We are in Ocean Beach, California for the month of July and are having a very relaxing time. This photo was taken from our deck at the house on the Fourth of July. We all love our little house and have been learning to surf and kayak. Seth and Madi are loving it and have been practicing every day.
We were able to watch the fireworks from our deck on the 4Th. It was a perfect view, we were able to see not only the Ocean Beach display, but also the Sea World and Mission Beach fireworks.
This is the OB Pier where the fireworks were set off, as you can see we have a wonderful view of that location from the house. We had guests for the week including Todd's Mom, Janet, in addition to his sister, Mara, and her fiancee Chris.
One of our favorite adventures so far was our day of sea kayaking. This photo was taken in La Jolla prior to our departure to the ocean a few blocks away. Our guide gave us some basic instruction and we were on our way to try it for the first time. Todd's mom, Janet, has wanted to try sea kayaking for a very long time, so we thought it would be the perfect time for her to try it since we were all together. Pictured here from the left are, Seth, Janet, Todd, Madi, Me and Mara (her fiance Chris was taking the photo).
During the trip some of us were able to enter a cave and really loved that experience. Our guide assisted us in order to prevent us from bumping into the cave walls during the high surf. Pictured here are Todd and Madi inside one of the cave.
This is a photo of Janet during the beginning of our adventure. Shortly after this photo was taken she began to feel a bit of motion sickness that escalated into severe nausea. We all felt so badly for her since it had been here dream to have this experience for a very long time. She was really a trooper and attempted to continue on the trip. At one point I looked back while we were all observing the Sea Lions and saw her kayak, however she was no longer sitting on it! I alerted our guide and he was quickly at her side helping her to get back on. She leaned over to far and fell off into the water. She was able to get back on and elected to go back to shore due to the extreme illness she was experiencing, it was a disappointment but I'm sure she will try it again soon and do just fine.
Seth and Madi loved the experience. Seth and I shared a kayak and Todd and Madi were paired together.
Chris and Mara liked it as well, but decided to cut their trip short in order to help Janet get back to shore. They tied her kayak to theirs and rowed very quickly back to the beach.
Another one of our favorite experiences since our arrival in OB has been learning to surf. We elected to take a lesson prior to trying our luck for the first time in order to have a better chance at success. This photo was taken right before we all entered the water at Pacific Beach. From the left are, Myself, Madi, Melissa, Mara, Seth, Gabe (Melissa's friend from UVM) and Chris.
As you can see I was getting to my feet, however was having some difficulty staying there! I am confident that I will be successful (eventually) since I have a month to perfect my skills. It is so fun and I was surprised that during the hour lesson I actually got to my feet as many times as I did. Some of the photos are comical, but practice makes perfect, right?!
Madi on the other hand seemed to be a natural at the sport. She got out there and was surfing in no time. We were so proud of her. Seth was a natural as well, however, the photographer didn't get very many photos of him during the lesson.
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Chris (Mara's fiancee) did pretty well too. It is definitely more difficult than it looks, however we all persevered. He practiced a little bit more in OB during the days following our lesson and was getting very good at it before he went home to Kansas. Great job Chris!
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Mara, on the other hand, didn't enjoy the experience as much as some of us. I thought she was doing a great job, but at one point she said "I hate this!". She is on here feet here, so I think she should try it again the next time she is at the beach. Great effort Mara!
Following our lesson we bought a board so we could continue to practice. Seth and Madi have been surfing every day and are getting very good. Seth now goes past the white water where we were instructed to stay while we were learning. Yesterday he was out by the pier for 3 hours "hangin' ten" with all of the OB surfers. He is going to be great and seems to really love it. Todd is the only one of us who hasn't tried to surf yet, but he loves to sit on the beach to watch all of us and even provides instructional feedback! I'll get some photos of his experience when he tries it for the first time. He insists that will be soon, so I'll keep you posted!
We are in Ocean Beach, California for the month of July and are having a very relaxing time. This photo was taken from our deck at the house on the Fourth of July. We all love our little house and have been learning to surf and kayak. Seth and Madi are loving it and have been practicing every day.
We were able to watch the fireworks from our deck on the 4Th. It was a perfect view, we were able to see not only the Ocean Beach display, but also the Sea World and Mission Beach fireworks.
This is the OB Pier where the fireworks were set off, as you can see we have a wonderful view of that location from the house. We had guests for the week including Todd's Mom, Janet, in addition to his sister, Mara, and her fiancee Chris. 
During the trip some of us were able to enter a cave and really loved that experience. Our guide assisted us in order to prevent us from bumping into the cave walls during the high surf. Pictured here are Todd and Madi inside one of the cave.
This is a photo of Janet during the beginning of our adventure. Shortly after this photo was taken she began to feel a bit of motion sickness that escalated into severe nausea. We all felt so badly for her since it had been here dream to have this experience for a very long time. She was really a trooper and attempted to continue on the trip. At one point I looked back while we were all observing the Sea Lions and saw her kayak, however she was no longer sitting on it! I alerted our guide and he was quickly at her side helping her to get back on. She leaned over to far and fell off into the water. She was able to get back on and elected to go back to shore due to the extreme illness she was experiencing, it was a disappointment but I'm sure she will try it again soon and do just fine.
Seth and Madi loved the experience. Seth and I shared a kayak and Todd and Madi were paired together.
Chris and Mara liked it as well, but decided to cut their trip short in order to help Janet get back to shore. They tied her kayak to theirs and rowed very quickly back to the beach. 
As you can see I was getting to my feet, however was having some difficulty staying there! I am confident that I will be successful (eventually) since I have a month to perfect my skills. It is so fun and I was surprised that during the hour lesson I actually got to my feet as many times as I did. Some of the photos are comical, but practice makes perfect, right?!
Madi on the other hand seemed to be a natural at the sport. She got out there and was surfing in no time. We were so proud of her. Seth was a natural as well, however, the photographer didn't get very many photos of him during the lesson..JPG)
Chris (Mara's fiancee) did pretty well too. It is definitely more difficult than it looks, however we all persevered. He practiced a little bit more in OB during the days following our lesson and was getting very good at it before he went home to Kansas. Great job Chris!.JPG)
Mara, on the other hand, didn't enjoy the experience as much as some of us. I thought she was doing a great job, but at one point she said "I hate this!". She is on here feet here, so I think she should try it again the next time she is at the beach. Great effort Mara!
Following our lesson we bought a board so we could continue to practice. Seth and Madi have been surfing every day and are getting very good. Seth now goes past the white water where we were instructed to stay while we were learning. Yesterday he was out by the pier for 3 hours "hangin' ten" with all of the OB surfers. He is going to be great and seems to really love it. Todd is the only one of us who hasn't tried to surf yet, but he loves to sit on the beach to watch all of us and even provides instructional feedback! I'll get some photos of his experience when he tries it for the first time. He insists that will be soon, so I'll keep you posted!
