2002 Part 1: Indonesia, Idaho, Nascar, & The Tipping Point.

This year Mark and I decided to go to Indonesia and surf the Mentawai Islands for two weeks while traveling on the Indies Trader. We went with Reggie Barnes of Eastern Skate Supply, the Mitchell brothers of Bald Head Island, and my brother.  

In the beginning of the trip we flew into Singapore where they stalled me (the only girl in our group) because I had only 5 1/2 months left on my passport (6 months is the limit). They tried to get me to go to the US embassy to re-new it, but if I did that I'd miss my plane to Jakarta and consequently the boat. With much arguing from Mark (he was always good at being intimidating, and this is when that was a good thing!), the officials relented and let me on board. I left Singapore wondering if I'd be able to get on the plane back from Jakarta, or even from Singapore to the states. "I'll worry about that later." I thought to myself.  

In the airport at Jakarta I was stared down by the men like I was an American hooker fresh off the plane. I had pretty conservative shorts and a tank top on, and I left all my bling at home like usual, however, in the land of Muslim, I must have been showing far too much flesh. I felt the eye-darts penetrate my skin. Again, if Mark didn't look so intimidating I believe the Indo men would have conspired to delay my entry. It wasn't the first time I felt nervous in a foreign country, but it was the most I'd ever been that's for sure.     

Once we (the NC surfers and my brother the Cali Guy) boarded the boat we were met by the other guys who would be traveling with us. Our group was not enough to be a crowd in the line up, which was wonderful, however, when the boat's Cook didn't have a job to do he'd paddle out and charge the peak like a machine. It was a little annoying, gratefully, it didn't happen often. I think the Captain understood how much these waves costs his passengers, so he kept the Cook pretty busy most of the time. The truth was, the waves were cranking at every surf spot the Captain dropped his anchor at, so who could complain. We all stopped calculating waves within a week.

Everything about the Mentawai Islands is perfect. The sights were so spectacular I found myself melting into the quietness of the seas. Living on a boat for two weeks gave me a lot of thinking time, and I had a lot to think about this year with school, Hot Wax, Mark, and my own personal development which was moving at a fast pace now that I was in college and expanding my horizons.    

Macaronis

On the trip we caught everything from 4 to 6, 6 to 8, 8 to 10 and bigger surf. At one point we pulled up to Lances Left where the waves were peaking over 18 feet. Mark, Reggie, and my brother paddled out. I have to admit, they proved to everyone they had the balls of a Mexican bull. I was completely impressed. After an hour or so Reggie ended up breaking a board over the rocks on the inside. He paddled up to the boat bleeding. He liked that he was going to have a scar from Lances. Surfers are like that. We see these scars later and flash-back...like a tattoo. 

After the Lances session we lingered through dinner and watched the Rip Curl team take control of the place. Some local villagers paddled out in their hand carved boats to sell us souvenirs. There were about nine boats bidding for our money. As I was checking out the locally made treasures Mark went to get some money. When he returned he had a wad of cash in his hand and was counting it in front of all the boats. Upon seeing this, the locals in the boats started chatting louder and holding up everything they had. I got a little frighten and moved away from the edge of the Indies. Our deck-hand (who was a native) took Mark's money and traded it for stuff. Within ten minutes all the cash was divided amongst the nine boats and I was holding a variety of trinkets. It happened so fast I didn't even know was what I was getting until it was all over. 

"If you let them know you have lots of money they might turn into pirates." The deck-hand told Mark. "This way they think they have all your money already." Then he added, "Please be careful how rich you look here." We were on a boat with people worth millions, this was good advice. 

A week into the trip we stopped for gas at a small village and decided to spend the evening on land with the locals. I was told to wear an outfit that covered my arms and legs. After the airport deal I was happy to comply, even though it was over 100 degrees. After the Indies Trader docked we got off the boat with  our wobbly sea-legs. Within seconds women and kids crowded around us. Mark and I handed out candy to the children until the women got upset for some reason. The kids were called to hand the candy over. Then the women gave it to the men standing around who ate it. Go figure.  

Reggie did a skate demonstration and the crowd went wild! Then he had to let every child ride on his skateboard. It took an hour, but, it was worth every minute. After the Reggie Show we walked around the village. The kids were at our sides like we were rock stars and the women were all smiles and talk, even though we couldn't understand a word they were saying. The men of the village didn't like me and let me feel it, just like in the airport. They didn't even crack a smile. I guess blond hair really does have it's taboo side.

After dinner in the village we went to a dance they had in our honor. The women and children danced with all of us. It was like they wanted to make sure the Americans had a good time, especially the blond girl. I had no chance of sitting down as long as the music was playing. It was strange however to see that the local men didn't even come close to the dance floor, just the women and children...and us. The men simply sat around staring with almost a scowl on their face. In truth, I don't think the men were mean. I believe they were being protective. It was evident that the women and children had a worry free existence. If they were oppressed I didn't notice...except for the candy thing.    

I had a life lesson that night about vanity. For some reason I decided to put makeup on for the 'night on the town.' I forgot to consider how hot it was and that I had to wear pants and long sleeves. By the time dancing came around I had sweated so much I ended up wiping my face with my long sleeves. By the end of the night I had wiped all my Maybelline Fit Me Foundation and Dream Mette Powder (Suntan shade of course) all over my shirt. After the party I ended up trashing the stained thing. Makeup is over rated when things get hot.  

At the end of the tip we had a 6 hour layover in Singapore. We walked around and had lunch at the Hard Rock. I gotta say, Singapore is the cleanest city I've ever been to. There isn't even gum on the ground. It's a fast pace place however, with fast moving people. Its strange being in a big city after two weeks on a boat. The contrast is dynamic. Personally, I prefer the quiet. 

As much as I liked this part of the globe, back at the airport, I was pleased to see that no one cared that I had only 5 1/2 months left on my passport. Going home was a smooth trip.    

  For our family snowboarding trip this year we went to visit my Dad's sister who lived in Idaho. My Aunt and Uncle owned rental cabins three miles from Grand Targhee. I gotta say, The Grand Tetons are extremely beautiful!!! The snowboarding in these mountains is fantastic; lots of big bowls and in-the-boonies trails. Sarah and I ended up riding through trees so thick we weren't sure we were going to find a lift at the bottom. Fortunately we did, but, we had to walk a ways through trees to get to it. I was proud of Sarah's adventurous grit.

My cousins were big into snowmobiling (their son rides professionally) and we went out for a spin with them around some back woods trails. Shaun got too close to a tree and sunk his machine into it's Tree Well. I was greatful to see my cousins had a good attitude while we worked on pulling the snowmobile out of the deep hole. No one got hurt so we had a good laugh at Shaun's clumsy attempt at being a bad-ass. I can say this because Shaun would agree, he's no dare-devil.  

Before the trip was over my Aunt pulled out the picture books and told me stories about my Dad. They hadn't talked in years. Her and her husband were strong Christians and didn't like my Dad's lifestyle. However to me, her stories sparked an interest that had laid dormant after my brief initial letter contact with the man years ago. Everything she told me made me want to meet my Dad face-to-face. According to her he was a free spirit being blown around by the Devil himself. 

"He's going straight to hell." she said flatly. "You do remind me of him." she turned to me. "You both have the same restlessness in spirit. I noticed that long ago in you. Its a good thing the Holy Spirit as entered you and has given you life and wisdom." she said with a hug. How could I tell her I didn't like the way she judges things.  

I'm in the white car hitting over 125 mph!

The third exciting thing that happened that year was when Mark and I drove a Nascar at Rockingham. What a rush! It truly beat speeding down Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks. At the speedway, once I got my speed up, I found myself having to lean into a turn. I love high speed turns. They told us to swing high then drift low, "And hit the white dots with your left tires so you'll hug the wall correctly." they told us. The trick was we were not to stay high because of the lose gravel and the possibility of spinning out. I was good with that since I was accustomed to taking high speed turns in my G35 (the wall being the yellow lines). When I finished my solo laps I was told I drove with precision even though I wasn't the fastest. I was good with that.  

This was the year Shaun moved to Chicago. Mark went up with him to find a place to live and scope out the place. They rented a garden level apartment near Wrigley Field and within the month Shaun and I pack up a Uhaul and made his move. I fell in love with Chicago instantly. To me it was better then NY or LA for him. I decided it was going to be fun visiting the windy city and watching him bloom on some stage somewhere there. It was hard, but it had to be. 

While moving Shaun's stuff into his new apartment we knocked a large hole in the entrance stairway wall with his couch. I hung a picture to hide it. "Welcome to tight places," I said to Shaun. After we finished unloading the UHaul we went out to get Shaun food, living supplies, and a cell phone, then we toured the big city. When I boarded the plane back to NC I was in tears knowing I wouldn't be able to see him whenever I wanted. My son had grown up and was a man living his own story. His wings were strong, I knew that was for sure. I just hoped they were strong enough that the windy city wouldn't blow him away. To date he's flying like a rising star in Chicago. 

Even though Mark and I were doing all these exciting things, at home life was crumbling quickly. Shaun and Mark had a couple of common interests like music and drugs which left Sarah and I out of their loop. When Shaun moved to Chicago Mark was the only one in the house living the rock and roll dream. Sarah and I were involved with school. This meant the arguing escalated to the point of desperate measures. I looked for solace by having a long distance, non physical, but very mental affair....until Mark found out.   

2001: My first Broken Bone, Todo Santos, Cabo, Music & The Jump.

Yoga of choice!

This year I discovered a yoga CD that revolutionized my workouts. This mega-pushup style of yoga helped me eliminate weightlifting which consequently allowed me to workout entirely at home. Working out at home is fantastic because one can wear anything one wants. I was already in the habit of exercising five days a week, with Kest, I could cut an hour off of each workout because I had no driving time to deal with. That amounted to five hours a week I could spend doing other things...like surf!

I started 2001 in pretty good health. I'd been working out since 1972. I didn't smoked cigarettes, and I hadn't smoked weed or taken recreational drugs since 1981 (which was why I was an outcast at Hot Wax). This year however, I would discover the injury to my neck that I did snowboarding in 1997 was taking it's toll.

Brushy Mountain Motor Sports Park Taylorsville, NC

...and the aftermath  :(

Mark and I liked to ride our duel-sports wherever we could. This year we took our first trip to BMMS and had a good time until I laid a little too hard on the breaks during a turn and the back tire slid out. I flew sideways over the handlebars and into some rocks breaking my wrist. While chatting with my orthopedic I mentioned how painful my neck had become over the years. He took ex-rays and found a mess.

C5 and C6 had Degenerative disc endplate and uncovertebral joint disease with asymmetrically prominent osteophytes toward the right resulting in right foraminal stenosis. There was also an encroachment upon the anterior aspect of the cord and displacement of it, but without myelomalacic changes. C6 and C7 had had the same thing but to the left, plus uncovertebral joint hypertrophy. "You have a 70 year old neck." my doctor told me. That might explaine the headaches. 

I had noticed my eyesight wavering too. All the recent hurricanes had jiggled the lights over the softball fields and I was having a difficult time focusing on the ball while it was in the air during night games. At one point a high hit ball went threw my right hand pointer and flip-off fingers tearing them apart at the base. By the time I chased the ball down and threw it to the third baseman blood was splattered all over me. "Gross!" yelled my teammate holding up the bloody softball. I had to get four stitches.  

It was determined that part of my declining eyesight was caused by the swelling in my neck and not because I was 41. Of course I was wrong and this year I would get my dreaded pair of I'm-getting-older glasses along with a plate & six screws put in my broken wrist. My orthopedic prescribed an endless supply of Ultrams for the escalating neck pain, henceforth, it was time to decide whether or not I was going to join the pain pill popping crowd. God said I'd better not go there and I was listening, but Mark made things difficult with all his internet pills. "They're for you," he told me while handing me less then half of the pills in the package. I'm not going to say it wasn't tempting but I was in school and didn't want to screw up my grades with drugs. I decided Yoga was the plan for pain relief and only took two pills in one day when necessary. Mark took the rest.   

   The Island of Todos Santos, Mexico

This year I went to California again. It would be the last time for awhile. Over the years my brother had been working for Newport Harbor Shipyard and knew lots of rich active people with big fun boats. He had a friend who had a boat docked in Ensenada Mexico and we took it to the island of Todos Santos. Because my brother's friend knew the lighthouse keeper we were able to sleep on the island over night. The waves at Chickens were fun and we surfed until dusk the first day. The following morning I woke up to Mike Parsons and Shane Dorian doing tow-ins at Killers. It made for a great show with my coffee. 

While on the small island we pooped in an outhouse with the most spectacular view of mainland Mexico and breaking waves below the island's cliffs. I was on my period (which was always a drag while traveling) and ended up catching a parasite from no running water and me having to plug up. I know that's gross but it's a real curse for us women who travel to obscure places. Once while I was in Fiji I started my period while sightseeing. The only place to pee and plug up was on a 8 inch diameter rusty pipe coming up from the ground inside of a small peek-o-boo-between-the-wooden-slats outhouse. There was no water there too, and the pipe had no seat to sit on. It was a real long and nasty thigh burner.  

Killers

At the end of the summer, before I went back to school, Mark and I went to Cabo San Lucas. I adored Monuments, but Zippers was even better. My Huntington-ness had to come out at Zippers so I could catch a wave. It was a rush in the 5 to 6 ft. perfect rights to take on the locals. Once I showed them that I could ride one as well as the next guy, I was in and getting lots of tubes. After a couple of days my brother met Mark and I in Cabo to go fishing. My brother knew someone with a boat there too like in Ensenada. We had great success thirty miles out into the open seas...well, I did anyway :)

Fishing on the boat Survivor. 

The weekend before my classes were to start my sister-in-law's brother came to North Carolina from Denmark for a visit. We packed up the rental car they had and headed for a place called Carolina Sky Sports in Louisburg, NC to go skydiving. I didn't hesitate when the door of the perfectly good airplane opened up and I was told to jump out. It was a tandem jump and the guy I was with rolled me over directly after we left the plane. I saw the large flying machine so closely it was like I could have touched its belly. Then we rolled again and I saw the clouds and the ground. I love heights so this was a real spectacular moment in my life. I knew I'd have to do this again.

Jumping out of an airplane is a fantastic rush!!!

When my second year of collage started I got my nose pierced to celebrate the moment. Mark didn't like it but I thought it was cool. By now Mark and I were not talking much which made all the trips we went on a little uncomfortable even though we were trying to work things out. I loved Mark but we were in two completely different worlds. We shared the same space but not the same definition of the word Spiritual. This year I took a poetry class and started reading my poems to another man who understood my work. It's no shocker that this would start to carve a real wide crevice between Mark and I.  

During Christmas break Mark, Sarah, Shaun and I went to Colorado to snowboard. We boarded Vail and Breckenridge. Conditions were very good but we were having family problems that darkened the mood. We were all pretty good boarders however, and the snow there is always terrific, so, we all tried to keep conversations light and have a good time. 

Upon our return we sold the Salty Hammocks beach condo and bought a new one at Snowshoe. Intrawest had just bought the place and was rebuilding much of it turning Snowshoe into a 4 season resort. We used our brand new Highland House condo a lot which was nice. It came with housekeeping!

Once during the off season we all went for a long weekend. Mark went golfing while I drove the cart. The courses up there is magnifacent to see. I found over 60 balls. We took the kids fly fishing too. The place really is peaceful all year around. 

Mark's office at Hot Wax

This was the year Mark had become addicted to ebay and was spending enormous amounts of money on autograph rock & roll paraphernalia. By the start of 2002 Mark had so many autographs (I don't even know if all of them were real) that they wall papered the house and his office at Hot Wax (he was also spending lots of $$$ having these signatures custom framed). He was turning into a huge music fan and we were attending lots of concerts which was cool, but I'd notice his mood change due to the drugs he'd take behind my back before the music started. I felt betrayed and alone when he did this, and, he was doing this a lot by now. The truth was, at this point in our lives I pretty much felt I was nothing more than Mark's arm candy, or, a pretty little Tomboy Surfer doll. 

 

The ebay decor 

I have to say though, I liked the music room we had in the house. People would come over all the time and jam. Mark had state of the art recording equipment and numerous expensive guitars. Sarah had a drum set which every one liked to pop a squat and get in touch with their inner Ringo with. Hell, we even had a box of percussion instruments that would give a first grade class room a delightful shiver. Personally, I love the sound of a good bass guitar...its very sensual! I had a soft gold 2000 Fender Precision Bass (it matched my G35). It was built for the Blues but in the right hands it cranked out Rockabilly, Punk, SKA, Jazz, and Classic Rock with sexy sexy ease. All this, and a Tommy Pinball machine, made our house the party house indeed. 

To date Sarah still hold the leading score on the Tommy

2000: Part 2...40 On The Inside

Forty years after this picture was taken I found myself wondering what I was born to accomplish. And because I share the same birthday as Elvis, I would have celebrated 40 years of watching his hip jiving movies with my cake. It's also David Bowie's birthday. I still believe Bowie holds the Best Hair Ever award for his mullet in Labyrinth.  

 Thirty eight years after this was taken I needed to have a goal that would match my tenacious personality. 

Twenty six years after this was drawn, I knew I wasn't this person. 

Twenty three years after this picture was taken I knew I had found the reason to exercise and keep my body in shape, but what about my mind, spirit, and soul?

(Shaun with the ConnipTions) 

One year after this picture was taken I knew my job as a Mother had been modified. 

Two months after this picture was taken, I realized that Sarah was now the center of my attention. We needed each other. I also knew down in my spirit that when she would fly from home, leaving Mark and I alone together, that I would be unhappy. 

This was the year to face the music. 

In the year 2000 I found myself being called either Mark's wife, Shaun or Sarah's Mom, or, the Hot Wax lady. When I went places people would say to me, "Don't you own Hot Wax?" or, "Isn't that you on the radio doing the surf report?" It was kind of strange being noticed. I felt watched all the time. Personally, I don't know how celebrities do it day in and day out. The good thing was, at least no one is taking pictures of me pulling my pantie wads out or picking my nose. To some I was a role model, to others I was a judgmental bitch, to me, I was a part of something big that was now pushing me away.    

We had good employees at Hot Wax that required minimal supervision (Shaun and Sarah being two of them). My job entailed rotating stock, decorating displays, clearing out the storage room, hiring, and settling employee disputes. Basically I was the head floor manager. These jobs allowed me to be flexible because I really only had to come in when something was happening like season changes, big sales, new inventory, and industry promotions (when pros came for expeditions). Both Mark and I did the inventory ordering...I took care of the returns. Mark did all the paper work, bookkeeping, dealing with creditors and other stuff like that, so, he had to be there more during office hours. If he wasn't chewing out a rep on the phone for trying to rip us off by sending us stuff we didn't order, he was shaping a custom ProLine or playing golf with Dave Endress, the guy who does the glassing of ProLines and shapes Pride surfboards. 

  

The truth was, because I was spending most of my time doing all the things parents do for their teen agers and what wive's do for their husbands (what I call Domestic Engineering), I was spending only necessary time at HW. This in turn gave Mark the attitude that I was more of an intrusion. I was now faced with being pushed out mentally, (which I would find out later had a lot to do with all the drugs he was doing at work...and at home). By now, when I had an opinion about anything, Mark shot it down with his, "you're not there enough to understand anything about it." cut. What he forgot to realize was HW was a 24/7 worry and had been for 14 years now. Even though I wasn't there in the building it was all we'd talk about around the house. When Mark be-littled my suggestions it sliced a gash in my fibers and I would be left wondering what good I was anymore. Mark also did this when I tried to help his relationship with his daughter which was out of control by now. 

To compensate for my frustration Mark would buy me something or send me on a trip. He did this to Sarah too. He had a habit of throwing money at problems....among other things. For Sarah and I, it was as if his shinny new pacifiers were suppose to keep us happy, submissive, and quiet. I personally think that comes from his Southern roots, but to us it was degrading. I needed him to appreciate my contribution, instead he'd pooh-hoo it by dangling carats. HW gave him the financial power to dangle some big ones too. In fact, HW gave Mark the power to spend money like crazy! I couldn't complain about the trips and the stuff because they were nice, but, I couldn't help being on slotted with the requirements they came with. Subconsciously Mark had one condition that came with his pacifiers...it was called worship.    

I had to do something for me that would bring me into my own, but, I didn't know what that was. Sarah said I should go back to school...she was definitely on to something. 

By the time Fall of 2000 came around I was taking 12 hours of classes at my local Community Collage and Sarah started high school. Interestingly enough, education was a journey we ended up taking together. When Mark saw me willfully move away from the shop, it rattled him, and, when he saw that I wasn't going to hate our daughter like he did he'd spit insults at me. I'm not kidding about this either. The fights Mark and Sarah had were horrible. I always told Mark it was his duty to stop the madness because he was the "older and wiser" parent, but, for some reason he liked antagonizing her until she'd scream or cry. It'd pissed me off to the point of disgust. Soon he was arguing about how Sarah and I were teaming up against him and he'd call me "In cahoots with the devil." Sarah and I fought too, but we rarely got into out-of-control-ness. I was willing to give Sarah the last word, because I knew I'd aways have the last say. 

The truth was that when I went back to school Sarah became my greatest ally. She supported my quest to become Wonder Woman and I supported her quest to be independent of her condescending Father. I guess in that way Sarah and I were on the same team. We both wanted to individually give something to the world that it would not get without us...and we didn't want to be called the devil for doing it. By now Mark's carats were less and less influential for both Sarah and I so, life at home started unraveling quickly.      

When Mark saw me making friends with intellectuals at school he became verbally cruel and arrogant towards any idea outside the box he had in his head concerning God, wisdom and the human brain. He not only disliked my friends but also the authors of the books I read. "They're nothing but idiots," he said all the time. It got to the point that I could never talk about my personal quest for contentment with him. I also had to keep Mark away from my new acquaintances because he'd start arguments buy calling them stupid to their face. It was embarrassing and sad. Mark and I were definitely not on the same page in the year 2000... in fact, we were heading for different books (lives) all together.  

I fell in love with school and made good grades. I decided after I got my Associates in Arts I would transfer to UNC Wilmington and go for a Bachelors. When I started school I was planning to become a Christian Councilor, later however, I realized I was in for a different type of journey and I was thrilled to the core about it. During this time Sarah and I had each other's backs, and God had my motivation. 

It was going to be a new millennium...no ifs, ands, or buts about it.    

To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose Oneself.

                                                                                                                            Kierkegaard

2000: Lordy, Lordy I'm 40!!! Part.1

For my 40th birthday Mark rented out Typhoon Lagoon in Orlando Fl. for a couple of hours. It was during that year's January Surf Expo. Mark and I had surfed the lagoon a number of times with industry reps, but this time a couple of Hot Wax employees drove down to surf the 4 foot fresh water waves with us. 

The first time I ever climbed into that gigantic pool in that fantastically cool water park, I was pretty nervous. Only one person is allowed in the pool at a time (unless they do peaks), so, all attention is on that one person...me. "If you miss the take off you'll have to paddle in and get back in line." the reps always told us. It was the one and only rule. There was no way I was going to humiliate kneeboarding at a wave pool, so, I focused as I climbed down the steps and entered the fresh 70+ degree water. 

When I was situated in the take off place I waited for the machines to come to life. Suddenly I heard a low sounding rumble and quickly I set myself up. "Swwwoooosh!" went the hydraulic water pushers and before my eyes a large H2O wall welled up under the Pirate Ship. This wall rolled towards me like a clear green lump and I started paddling. In all the times I surfed Typhoon Lagoon I only missed one wave. I was far too excited to miss two of them. Plus, when you do the math, each wave costs about $25.  

Once I caught the 4 footer and snapped up, I quickly discovered the difference between salt water and fresh water buoyancy. Its amazing how the 2.5% per volume weight variance can effect a surfboard and it's surfer. Without speed the board can sink quickly. I had to be very carful while doing cut backs. 

   

The end of the wave is a little tricky. The concrete bottom has a tendency to shave down the fins on a surfboard so, I had to be carful while jumping off of my kneeboard. For the most part, I'd just roll into the wave at the end. It felt good in the fresh water. The whole wave pool experience is exciting and I recommend surfing one at least once. At Typhoon Lagoon the atmosphere is all Disney, so, it was a fun birthday party, even though it started at 6am.

*Speaking of surfing non-ocean waves...in the early 90s Mark and I surfed the FlowRider at the Schlitterbahn in Texas. That was when Tom Lochtefeld and Mark were talking about building one in Wilmington NC. The truth was, I never crashed so hard onto a 3" thick blue gymnastic mat in my life! The experience took out my shoulder for awhile. I told Mark the project had lawsuit written all over it. We never built one.    

My birthday car!

"Have you seen the new 2000 Infinity G35?" Mark's friend asked me. "You should check it out," he said. So I did. 

That day I traded in my Maxima and bought a brand new high speed Infinity (or very expensive Nissan). To this day I believe there's nothing like the sound of a G35 starting up. It's absolutely sexy. Within the year I took "Baby" to Cape Hatteras and had that tight driving machine flying down Highway 12 at 145+. Then the racks started to vibrate. On Ocracoke Island, right when you get off of the Hatteras ferry, there's a 4 mile stretch that's as straight as a Boeing 747 runway. I have vibrated racks with four of my cars along that stretch of Hwy. 12. It's such a rush! Coincidentally, 12 is my softball number too. 

In 2000 Shaun graduated from High School. 

Class of the Second Millennium. 

It's an odd feeling witnessing a baby become a man or woman. As a parent I always believed that...

Children are not things to be molded- but persons to be unfolded.

And that...

There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children- one is roots, the other wings. 

                                                                                                                             Anonymous

For Shaun's senior trip his drama class went to New York. I had the privilege of chaperoning. When the group went to The Museum of Natural History I asked Shaun if he wanted to go to Greenwich Village. He said yes, so, he, the other three guys I was chaperoning and I, slipped out the side door and hopped into a Taxi. We headed straight for the Strand Book store. I told the guys to meet me in a hour.

"Are we on our own?" they asked.

"Aren't you 18?" I asked.

"Well, yeah but..." they looked around excited and confused.

"Just be back on time." I said a little sternly, and I walked into the largest used book store ever. Then I walked to Other Music CD store on E. 4th St. and browsed around. I was in the habit of buying CDs wherever I went. My IPod has over 6500 songs from all genres and from bands around the world....anywho, 

After an hour the five of us got back into a Taxi and met the rest of the high school group just in time for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. 

After curfew the guys and I snuck out again and walked the NY streets until the sun came up. We had a blast! My Son had very entertaining friends in high school. 

Shaun didn't surf. He was into comedy improv and played guitar in a local punk rock band. I always knew he was wired for the stage so I encouraged his Thespian ways. He tried to go to collage, but, the truth was he'd had enough school for awhile and quickly dropped out. I after hanging around Wilmington living the life of a teen age actor and band member, Shaun decided to move to Chicago. I encouraged that move too. I knew Shaun would flourish in a big city. To date he is doing just that. He graduated from Second City, got a job making Bobtail Ice Cream, and, put together a band called Chaperone (no connection to NY). Shaun started living his own story and I'm very proud of him. He still lives in the windy city and plans to marry in 2012.  

Shaun and His love Shaylah

and Bill

There were guys in Shaun's 2000 class that did surf however, like Q and S. At this time Q was off at a private school, (he'll write his own book one day). S went to the same church we went to and graduated from the same school as Shaun. His Mom and I were good friends. When S wanted to go to Costa Rica for his graduation gift, his Mom asked me to take him and two of his friends. That was another type of chaperoning experience.

The guys were pretty well behaved and the surf was good up and down the west coast of CR, but, we spent most of our time in Tamarindo surfing Playa Negra. While out having fun one night we saw a few Wilmington NC girls who played rugby and surfed. I had met them through Hot Wax and was excited to see them in CR. After a few drinks we all decided we needed to rent a boat in the morning and surf Witch's Rock. We all arrived at the boat hungover. The waves were fantastic however, and, all the rugby/surfer girls were a hoot in the line up. They were chatty and full of boisterous encouragement. It was such a good day. It was a good trip all around.  

The year ended with a cruse to Alaska.  

This was the fourth cruse Mark and I had been on. It was for Mother's day so we took my Mom and Mother-in-law. The last cruse Mark and I went on we took the kids. On the way to the Bahamas we re-newed our vows with our kids standing next to us. It was our fifteenth anniversary and at that time my life was a whirlwind of small business ownership, traveling, being known as "Mark's wife," and motherhood. By the time this Alaska trip came along Mark and I were having marital problems and our Moms felt it. The truth was that after 18 years of marriage I was drifting away from my husband. 

My 40th year was the year I decided to look ahead, much like I did at 35. 

And what I saw would hit the fan like lit fireworks.

1999: New Zealand, Hurricane Floyd, & Fiji Once More

Kneeboarding competitors get to grips with Taranaki

Publication:

Daily News 

Publish date:

April 3, 1999

 

Author:

HOLDOM, Neil

 

THE world's hottest kneeboard surfers took to Taranaki's waves yesterday at the start of their quest to find the best.

Surfing New Zealand executive officer Greg Townsend is pleased with the field of 80 international and 40 New Zealand boardriders who have travelled to Taranaki for the 10-day World Kneeboard Surfing Championships, which officially get underway today.

My story...

There was this Guy who went to my church that married a girl from New Zealand. Every April he took his wife and kids to Wellington for a month. That way she could have long visits with her parents.
"I surf all over the island every time I go." Guy would say to me at church. "If you ever want to surf New Zealand you should come out." He offered.
I took him up on it.

In April I flew all by myself into Wellington for a 10 day "surf" trip. When Guy and his in-laws, whom I'd never met, pulled up to the airport, they found me puking in the trashcan outside. Like a dumb-ass I drank wine on the long flight to Auckland. At that time I didn't drink much of anything and wine was headache-in-a-bottle, but hey, everything is free on international flights so, it's foolish to refuse, right!?! The shame was, that on the flight from Auckland to Wellington, I could have had a delightful conversation with one heck of a good-looking flight attendant with a charming accent. But instead, my drunk ass tried to sleep so I wouldn't have to ask the model-hot steward for a barf-bag.

The first couple of days Guy and I checked the surf at Lyall Bay only to find nothing over 3 feet. It didn't take long to notice that Guy really didn't surf like he said he did. He had a hundred reasons not to go look for surf. I came to think of him as a poser. His wife noticed my frustration at the way things were going and she suggested we take a two day trip up the North Island and surf the Tasman Sea. Guy hesitantly agreed to the trip and we loaded up the car...family and all.

Taranaki...

We arrived at Oakura Beach the day after the kneeboarding contest. After Guy's family settled into the rental place, Guy and I went to check out Stent Road. The waves were 8 to 10 feet and the winds calm. There were two guys out. Without hesitation I pulled out my wetsuit. Guy hesitated.
"Don't you want to paddle out?" I asked Guy.
"Naw. It's not that good."
"What!?! It's perfect!!!" I grab my kneeboard and flippers.
"The tide is too high." Guy said. "I'll just stay up here while you surf."
"Really? You're just going to sit here." The truth was, I wasn't really surprised at his decision.
Consequently, I had to figure out how to get to the break all by myself. That pissed me off.

The waves were fantastic. Long cut-back rights with a nice set-up for a tubed finale. It reminded me of K38. The other two guys out were locals and wanted to chat about Huntington Beach and Cape Hatteras. They were very nice and gave me any wave I wanted. The problem was, the whole time I was out all I could think about was Guy alone up on the hill. It put a damper on things. When I came in after two hours he commented, "You were out for a very long time."
"I surfed your hour for you." I told him.
He didn't even take pictures with his expensive camera.

Waikato...

The next day we all drove up to surf Raglan. Again the waves were a spectacular 8 to 10 feet and Guy didn't want to paddle out. I sat with him while he gave me every excuse in the book (and some he invented) for why it wasn't good enough. As he whined, I watched how people were getting out into the line up at Manu. Indicators was far to crowded and Whale wasn't as good as Manu. Once I figured it out I told Guy, "I'm paddling out," and I put on my wetsuit. I think he got embarrassed because he decided to paddle out with me.

After jumping in I got hammered within 30 seconds and bumped into the rocks. But I kept focused and stepped it up. Before I knew it I was right in the lineup and good to go. Guy had made it out too. My first left was a little shaky because there were people to dodge, but, once acclimated I was having a blast. Guy stayed out with me the whole time. He never took a wave.

New Zealand landscape is breath-taking, and, I liked very much all the little places we stopped at to eat and chat with the locals. But, the drive back to Wellington was full of surf-checks and grumbling. I wanted to paddle out and Guy wanted to get home. The rest of Guy's family didn't care wether we stopped or not to surf, so, in my book Guy was the surf-pooper.

My last days in NZ were spent surfing Lyall Bay and chatting about Rugby. The waves had picked up a little and were crowded, but fun. It was nothing like Stent Rd. though! Guy paddled out with me in Wellington and I finally saw him stand up...and fall. I never saw a kneeboarder.

But in 2003, totally serendipitously, I saw a girl kneeboarding in front of my house at Kure Beach. She was from Christchurch and had family that owned a condo across the street from me. We surfed up and down Pleasure Island, and I took her to Wrightsville Beach to surf. In turn she let Mark make templates of of her two kneeboards. I hadn't seen many kneeboarders over the years so it was hard talking progress with anyone. Her boards were new and refined. For one, her fin placements were higher up and her wide spot was further back. I liked the looseness of that combo. To date I ride a 5'2" and a 5'7" that Mark shaped using her boards as models.

A Floyd wave

On Sept. 15th Hurricane Floyd hit us. After surfing Topsail Beach Mark and I packed up the hurricane camping gear and, once again, spent the night at Hot Wax Surf Shop. Fortunately we were able to get on Pleasure Island faster than we did after Bonnie, and, we caught some of Floyd's big waves with a strong off-shore wind. However the ocean was extremely polluted due to the flooding and river runoffs created by Floyd's massive rains. For days the Atlantic was burgundy red and smelled like gas. Floating debris passed by continually. At one point I had to dodge a wooden corner of a small building that drifted by while I was riding a wave at the Cove.

The news told surfers to get vaccinated because during Floyd's heavy rains, pig farms leaked all their poo into the rivers, rivers that that ran into the ocean. Animals that had drowned were also floating down stream. It was really gross, but, the waves were far too good to ignore. Mark and I got vaccinated.

Fiji

In October Mark and I made another trip to Tavarua. When I was there last I had appreciated getting out of Fiji without a major injury. I began believing that going back to surf it's big monsters was pushing my luck. Personally I wanted to start traveling Central America because it was less expensive and had isolated point breaks just waiting for exploration, but, Mark had balls for big surf, so, we headed for Cloudbreak once again. By now Tavarua had expanded their visitors list and were in the process of re-modeling. More people were allowed on the island and hence, more people were out in the line-up. This made the two main breaks on Tavarua crowed and dangerous. Even the boat-men had stopped calling non-Tavarua visitors out of Cloudbreak's lineup. This added to the frustration and fear I had of busting my butt on a late take-off.


                          

The waves didn't get very big this year however, and I found lots of ways to entertain myself...

Snorkeling Cloudbreak

By the end of the two week trip I was pleased that, once again, I could leave without a major injury. This was the year I hit the bottom of Restaurants and scraped a good gash in my leg but, that's nothing compared to what can happen. I asked Mark if we could go somewhere else next year. I didn't want to push my luck anymore. The big perfect waves were to continue however... ...good thing I was an avid yoga doer and cardiovascular weightlifter.