Dude, Its not suppose to happen that way!

Senior sneak is about rebellion, the last hurrah before graduation and getting drunk. While most high school students, at least in Pocatello Idaho, went camping and drank themselves into a stupor, so much that they only had a vague remembrance of the weekend. At 18 years old, I found myself in a van with a group of college students that included; two couples, myself and my ex-boyfriend (who broke up with me a few days earlier) on our way to Santa Cruz with one mission, to learn how to surf.

Ryan, one of the other Dudes, had a van, duct taped and stickered from front to back in which we crammed to the brim, all our gear. The goal was to drive the 15 hours it took to get to Santa Cruz in one night. The guys took turns driving and by sun rise we had the Great Pacific Ocean lapping at our toes. Six Idaho kids ready and anxious to surf! We entered the first surf shop we came to, rented our boards and asked for the closest beach... We headed towards the Hook.

Now we were land locked South Eastern Idaho kids, who grew up surrounded by the high mountain dessert called the Snake River Plain. We had no understanding of the ocean, its' tides or that the surfing community was very territorial. The Hook, which to this day I'm not sure why the surf shop recommended we surf there, was a "little" advanced for our skill set. It didn't take long for the "locals" to realize our lack of knowledge. One young gentleman very pointy let us know that we "obviously didn't know what the @#$% we were doing" and "recommended" that we go somewhere else. Not knowing the geography of the coastline we decided to just swim a little further south. Because, why swim into shore and find a beginner beach, like every other sane group would have done? That thought never crossed any of our minds. We were there to surf! At the time there was still a sandy beach however, unbeknownst to us the tide was rising.

After what seemed like hours of paddling and getting crushed by waves, I found myself exhausted, with no satisfaction of actually riding the board, standing on the board, kneeling on the board... Delirious to my surroundings, a large wave came in that pummeled me like a rag doll. I felt like I was scooped up in an alligators clutches, spinning with powers of the wave. Under the water, lost in the washing machine affect, I was barely aware of a tug on my leg. When I came to the surface, the cord that attached to my ankle to the surf board, was still there. However, the board I had rented was nowhere to be seen. Half drowned; I realized that I was a little farther out from shore than I would have liked to be. Panic started to set in... SHARKS, or other big man eating beasts from the Dark Deep Water! At that point in time I had no Idea what a rip tide was, which should have been the real fear. After what seemed like ages of swimming towards shore (but was probably only seconds), one of my travel mates spotted me. He made his way to me and let me rest on his board. After I caught my breath and my composure, we searched what once was a beach but due to the high tide was now a cliff line for my run away board.

I feel that due to other locals being in the water close to us, we felt that it was safe to be out on the water. Or at least I did. So, as I'm resting on Ryan's board, an older sun weathered local paddled over to us. Now this guy had definitely spent some time in California. He had the look of an old Sun "baked" leather strap that once had some ink drawn on it. His hair consisted of 3 foot dreads tied back at the nape of his neck. They slithered around like tentacles in the water. I remember this clearly, with a look of concern on his face, that was accompanied by dreads flowing, he said to me in the most laid back slow California vibe you can think of; "Dude... I saw that...It's not supposed to happen that way".

He was the nicest guy. He asked if I was ok and let us know about the tide rising. That we should get my board before it's too late and call it a morning. He also named off a few other beaches that would be more to our liking. A few places for a beer. Then, the old Surfer and his dreads swam away, never to be seen again. J

Spotting my board on a little sliver of beach that was quickly disappearing Ryan made the plan to go get it for me. I would swim in after him, which at the time I figured was going to be easy. Finally, crawling on to the shore like a shipped wrecked half drown pirate. Exhausted from the ordeal, I found the warmth of the sand on my face comforting. Which only lasted for a short moment when the reality that we were surrounded by cliffs, set in. The only way to get back to the beach we started on was ether to swim out and fight the waves. Or to try to race the waves before they crashed into the cliffs on the narrow sand that revealed itself after every third wave. Exhausted and soggy from the salt water, the comfort of the shore was two enticing, we decided to stay on land and race the waves.

After getting back to the beach, with bloody feet and sore bruised legs from getting slammed into the jagged rocks, we found the rest of our comrades sunbathing happily on the beach, after giving up hours before. They thought we were still out having fun. I guess we were the diehards.

At 30 years old, after years of traveling and a wanderlust that has yet to be quenched, I now realize that the words that the old sun weathered, dreaded surfer spoke came to be the theme of my travels. Looking back on the young girl I was, I envision this little bird nestled in the comforts of the nest of Pocatello, ID that I grew up in. This nest is on the top of a cliff with the vast horizon of the world in its views. These views sparked curiosity and fed the dreams that one day I would fly away and have great wonderful adventures. When time came to spread my wings and fly, I took the biggest leap I could muster. Upon leaving the nest I crashed and tumbled the whole way down the cliff. However, with those words, I have tested myself time and again finding new breaking points and becoming more confident in the woman I have become.

I write these stories of my adventures to inspire those who have the desire to push themselves to new limits. You never know what you may find upon your travels. You will never learn new perspectives on life or meet new friends along the way if you don't have the courage to spread your wings and take the first leap.

Lessons Learned: New adventures can be very exciting! Slow down and take the time to do your research.

• Thoroughly check the equipment that you rent.
• When going into new waters check the tide times, rip currents and places suitable for your skill level.
• Take note of your surroundings and be aware of what is going on around you.
• If you are with friend know where they are at all times! You never know when things can go very wrong. This trip has a happy ending, My guardian angels at the time loved me J, but it also could have gone catastrophic very easily.

Bounty of the Trip:

The rest of the trip was a blast! While I did not pick up a board again, we were asked by the surf shop to be on their local radio show. They wanted to know our story of the Idaho kids who were determined to surf! To share that story with their listeners. We were also asked to be their special guests at a surf/ski movie primer that they were showing of some of their local athletes adventures. As all of us are avid Skiers this was right up our ally. I soaked up the beauty of many pacific coast sunsets on a cliff line with feral cats and cleansed my young soul, finding clarity with the fresh salty sea brease.