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#TBT-My First Few Years of Surfing

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My first time in real Baja, circa summer 2006.

I have changed over the years. And this year is no exception, if not the biggest year for some growth and I couldn’t be more grateful.

Cleaning and reorganizing always feels good, but sometimes from the proverbial dust, you dig up certain memories that you completely forgot about and have lingered in your boxes and books, buried beneath a stack of magazine clippings, articles and other career-oriented memorabilia.

Recently, in my crazy cleaning (what else should I do right now besides surf, amIright?), I rediscovered a surf journal I kept where I documented the first few years of my surf journey. I stopped mid-clean and prepared myself for a funny and nostalgic afternoon.

I started surfing in January 2004 at good ole SanO with a surf class and a hilarious football coach, who always teased me about being from Austin (UT -hook ’em) since he was an OU fan, and from that class, I met a group of friends. Ah the days of yore! Where Myspace WAS the social media, cell phones with cameras baaaarely existed and GoPros flat out did not exist.

Throwback to ‘Jackie’s Session Notes’ on Wetsand.com, circa 2005.

With a 9’0 Stewart longboard barely tucked under my arm, I  froze my tush off while innocuously learning about surf etiquette, paddling out, popping up and riding a wave…and not burning anyone in the process. Of course there is an entry in there where I got yelled at for my first time and was reduced to tears! Now I crack up thinking of how upset I was, even though it was my fault. But–in my defense, he was also a jerk. These days, I’d fire back at the jerk or just flip a bird and paddle away. :) Ah, lessons learned on a daily in the agua…that’s what I love about surfing: it is forever a journey.

Let me wax more nostalgia: 2005 was also the same year where I started writing for Wetsand.com. All the same, it was one of my first places I was published and wrote for consistently. And some of those adventures definitely stemmed from this journal and, on wetsand.com, would’ve been found in “Jackie’s Session Notes,” riiiight below the beginnings of “Liz Clark’s Swell Voyage” in the “Women Who” section.

My first few years of surfing were momentous on a daily basis and often heartfelt, although plenty of cracking up along the way.

Below are some excerpts I thought y’all might crack up about, too.

Here’s to a #ThrowbackThursday!

A 6-Hour Tour: Trestles, Crowds, Waves, Bruises

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Ah Trestles—my go-to, my getaway to get away,

During this quarantine thing, I try not torturing myself by looking at my long list of surf trips…especially since the world does not want Americans near their shores right now…but this past Saturday, Trestles brought the surf trip to me and bunch of other heat relief-seeking folks. Indo be damned…well, for now.

My trusty Sub Scorcher

A perpetual heat wave has been hovering over SoCal, thanks to a once hurricane now-turned series of storms off the coast. In fact, as I type this, I’m probably sweating in a tank and shorts with my hair in a bun that’s falling out of my clip.

Coulda sworn I left the humidity in Georgia and Texas…Lawd, child!

Last weekend, air temps hovered in the high 80’s by the beach and water temps sat at a very comfortable 72-76 degrees all along the coast. Trestles and her warm water walls called!

There are times where the crowd gets to me, the wave frustrates me and the rocks irk me. But not this time. Warm water makes me invincible, right? :D

At 9:30 a.m., I paddled out, no wetsuit needed. Duck diving felt like heaven and even though the lineup was really crowded, I couldn’t help but smile to see a few happy faces out there prattling on about the water temp and the waves. Nearby, a guy and I joked about how crowded it was, but there was also a fair amount of space between each surfer…except me and this Aussie chick, who constantly burned and backpaddled me.

First burn—okay, maybe it was an accident.

Second burn—excuuuse me?!

On her third burn, I yelled at her, to which she stared at me as she paddled back out…and I had no trouble mean mugging her right back, my inner ‘Georgia Jackie’ blood boiling, but I resolved to just shaking my head. She disappointed me more than angered me. As women, we should be supporting one another in the water, not acting like assholes to each other. Sure, competition is healthy—but not flat out rudeness and greediness. I thought to myself, yelling at her more is only going to give her cause to yell back. Then I thought, maybe if I reason with her and tell her that I didn’t appreciate her practically dropping in on top of me even after she saw me paddling for the wave… Then I thought “Nah. If she can’t be a considerate surfer, there’s no way she’s a considerate human being and I’m in no mood to school someone who should already know the rules of the road.”

Her friend attempted a peace treaty with me and reassured me that she won’t be back since she lives in San Diego, to which I replied to him: “Good.” She stayed away and soon after I caught a few nice waves and did a nice frontside hit in her face, she and her all dude posse went in. Good riddance.

Fast forward and a few friendly faces show up, some I haven’t seen since before quarantine and my heart felt light. We sat at a peak, played with its walls, and drifted around Uppers and the 50 million surfers chomping at the bit for a bite of the peak.

One happy surfer girl

I took one wave towards the inside and as another wave was breaking, a grom dropped in and without looking in front of him, ate crap, unintentionally sending his board towards me. Never thought I’d do this, but I tried to put my board in front of me to block his oncoming board, but failed. Thankfully, the board wasn’t coming at me too fast. A scratch on the forehead and a few bruises later, I paddle back out and said grom apologizes, after a small schooling from my friend. ;)

Waves, more waves and then some more waves…new friends, old friends…soon enough, it was almost 6 hours before I called it quits. Attempts to reapply sunscreen 2 hours into my sesh failed and I justify the sun damage to being locked away for 2 months. Savoring every minute of this day, I thought as we all sat on the beach and laughed, sweated out butts right off, talked surf trips and life. Despite crowds and bruises, we made it a proper Trestles summer sesh…but for a minute, it felt like our own spot somewhere in Central America.

Now, to scratch that travel itch…

WATCH: How to Crack Open a Coconut

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Quarantine getting you down? Grab a coconut (with some disposable gloves and a mask!) at your local market and take out that pent up aggression! Bonus points for eating a healthy snack. :)
I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts! And I don’t know how to get into them–I often hear something like this when the discussion of cocos cracks wide open.

As a long-time fan of fresh coconut water and meat, allow me to impart a few recommendations about the coco cracking process in my video below:

AND! In the video, I mention my favorite smoothie recipe. Check it out:
How to Make the Best Coconut Smoothie 

Should I Stay or Should I Go…Outside

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For past several months, COVID-19 has spread across the nation and the world as a serious infectious virus killing thousands in its path. The virus has caused not only an economic recession on a global scale, but also major closures of all kinds—including business, entertainment, events, restaurants and now—parks and beaches.

The adult in me agrees—but the surfer in me seethes. For the sake of public health, this is the responsible thing to do. Californians will have to sit back and either get a little pudgier or develop a workout routine that works within the confines of a six-foot bubble.

If we go outside, we risk infection—for not only ourselves, but also, and perhaps more detrimentally, another person whose immune system may be compromised. As surfers we are touted with having one, if not THE most selfish view—it’s all about me and the waves, right? What will COVID-19 bring out in each surfer?

Darling you’ve got to let me know….

Will you bring back 1970’s Trestles, say ‘fuck it’ and charter a boat to Lowers, middle finger to the law and score semi-empty A-frames when it’s firing? (Because God knows it will fire between now and June)

OR

Will you stay inside and stream those epic free workouts via YouTube? I’ll be listing a few pretty soon…just sayin’.

Or perhaps you’ll go for a run outside and base your path on avoiding all forms of human life, like me. Believe me, it makes for an interesting run.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Who said it—I don’t know. But I do know that right now, worldwide, we are all in need of something. Whether it is a dire need for vaccines, diagnostic testing for COVID-19, down to toilet paper, tissues, groceries, companionship or just a nice hug from a friend, this event has brought out the worst or the best in humanity. It has made us realize that no matter the dire situation, we, as a family, community, population, human race will find a way. Whether it’s saying fuck it or hunkering down, it’s a way and it will be remembered.

I went for a run today at lunch and although stores and cities are ghost towns, I did see people out and about catching some much needed vitamin D. And I wondered what was next.

What will this show us as a society? What will this bring to the fold? What new inventions will this create?

The complete quarantine was next. If you are a Californian, Washingtonian, New Yorker, you are tucked away behind walls while at the same time fighting for groceries, lining up in front of firearm shops, sniffing out metal baseball bats at the local Goodwill (don’t mess with me!)…while hoping our families across the country, the sea, the world are okay, wishing we could be with them right now.

Should I cool it or should I go?

Necessity—what will you create out of this mishegas?

For now—I’m staying out of the water, respecting people’s health and am flipping on YouTube for some kind of natural endorphins. I’ll be running around outside, too, albeit avoiding folks as best as possible. Also, gardening is thing—consider it.

One thing I’ve noticed within the last two weeks: more people than ever are going outside.