Finding Your Inner Zen

Lately, we've been surfing very close to the shop (I'm not tellin' you exactly where, though). After closing up for the night, we've just been walking across the street with our boards, which is terribly convenient. I'm not going to lie to you though, Stand Up Paddleboards are big, and kinda heavy. My preferred method of carry is to balance the board on my head, stabilizing with one hand, and carrying the paddle and leash with the other hand. It's pretty tiring over long distances, but I consider it part of the exercise. In my opinion, their fun factor more than makes up for the mild hassle of transporting them. Until tonight...

I think we just had a record breaking mosquito hatching event. I'm talking about clouds of the things, all hungry for their first meal. They only really hang out near the drainage ditches by the road, and sometimes in the grasses covering the dunes. So if you make a run for it, it's not that bad, and once you get to the beach, you're fine. Not the end of the world, especially when one has two hands available to swat with.

Unfortunately, while carrying a 10 foot long 25 pound board on your head and a 7 foot long paddle and a 12 foot long leash, one does not have two hands available for mosquito swatting. Nor is running easy. Nope, you pretty much have to tip toe your way along the hot blacktop, carefully stabilizing the board against cross breezes and using the paddle like a high wire circus performer to help remain balanced. And the mosquitoes? You must grin and bear them. And it is torturous. You must separate the body from the mind. You must ignore the pain. You must find your inner zen.

Anne just counted 22 welts on my neck and back. That does not include the bites on my face, chest, stomach, arms, hands, legs, ankles, behind my knees, arches of my feet, ... well, you get the idea... So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a bath in calamine lotion.