Am I the only one who lives 3 hours from any wave source?

my dad never surfed. i grew up in Arlington/Washington DC. whenever we went to the beach, i bodyboarded.

I didnt start surfing until i tried my buddy's longboard and i was hooked.

 

Fell in love with surfing when I moved to the beach at age 15.
Then, went off to college, 1.5 hrs away, and that's when I got separation anxiety and became mostly obsessed.
The 1.5 hour drive really wasn't so bad, its just that you miss a lot of the smaller fun days that you don't think are worth driving for. 3 hour drive is tough... But, its definitely more satisfying when you score a big road trip.

 

I completely identify with the separation anxiety. Except I was 5 hours away from the beach. It made me appreciate and respect everything related to the ocean that much more.

 

Tried it once and was hooked.

I think I like it more because everyone told me there is no surf in NE and today I still get it. If one more person asked me if its cold Im going to flip out..

got my godson surfing and doing contest and he's 6.

Dad can't even swim..

 

i live in vt now used to live a few blocks from ocean

 

i dont live too far from the beach,about a 10minute drive when there isnt summer traffic.i never had a dad so wouldnt know what thats like.i learned to surf on my own,and it took me a good yr and half to figure it out.that was before all the crowds and everything,there were never anybody on the beach to teach me something or give me a tip.id go out in choppy onshore closeout days,get pounded for 2hrs straight and come in feeling like i surfed like a king wen i didnt catch 1 good wave and make it.its all fun for me tho,getting barreled,getting pounded.its fuun at the beginning.i only started to understand the winds a few yrs ago.id see a big swell like 6-7ft,go down to lbi,rent a hooded suit,and me and my kookbuddy would paddle out in the dead of winter in horrible conditions and mess with each other.then wed drive back and my car would overheat and a few months later,the car was dead.and so am i

 

i first time i went to the beach,i was probably 5 in long island,i got sucked out by a bigwave(which was probably like 2-3ft) and didnt go back in the ocean til i was 13.i just loved swimming out and bobbing up and down with the swells.you can touch the bottom,swell comes,jump with it,and land back down.then 1 day a school buddy said he had a board and lets go surfing.we went,i loved it,and my friend never got his board back

 

Dad didn't surf, but he loved the water. Sailing and fishing were his big things. I was born in CT, and remember my first trips to the beach. I think my Dad passed down his love of the water (and seafood) to me. Even when we lived away from the ocean, our vacations always tied in fishing, swimming, snorkeling, and boating. I still love the sounds and smells of outboard motors and boat docks. When I was 13, we moved from southern Ohio to So. Calif. What a paradise it was compared to the Midwest! We could see Catalina Island in the distance from our backyard. Like others, my first "board" was also one of those canvas inflatable mats. That was 1969. We also had a couple of those Styrofoam "tombstone"-like boards with the wooden stake inside. Come to think of it, it was only one long board that Dad had cut in two for my brother and me to use.

Years later my folks would spend vacations in FL. I would go fishing, snorkeling, jet-skiing, and sailing with my Dad. In summer 1981, I was in the Navy. Dad and I were in the water off Cocoa Beach or thereabouts trying to body surf. It was choppy, and my Dad called me over. He was a bit out of breath and struggling in the rough water, trying to get to shore. He wanted me to help push him along until he could make it in the rest of the way by himself. Dad was in his early 50s then. It was the first time I had ever seen him in any kind of trouble, and it made me think about a lot of things. My Dad had always been strong and very active - a "learn by doing" guy who might read about how to do something but would never take lessons. This led to some exciting, "Chevy Chase" moments that my Mom still wonders how we ever survived (actually it wasn't that bad). So although Dad never surfed, I believe he was responsible for my love of the water. I've done a lot of different aquatic sports and activities from water polo in high school to skin and SCUBA diving to windsurfing, sailing and kayaking. A year ago, at 57, I finally took up surfing . Thanks, Dad.
My folks are in their 80s and live 3 1/2 miles from us.

 

Man my Dad didn't surf. He was born in Poland and grew up in Chicago. I was born in Portland Oregon, but didn't surf until I turned 50 and went to Jaco and Hermosa, then I was hooked and have surfed every weekend for the last five years except when it was impossible. First I was driving from Bucks County to Belmar, in Jersey, and now I live in Rhody and have great breaks less than 30 minutes away. Neither of my kids is interested. So I make my pilgrimages alone to CR, etc.

 

Dad didn't surf. I grew up skateboarding, one day me and my buddy had both broken boards. We were sitting in his garage, saw two surfboards on the wall, figured there were chicks in bikinis on the beach, why were we sitting in a garage bored?? Never looked back.
As far as living 3 hours from the ocean? Move, you'll be glad you did. I moved away from the ocean for a couple years, finally moved back. I'm six blocks off it now, best choice I ever made. I sacrificed a lot of job promotions to stay here the last couple years, promotions in San Jose, DC, Austin, etc.
Live where you wanna be. Don't let work/school dictate that to you.

 

Man, that hit me preety deeply..the part about aging, how things change over time. I love both my parents, and am so grateful for how they raised me, and I tell them all the time. There was a time when my mom would take me surfing just to get me out of the house, which was a negative environment at times. It was always a form of escape for me, still is. Thanks Mom.