Wheels 2 Water

Wheels 2 Water is another adaptive surfing program in California based out of Huntington Beach.  Organized a little different and with more kinds of adaptive surfboards.  The beach is flatter and it was a little easier to get people in and out of the water.  The beach chair was very useful going back and forth across the sand.   There were more people in chairs at this event so the beach chair was used alot more.  The different surfboards and waveski were great to have as different options for different people.  The other thing I liked was the use of colored rash guards to identify the 'senders' and the 'receivers' in the water.

Operation Amped

 The first adaptive surfing event I have participated in was at Zuma Beach, just north of Malibu.  Pretty much a shore break that was closing out, which was a bit scarry.  Operation Amped, www.operationamped.com , is a program that works primarily with wounded soldiers, not necessarily just amputees.   However, there is another program called Association of Amputee Surfers, http://www.ampsurf.org , that is run by and caters to people with amputations.   Sicky Dicky provided the lifeguard/surf instructors and soft top surf boards and William Morris, a talent agency, provided the volunteer support to put on 'a day at the beach' for about 10 injured soldiers from a nearby VA.   There was a range of injuries including SCI,  TBI's, and  amputee. This is their 8th event of the summer season and some repeat surfers were eager to learn and surf more.

The long road home- costa to colorado

The journey back to San Jose to nothing to take for granted.  The ferry ride is my favorite part of the journey....it happened to be dumping!  They still had the karoke happening and it was a nothing short of hilarious.

Day 10 - tide pools

Today we end up going out to a tide pool and doing some snorkling.  This was a huge tide pool but getting to it was about 100 yards over reef with barnacles.  it was a challenge getting Vijay out there but proved to be well worth the effort.  It was amazing for V to float and swim on his own.  He loved it!  Full body protection is necessary to keep the skin from tearing.  We tried really hard and Vijay still got cut several times

Day 9 - Fishing

Today we have arranged a boat to do some fishing.  We get up early and head out to Mal Pais for a threeeeeee hour tourrrrr, a  threeee hour tourrrr, on Rosita.  Frank ended up landing a Yellow Fin Tuna and Vijay got some other fish that was less desireable, but we ate it.  We had a party that night to celebrate and  share our bounty in hopes to attract some booty.  

Day 8, Beach Clean-up

One of the first things I notice on the beach is trash.  I have a hard time walking past it without picking it up.  This morning, we surfed then went to work picking up trash.  We filled huge bags, making a pile the size of a pick-up in less than an hour.  The whole Shaka surf camp staff and guests were out cleaning up the local beach.  Hopefully, this clean-up effort continues in the future.