At 5:15 in the morning, I sure felt drained. But a surf session at Oceanside harbor, which I hadn’t visited in maybe six years, helped lift the heavy lids of my eyes and barely got me to my car, eventually on the road and flying past an incredible sunrise down the I-5 to hang with the energetic brothers Jeff and Raymond Phillips.
Okay so energetic is an understatement. I can’t believe that these two don’t drink caffeine. And please, no one try to give them any. Being a usual chatterbox myself, it was difficult to get a word in edgewise while Jeff and Raymond spoke without a pause and with resolute passion about surfing, places they’ve been, boards they ride, and caught up with each other’s daily affairs. The close-knit duo eventually suited up and I followed “suit,” spending the next few hours watching them and their very different different surf styles, Jeff more of a big powerhouse with aggressive turns, and lanky Raymond looking like he was warped in from 1974 with his flowy and confident longboard moves. I managed to snag a few myself. A little off my game from a long weekend, I kept losing and swimming for my board, thankfully not getting jabbed by one of the apparent hundreds of sting rays that skim across the bottom in that area (according to Raymond, a Oceanside local).
Surviving a morning of sun and the whirlwind of silly brothers, I groggily made it home, ready for rest and recovery.
