Happy New Year!

Yes, ladies and gents, my family and I have safely returned from a glorious vacation at the beach (my folks rented a beach house). My Dad, brother, and I spent most of the time ocean kayaking in 50 degree water; this was the first time I had ever sported a full-body wetsuit. One day a pod of dolphins came cruising by, and we kayaked out for an informal "meet 'n' greet". We were able to get very close; absolutely incredible.

The last day the waves were extra mondo-big because of a storm the previous night. I strolled out in my wetsuit to "measure" the waves and some created a swell from knee-deep to neck-deep, so they were some good sized waves. When you're in a 6-foot kayak and you see a big wave rising out of the deep directly in front of you, it definitely creates an adrenaline rush. If you can catch a big wave just right it'll launch you towards the shore like a rocket. Kowa-bunga dude! Like, totally righteous man!

The wet-suit did an excellent job of keeping the water out. The first time, I went out without gloves on and my hands were frozen in a few minutes. Once enough water trickles in, it warms up and keeps you nice and toasty. The most strenuous part of winter kayaking was getting in and out of the thing; I had to actually stop and rest once I had it halfway on. It was like a straight-jacket!

And the best part of winter kayaking was the lack of people on the beach who were, as they say in Romania, "la naturist", i.e. unclothed. Most of the other houses on the beach were vacant, and we had the beach largely to ourselves. One night Monica and I went for a stroll down the beach and we had an incredible view of the stars all to ourselves. You don't see stars like that around Atlanta: too many lights. And every night one of the hotels far down the beach had an impressive mini-fireworks show.

Let's do it again next year.