Surfing finally caught up with me today. It was unfortunately and disappointingly short-I felt tired all morning, nauseated (more than the usual pre-surf nervousness) after my delicious liquid lunch of pomegranate smoothie.  The paddle to the break pooped me out even more, combined with the up and down motion of the waves which threatened a sea-barf to finish me. Maybe 20 minutes in I pathetically mimed to the boys I was going in, then caught a short wave half way to the beach before weakly flapping my wings back to shore with long exaggerated pauses, before heaving my huge board past the lifeguard tower to the rock wall, narrowly missing small children, tugging waves and straggling wanderers. Here, with a sigh, I perched on an upside down bucket and watched the world from the shade as it annoyed me for an hour and a half.  There was no barfing, just repeated yawning. And if I turn my head to the side I can induce dizziness and sea sickness following the end of a head cold induced by a massage earlier in the week.

More than twice I had the urge to go back out, but the sea motion and lack of strength held me back. Soon, it was hunger and impatience that forced a sigh of relief when the boys were finished and I could leave the busy beach of Waikiki for the day. It’s just too much when you’re that tired.

We’ve been here 9 days so far, and I’ve surfed 7 times. Josh kicks my butt on his numbers. But, I can say I feel pretty good about my progress and confidence this trip. I feel like I have made some way with skills and experience (way more so than on our last trip here in March on my wobbly 7’11”). Head dunking avoidance and sit-down-on-the-board dismount are some of my stellar key moves.  I’ve had a few great rides this time, and I’m currently working on my long board walks (up and down the board). Don’t get too excited yet though, it doesn’t look like I mean to, but more like an accident. And it usually ends the ride.

Waikiki is a pretty busy place, and instead of summer being the off season, we’ve realized there is no such thing. I am getting a bit tired of the crowds, and the weekends are the worst. We did walk the opposite direction this morning towards the mall (Ala Moana) to check out the surf break near the harbour. I wasn’t a fan of the break, it looked messy and with lots of locals, and I’m a creature of habit, with preference to stay put on familiar turf, but we parked on the beach and watched for a bit. The crowds down that direction were MUCH less annoying and cumbersome to stroll around, and there was SO much beach space to be enjoyed in peace and semi-quiet.

Let me tell you about walking through the 5pm boardwalk with a surfboard. People have been near bumped or even speared with them, without remorse by their carrier (me), for stopping and gawking, talking on phones, chatting at random, to themselves and/or others, adjusting parcels and crap, rounding up children, and pulling over with (or without) strollers or rascals with no warning or reason, right in the middle of the pathway. This can be frustrating at the best of times just for pedestrians who are actually aware of their surroundings.

I like this place for the most part, but I have two concerns that keep my mind busy conjuring up future blogs. Firstly, the rampant bum population with blatantly obvious mental health issues (at least they collect the bottles and cans that the tourists toss so willingly and acceptingly into the trash).Secondly, the lack of recycling encouragement or ease near tourist areas. And by the way, I DO NOT NEED A BAG and neither do you, or you, or YOU! For an island, surrounded by WATER, they sure don’t restrict these plastic items like they should. It’s pretty disappointing.