Surfin' Safari

OK, maybe none of us caught the “Humuga Cowabunga from Down Unda” (Back to the Beach), but it was definitely a Beach Boys' style Surfin' Safari out there this morning. The surf shop must have been pretty surprised when Dad called to make the reservation – I'm sure they're never before had 13 surfers all from the same party. That's right, 13 of us went surfing today. For some reason, Benjamin and Nathan both got really nervous as we were signing in and putting on our surf shirts. Each of the younger kids is paired with an instructor, and each of their instructors came over to meet them and (hopefully) reassure them. All the guys were really nice, and you could tell that not only did they enjoy doing what they do, but they also really enjoy working with kids. In the end, Benjamin only went out on the board for a few minutes, and never tried to stand up. But we still got some good pictures. Nathan, on the other hand, really got into it, and had a great time, even wiping out once or twice.



The rest of us had varying degrees of success, but everyone had a great time. Ironically, the hardest part about surfing is not timing the wave (the instructor helps with that), standing up on the board, or even steering once you're up. The toughest thing about surfing is paddling back out to catch the next wave. It's more about the stamina than strength, and by the end even the instructors were tired. One instructor took a few of us WAY out to where the “real” surfers were, and we had the chance to catch some pretty good waves. The only damper on the outing came as we walked back to the surf shop. Nathan was walking on the lava rock curbing, and after several people warned him that it probably wasn't a good idea, he tripped and fell and scraped his knee up. I carried him the rest of the way back, and we got him cleaned up. Just another souvenir from paradise.



Since we arrived, Nathan has been working a little each day on his swimming skills. Even though he knows either Jennifer or I could help teach him, he insists on learning on his own. During pool time, he spends most of his time going back and forth on the steps, practicing on various depths. He'll also jump out to us every once in a while. Today he was vindicated. All of a sudden, he says, “Dad, watch this!” He pushes off the steps and dog-paddles 5 or 6 feet out, turns around, and heads back to the steps. After this triumph, we would start on the steps and swim out to me as I moved farther and farther back from the steps. By the end of pool time, he could swim half the length of the pool out to me, and back again. He hasn't yet figured out how to put his face in the water and pop up to breathe, but now it's only a matter of time.

Tonight was arguably my favorite dinner of the trip (at least so far) – the Tropical Barbecue. I'm not sure which I enjoy more – cooking for the family or eating with family. The Whaler has a really nice set of three built in grills, some granite picnic tables, and plenty of grassy space. It turns out that when you ask for a hot grill, that's exactly what you get. One of the grills got so hot so fast we had to move the meat off because it was literally burning. In true family barbecue style, we had more than enough to eat, and plenty to take “home” for leftovers.

The final event of the evening the white envelope game, courtesy of Grandma-ma. Nothing like a little extra spending money. This bit of green will help Jennifer in her hunt for nice tropical decorations for our bedroom.