What does a surfer or adventurer really need in Costa Rica?~ I was always more interested in the nature ~ ~ a simple cheap place to lay my head ~~ a nice place to drink my cafe con leche ~~ and a safe place to meditate ~
I once overheard a local, Fernandina Beach surfer, Eric Hatton say, “If you have a roof and a hose, you have living space in Costa Rica.” His words changed my life!
* Having spent a lot of time in Costa Rica, I know how important it is to have water running through the hose.
* It’s best to experience Costa Rica as cheap and as slow as you can.
Last night was the premier for the surf movie – King of the Peak.
Rick Chapman, Jessee Chapman, Bradley Dunham, Skyler DeBerry, Jarrod Kaylor and Zach Church
This event, the movie and the contest, was put on by our local East Coast Surfing Association. Rick is a talented surfer himself and invests much of his time, helping to provide a healthy environment for the local youth to compete. These guys are fierce competitors, in the water and friends on land. I know. Through my photography, I am a witness.
Rob and Melissa Ruy + kid in the next row.
I wish I had more pictures, for this post and for my archive. But my camera, the A495 Canon, which is a forty dollar camera, that cost me eighty in Costa Rica, is a piece of junk. Not because it’s a bad camera, but because I’ve dropped it so many times. It’s not what it use to be.
I find myself working with “what I have”.
But most importantly, I have pictures of this evening, burnt in my brain. I see smiling faces. I see groms riding waves.
This morning, I’m sitting in Starbucks listening to jazz, Christmas tunes, and overhearing the few other regulars, talking about football.
Everyone behind the counter is someone I feel like I know.
I have been here in Fernandina since May. I have not spent a winter here, on the island, in twelve years.
In the last seven months, I have been surrounded by families. Good families. People that spend time with their children.
As a matter of fact, Brady, who won the title, King of the Peak, could hand his crown to his Dad.
I’m in a good spot here, for now.
I feel a part of ~ Take Me To The Beach ~ where the Sun is my father and the Ocean my mother – I’m surrounded by sand, salt air and friends – life has no end………………
He puts a lot of energy into helping the local kids shine in both sports; surfing and skating. The island is going to have some skating going on! Every Sunday in November, there’s a competition, called ICE CREAM SUNDAYZ. The skate park here is a haven for a lot of young, serious athletes. Shooting this sport is very different. But it’s exciting and fun, so I’ll be there.
Not all surfers are skaters, and visa versa, but I do see some dual participants.
I have been waiting on waves in Florida, for a long time. We finally are getting some hurricane force offshore. I took these photos AFTER the GOOD surf session. Sorry about any blurs. The camera wants to focus on waves in front of the surfers. It’s just another challenge. Something new to learn.
I have a friend that swears, this is the happiest man on the planet. I’ve never met anyone happier than Nestor.
He invests in his children’s lives. I heard someone on the radio putting it like this~many father’s don’t want to talk to their children or drive to their events. They make excuses. If they could look at it as if they were engaging in efforts, that would make them a thirty thousand end-of-ear bonus; and that bonus relied on having conversations they didn’t really want to have, and driving to places they really didn’t want to go-we all know most men would do those thing for the money.So, if you treat your children as if they are your greatest investment you will surely reap a treasure of great magnitude.
He treats his wife like the queen of his castle. His enchanted humble abode is 400 square feet. The table for this cake was the washer and dryer. The dryer seconds as a storage bin, so critters won’t be feasting on the weekly staples.
This picture has technical problems, but you can’t out do it, for the expression of love.
Is she straightening his collar? That sure is a funny outfit he had to wear to school.
What are little boys made of?
She’s sugar and spice.
In my life, I am fortunate to have this example of~how to~in the realm of family experience.
This is the first of my new series, Featured Family.
This is my trainer and his family. If you don’t think you have the best trainer in the world, then you don’t have the right trainer.
This is Chris’s son, surfing grommet style.
This is one of my favorite shots. This little girl loves her Daddy.
Who says American values died in the fifties?
They look alive and well to me!
*I didn’t like any of the definitions of grommet~in the manner that I have used it So this is my definition. Surfers started calling kid surfers, more or less, 15 and under, groms. Grom is short for grommet, which is a mechanical term for a small steel ball.
What does a surfer or adventurer really need in Costa Rica?
~ I was always more interested in the nature ~
~ a simple cheap place to lay my head ~
~ a nice place to drink my cafe con leche ~
~ and a safe place to meditate ~
Fish Eye Farm 