Last month an opportunity arose in which I was able to take off from work and spend the last 31 days on the North Shore of Oahu. I was in a situation where I needed to use it or lose it on my vacation time, the air fares where low, and the sun and surf were calling my name. So I decided to not only go, but to leave my laptop behind and make it a computer free and low technology vacation.

There is something to be said about getting use to being computer free. Instead of getting my surf reports on-line, I went to the local hangouts for coffee in morning and a beer in the evenings. What I found interesting is the young guys at first looked at me as if I was just another howlie from the mainland, while the older guys accepted me more for me and could see I was not invading their turf, but was respectfully wanting to learn. I ended up meeting a unique group of people, most of who in a short time took me in and helped educate me.

I would spend my most of my time hanging out in the ocean waiting for the next wave with my new “brada’s”. We laughed and joked, talked about everything there was to talk about and still managed catch a few waves. It is not in the number you of waves you ride, but the quality of people, waves, and fun.

As I laid on my board I realized the similarities in the rhythmic nature of surfing and bicycling. The ocean has it’s own cadence and just like cycling once you find the sweet spot time seems to melt away and you arrived at your destination. My destination was that place full of mental sunshine after day of fun.

This morning I arrived in Portland thinking about the people I met and the good times they shared with me. Mahalo.

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