OBX vs everywhere else.

Hehe... sorry for the gay giggle....

But this thread is 5 years old. I already moved =)

There was a moment that Jersey made the top of the list, but in my line of work, AC are would have been the call and the wife and I never really felt 100% about going to that particular area and raising a family. VB was a close second and Wilmington, WB or CB is where I wanted to go....

But the family factor came into play. The wife's cousin lived in OB with us out west for a couple years. Lived one street over. She married a marine and they both moved back to the OC MD area. Her husband hated it. He surfs, not well, but he surfs. The whole time they were in MD, they were like, come back here, we love it. Its awesome. A year later, they called and said, we hate maryland, we hate the cold. He man was from Southern CA and just couldnt deal with the winter... So they, for whatever reason, moved to Hilton Head... This was probably 4-5 years ago.... Once that happened, my wife's aunt and uncle moved down there to live. Then her grand mother moved down... Then my wife's parents were splitting vacation time to come to San Diego to see us and our daughter and then spending their other vacation time on Hilton Head. So for the past few years, they really put a bug in my ear about how much they love Hilton Head and how much I would love it. They admitted that they probably would never move out west, but if we would go to Hilton Head, they would too.... So, that is the deal. Hilton Head was never on my radar. I never even knew it existed. But here I am....

Doesn't really matter anyway. My dad lives in Bethany and my Mom lives in Gettysburg now, so I really don't have much family in Delmarva besides my dad. Brother in Austin, TX. Sister in DC......

So that is the story, that is how I ended up on Hilton Head.... Family, Family, Family....

And we have people drive down and stay with us from MD/DC probably once a month. That is why we got a 4 bedroom.

Happy wife, happy life. I also don't feel like my life is in danger all winter long. Once I had my daughter out there, I was far more hesitant to paddle out on a 20 foot swell. I feel like no matter what the atlantic throws at us, I am going to walk over that sand dune and be excited, not hoping i make it back in alive... So there is that too.

 

No, I appreciate it. This was the first thread I ever posted, that is why I dug it up from the ashes.

Its just wild to see where you were in life 5 years ago. Sounds like I was a pretty stoked guy. Still am, just in different ways.

For the first couple of years I was on this site, I felt like the ambassador of Southern California. Inbox filled with people wanting advice on moving there. Advice on visiting there. Trying to meet up when they are in town... All the while, I was asking everyone for advice to move back east. I dug my heels in as long as I could and drug out the process.

I had a pretty epic last surf and then hit the road. Went to my favorite spot. Right in front of the first apt. I had. A very low key, almost never crowded reef at the boat ramps. It was about 5-6 feet. It was a pretty emotional day. I was super happy and super sad.

The wife always says, the day we both wake up unhappy, we will pack our sh** and move back to SD. I still have tons of connections and a great relationship with my old company. Wife is in the same boat. I could show up and be working the next day... Who knows.

 

Before living in CA, I had never surfed a reef before. From the maps, I didn't even know that the beach in front of my house was a reef. Actually, no beach at all. Just reefs breaking into a cliffs. When I got there, I was like, WTF is this? I had to pick a spot off the internet that was right on the water. Never thought that there wouldn't be a beach there. Ha.

So, the first couple weeks that I had moved there, I would surf the beach break, then around sunset, I would sit up on the cliff, with head phones on, dutch master in hand, and just watch for about an hour at the reef. I remember the first few weeks I lived there, I got free back stage passes to a Puddle of Mudd concert off craigslist. Didn't know anything about them, but we kicked it for like 30 minutes. So, I would sit on the cliffs every night, headphones on, listening the the song "Blurry" by puddle of mudd. Just soaking in the beauty. Studying the surfers. Studying the break. First time I paddled out was on a big day, I actually came back in right away and went to the pier... Eventually, I got used to the reefs and they became my favorite thing in the world.... That spot has a special place in my heart.

Every time I hear the song Blurry on the radio, I remember those times. 22 years old. Sitting on the cliffs, convinced that by age 25 I would be on the WCT.... Such a cool time in my life. Watching the sun go down over Pescedero.... Epic...