The Beach - and the crash!!!!

So we spent one day at the beach. We hauled all the beach stuff done to the shore. I secured the umberlla and set up the chairs and spread out the banket. I was looking forward to sitting in my chair and just relaxing. Nichole and Kristine grabbed the boggie boards and handed out to ride the waves. Zoe spent some time playing in the sand and getting used to the waves. Soon after I sat down Penni says to me why don't you go out and help your daugthers boogie board. I think for a second and then head out.


Rewind two days - we have lifevests for all the girls and myself. Penni insists on the girls wearing their lifevests any time they go in the water - at the lake, in the ocean. So as I am packing Penni starts to hand me the lifevests. I don't share Penni's worrying attitude but I respect it and it is not a battle that I am going to pick. How can I argue against safety, until she says this gem "What about your vest". Oh hell no. Needless to say, my lifevest never made it out of the garage.

Back to the story -so I head out into the surf and I first spent some time with Zoe helping her get use to the waves. Then I went out in the water and hung out with Nichole, Kristine had headed to the shore. Nichole actually didn't need my help she was doing great. So I just hung out there in the water and would tell her when to go so that she could improve her timing the waves. I started to notice that about every 10th wave or so was particularly large. The first time I noticed this was when the wave started to come and I dove into the wave as it passed by me. Most of the time you come out the other side. But with this wave sucked me in, riped off my shorts and dragged me to the shore line. Pretty massive wave I thought. So I head back to "help" Nichole. Then about three guys come out, and join me out where the waves start to break, Nichole is a little bit ahead of us. I here the guys talking and they try to boogie board but they are not that good at it. They couldn't catch a wave. So after a while I say to myself someone has to ride these big waves, I guess if you want something done you have to do it yourself. So I go over to Nichole and ask to use her board for a minute. Then I head out to catch a big wave. As I am almost to my spot I see that a big wave is forming. So I whip around to catch it. I start kicking and the wave comes - I catch it just as I start to move on the wave - the wave comes crashing done and throws me head first into the ocean - my head hits the bottom of the ocean and smacks the sand. I hear the cartilege in my neck and nose crack. Then the wave takes me and flips me over and sucks me toward the shore. I go to stand up and stumble - I look at my stomach and notice that I am covered in blood. I can walk so I didn't break my neck and then I touch my nose to see if it is broken. The nose seems fine minus the handfull of blood. Nichole cames running up to me and says Dad are you OK - That looked bad. I tried wiping off the blood and asked her if she could tell I had been in a crash and she looks at me and says yes - it looks bad - So mom is going to notice? Yes. Just then the Oceanside Police come driving down the shore line in brand new Rangers. I am standing there blood pouring out my nose and they just drive by, I think to myself I am glad nothing bad happened. After talking to Penni I headed up to the showers to clean up and stop the bleeding - I had a couple of people ask me "Do you know that you are bleeding? My reply - that's what everyone keeps telling me. So that is the story from the beach. I can't see how I didn't break my neck based on the angle I hit the sand. Someone was watching over me. And lastly, Penni a lifevest would not have saved me.
(about the picture at the top - that is me riding the wave - just before the crash - I found it on the camera later that night)

Penni made me wipe my face before she took this picture.

Nichole riding the waves

Zoe

Kristine and Zoe

Nichole cames running up to me and says Dad are you OK - That looked bad. I tried wiping off the blood and asked her if she could tell I had been in a crash and she looks at me and says yes - it looks bad - So mom is going to notice? Yes. Just then the Oceanside Police come driving down the shore line in brand new Rangers. I am standing there blood pouring out my nose and they just drive by, I think to myself I am glad nothing bad happened. After talking to Penni I headed up to the showers to clean up and stop the bleeding - I had a couple of people ask me "Do you know that you are bleeding? My reply - that's what everyone keeps telling me. So that is the story from the beach.