last story...

One man walked out to the beach with his surfboard. His hair was longer and gray. He had a slight belly. In his free hand he took about four long drags on a cigarette. I had to laugh because it made me think of the old movies where they'd offer the bad guy a last cigarette before hanging him.

By the way, I'm not encouraging anybody to go out and surf in a tropical storm. In fact I'm relieved I don't have a son on this trip to argue with me about the issue.

Have a great and safe weekend!