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.
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