With all the talk of the surf, sand, and stoke had by Flek, Myron, Rod, and I over a 4-day weekend, I had almost
forgotten to mention the non-ASers.  On my way down Thursday, one of my stops was at the Avon Motel where Rod and family were reportedly staying.  I couldn't remember what type of vehicle Rod drove, but I did come across one of the only vehicles with Maryland plates on it.  Concluding that green Explorers seem to be the vehicle of choice for more than a few ASers, and seeing the Surfrider Foundation and various other stickers on it, I figured this *had* to be Rod.  But, not knowing which room they were in, and seeing no signs of life, I chose to check out the surf and the beach for any signs of familiar faces.

The surf was like it had been on the way down at the couple of spots I stopped at:  Still a fairly stiff onshore wind causing some mixed swells, choppiness, and strong currents, but some waist to chest high waves were to be had *WAY* offshore. The stop I made before here near Whalebone was where I decided the breakers were just too
far out to risk it alone with no other surfers in sight.  The waves weren't too big, but the shear distance, and knowing the Outer Banks are sometimes something you don't want to mess with alone, I chose to just take the ocasional wave that punched through.  I didn't mind the leftovers; they were enough to get some good air on the drop and then carve up and down the face.

There were two other things that struck me about the spot...One was that the water was *so* clear and very tropical with it's very light-green/blue to almost white color.  It reminded me of what the water in the Keys sometimes looks like. The other thing was the jellyfish...*Tons* of 'em.  Most weren't the stinging kind, but everytime I paddled through what must have been a boundary between water masses that just seemed to trap 'em, there would be just a huge mass of hundreds of jelly-to-jelly jellyfish that definitely tested my self-proclaimed "cure" of a jellyfish phobia I had aquired when I was young due to a massive sting.  Anyway, after a few rides on the inside leftovers, I headed down to Avon, which brings me to the part of the story I gave at the beginning of this post.

When I got to Avon and was searching for the familiar faces, I first just sat on the beach and looked at the same breakers way offshore.  At that point, I saw 3 high-school/college-aged guys with their boards.  One took off into the water, and the other two just kinda watched.  Then, the two on the beach walked over to where I was sitting, and asked if I was a good surfer. Ah, the moment of truth:  Pose or be a *real* surfer?  I wanted more than anything to be able to say I was a great surfer, but I couldn't. I decided to be the real surfer and tell the truth.  Actually, I'm not even sure what the truth is:  I know there are many who are better than me...including most, if not all, of the ASers I have met, but I can also hold my own.  I generally don't spend time watching others to make the comparison, I just surf, so it's hard to tell what my level is...and that's what I told them.

Anyway, these two guys were basically beginners, so I was able to at least give 'em a few pointers, and I think they appreciated my honesty rather than getting the sometimes all-too-typical image-driven poser response that others sometimes give.  We did some of the small-talk, at which point I found out they were from Ocean City.  Not remembering if Rod was from Ocean City or not, I asked, "Hey, you're not staying at the Avon Motel by any chance are ya?," wondering if this might have been Rod's son.  No, they were staying in a cottage in front of the Motel.

Anyway, after some cool conversation, the third guy came walking back up the beach.  Man, this guy gives me serious competition for drifing the farthest and fastest down the beach <insert smiley face here>.  Anyway, we asked him how it was, and he responded exactly the same way I had done at the previous spot; it was breaking too far out to try it alone.  Funny how these things work out....I rarely have people just come up to me and start talking, but it happened with these guys, and it was almost like for a purpose, cuz we both wanted to get to the outside.  "Ya wanna try it?" I asked.  "Sure."  So the four of us hit the water.  I kept an eye on the two I had originally talked to cuz they were struggling some to get through the shorebreak, but they were ok, and the other guy and I took off for the breakers.  We got about 90% of the way there, and then it was just like we hit a wall....No matter how hard we paddled, we couldn't get those last few yards.  It wasn't due to waves pushing us back, cuz we were in the "deadzone" where the waves break over the sandbar, but dissipate when they hit deeper water again.  It was just a mysterious, onshore current that turned our arms to noodles trying to get out. We did manage to punch through a couple of times and get some decent rides, but it was mostly just a workout, and we soon took a last ride into shore.

We had more good conversation, and i explained I was looking for some ASers I was supposed to meet up with.  We thanked each other for the sesh, and they invited me to join them again if Rod and the others fell through.  Just a good-karma, share-the-stoke encounter.  You got some class people up there with ya in Ocean City, Foon.

Well, back to the car and wondering about Rod.  I decided the Explorer *had* to be his, but still not sure which room. As I put my board back on the racks, a dog barked....Yep, that's them, cuz I knew they were bringing their dog.  I decided after the board was secured, I'd go knock on the door....Didn't get the chance.  Just as I turned to go to the room, out comes Rod with family and dog in tow.  Talked briefly to Rod, and then he introduced me to his wife as "one of those guidos."  The initial response was classic, and probably very typical of
most AS-widows/widowers; She just kinda rolled her eyes and said something like, "Oh, jeez."  I almost busted out laughing. Next, Rod introduced me to his son, which gave more of a subtle, but curious, "just *what* are these ASers all about?" type of look.

Anyway, I think the weekend helped to dispell some of the negative perceptions held by non-ASers about the newsgroup (Hmmm....wait a minute....Flek may have *reinforced* some of them ;-)  ), and I think a good time was had by all. I must say, the Rod family is made up of some ultra cool and hospitable people....and a good dog too.  It's not for just *any* dog that I'd leave some meat on a Bubba's spare rib bone and give away!

So, while the trip was another classic for meeting some ASers, the non-ASers met along the way helped to add much to a stoke-filled surf trip that is so typical of *any* excursion to this treasure in the Atlantic.

Later,
Steve

From: Steve M (stevem@infi.net)
Subject: Meetings of the non-AS kind (long) 
Newsgroups: alt.surfing
Date: 2001-08-07 12:23:42 PST