Afraid To See A Full Grown Man In a Speedo, Then Don't Open This Post

Last weekend my son came home for his last leave from the Army before he is deployed.  He's trying to make the most of family time and his favorite hobbies.  The guy loves to body surf, so on Saturday, we went down to a the very first international body surfing competition at The Wave in Mission Bay.  The park is a 30,000 foot outdoor venue which includes 'The Wave' and an 8 foot  Flow Barrel called Bruticus Maximus.

This flipping white horse is 8' at the barrel.  It can be a rogue wave or like being thrown into a washing machine, depending on your ride.  A typical California wave in the ocean in the summertime is about 3 feet depending on the conditions so this shows you how rogue this wave is.

There's Dylan about to take his first wave in the practice run for the competition called, "Straight Out Of Whompton".  Don't ask me why its' called that, because I have no idea.  Number one, what is Whompton?  Number two, why would anyone want to take an 8' wave for ANY reason?  I know not.  I do however know why it was a blast to watch.

Let me explain.  Although in a way no explanation is necessary.  Seventy guys competed in nine heats making it a long, fun, summer day of California party on the beach!  During the trials they competed in red, white and blue speedos.  But then, during the heats they competed in whatever they wanted.  Extra points were given if you did tricks, flips, or any kind of showmanship.  My son got one extra point for each heat he competed in these 'budgie smugglers'.  I don't even know where he got them - they came in the mail.  Sketchy you say?  Yup, the internet opens up all sorts of opportunities these days.

 I LOVE where I live!

Mission Beach in San Diego, California.  A party all the time.

See way over to the left, that little red cap?  That's the way you hope you don't end up when you hit the barrel.  This is when you feel like you've been thrown into a washing machine and will end up at the chiropractor the next day.  Guys dislocate their shoulders and God knows what happens to their heads and spines.  But dude, it's fun!  The toys in the foreground are just a few of the things the surfers may use to lend a bit of showmanship to their ride.  Dylan used the shark on one ride, as if the grape smuggler wasn't enough!

Now this is how you want to enter the barrel.  Some body surfers can enter the wave and then reappear from it in their original body surfing pose on their side, feet straight out, one hand over the head, kinda like a yoga pose.  It's called the Chicken Wing.  You get a lot of points for that one if you do it right.

So now you know what we did with our weekend.  Don't blame me if you were offended by the banana hammock speedo (I warned you) but, you went there anyway.  You may want to ask yourself what that says about you?  I know I'm asking what this post says about me!

Love you more than all the fun we had last weekend at The Wave.

THE END.

Tia