08-26-09

I woke up early…relatively for an unemployed guy. I went to the grocery store, post office and got all of my laundry done at the laundry mat. It felt good to be caught up on things.
I went for a bike ride. For the first time in Port Orford I had no destination and just wandered. I like to do this sometimes. I’ve found that when I wander I always find something I’ve never seen before. I wound up at Paradise Point watching the ocean. I can stare at the waves for hours. They are awe inspiring. I’m starting to learn the anatomy of the wave. At first I only noticed big and small. Now I’m noticing how a retreating wave can kill the momentum of a big incoming wave, a huge wave will break farther out, a low swell in front of a wave will make it taller, etc. It’s completely random, yet somehow definable. There are no rules, yet there are rules consistent to the physics wave.
I wanted to ride more later with Corey and Andrew, but both of their bikes were out of order. Corey’s chain was broken for a third time and we were out of replacement links. He had bought out the hardware store. It was a miracle when he remembered that he had replaced the link he borrowed from me. I still had it, so I ran to get it. Andrew’s bike only has a back, hand-brake and it was not functioning, plus he had a flat tire. We made it road worthy and rode to the west beach. I had seen muscles there before and thought these might be what Andrew knows how to cook. Unfortunately it was high tide again, so we were unable to get out far enough on the rocks to find muscles. The waves were extremely intense, crashing onto the rocks and sending spray hundreds of feet. Sometimes a wave would be so big that I would shout, “Whoa!” like I was a fireworks display.
Occasionally I’ll have a moment that single handedly justifies me running away. This was one of them.