Will's Adventure Update: Hasta LAvista

Laura and I are sadly almost through our last week in the LA Southbay area. Living in Hermosa Beach has been a great transition between NYC and our upcoming trip to Latin America, but I think we are both ready to get to traveling and escape our computers, cellphones, and their related stress. It is always a relief to escape the perceived obligations that our phenomenally interconnected technology can create. There is peace in knowing that you simply can not be reached, it reduces distractions and refocuses one's mental energy on living in the moment.

Our flights to San Jose, Costa Rica are booked for October 23 out of Houston. Between the 7th, when we move out LA, and the 23rd we are going camping in Catalina Island for three days and driving back to Houston with a camping stop in the Grand Canyon area for another three days on the way home.

Surfing has been a focus, despite the lack of consistent swells, over the past two weeks. I have surfed breaks in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, San Onofre, Malibu, and Santa Barbara. The waves around Manhattan and Hermosa Beach are all from the beach break and tend to close out (when the wave breaks all down its length at once). These can be tough waves to learn on but I still probably feel most at home here, since its where I surf the most. The water is still in the mid 60s making it still possible to surf without a wetsuit. The rides on these waves are anything but picturesque, I am rarely up for more than a few seconds, but just getting out into the water and catching a few of these steep, quick breaking waves challenges and refreshes me. Hopefully in Costa Rica I will get into some of the longer rides and deeper barrels that one sees in surfing videos and I dream about.