I went surfing with Jacob, Luke and Beth in Santa Cruz. We checked East Side and West Side but the waves didn't look great when we arrived. We waited about an hour and went to a surf shop to get some 2mm gloves, wax and other various things.

We went back to Cowells and it started to shape up and there were only a handful of people out. Apparently, Cowells can be as crowded as Waikiki, HI. I have been to Waikiki and it is overwhelming! 

I started out on Beth's board, 8'3 hybrid board (I will be getting a similar board with my own design on it! Exicted!) and caught a bunch of waves. After about an hour in the water, Beth and I switched boards. I rode my long board that just got some dings repaired (thanks to Luke and Beth!) and I was able to cross step and ride the nose a couple times. 

Beth caught a bunch of fun ones on my board, Jacob hung five a couple times, and Luke caught a wave so long we thought we lost him!

It was a fun session with knee to waist high waves. By the time we got out of the water, there were TONS of people.

It was a great way to bring in the New Year!

I have made some resolutions for 2011 and I hope that I achieve them.

Some of BirdSwell Resolutions:
• Spread the Swell as much as I can (this entails a lot of different things)
• Go to a Trade Show
• Be in Pacifica's Fog Festival
• 1 large event in SF (not sure what it will be yet)

Some Personal Surfing Resolutions:
• Surf 3-4 times a week (depending on swell conditions)
• Surf at the Pacifica Pier (my backyard) more often
• Blog about my surf sessions even if it is a short post (these blog posts will not always include where I go surfing (especially secret spots) but how it was and who I surfed with)

I have some other resolutions, but these are the ones that I really want to focus on.

What are some of your 2011 resolutions??

Spread the Swell,
J-Bird

I grew out my hair for 2 years to donate to Beautiful Lengths. Beautiful Lengths takes donated hair and creates free wigs to give to women who have lost their hair due to cancer.

In the past, I grew out my hair and donated 14" to Locks of Love. This time I donated 10" of my hair to Beautiful Lengths in honor of Elaine Martin, a woman who courageously and faithfully battles with cancer. Her faith and strength is extremely inspirational and admirable. Thank you for showing me true faith.

Pictured below is Before, After and Donated Hair:

Life has been a whirlwind ever since we left the east coast for the west coast.

Ever since we got here, there has been swell every day. Everyone tells us that Fall is the best time to surf in Nor Cal. We have been surfing a lot and have immersed ourselves in learning more about this area. We have met a bunch of surfers and new friends through twitter and have surfed with them, spent nights going to surf movies and had a fun BBQ at our house.

The two surf movies we have seen in SF are "Stoked and Broke" and "My Eyes Won't Dry 3 - Tubular Addiction"

"Stoked and Broke" was a surf journey with no money, on feet and close to home. I like how they collected valuable thoughts and advice from the people that they visited on their journey as well.

The footage in "My Eyes Won't Dry - Tubular Addiction" was incredible. Brian, surfer and producer of the movie, held a camera while he was surfing in massive tubes and he also mounted the camera on the back of his surfboard as well. The footage really made you feel like you were inside the tube with him.

Besides surfing, I have been researching screen printers, learning more about surf spots and shops, painting and creating a lot. 

California has already been so good to us and we have only been here for about month. We are just settling in and everything has flown by, but we are finally feeling a bit more grounded. I know I have a lot of work ahead of me "Spreading the Swell" on this coast, but I am excited for the adventure. 

Spread the Swell,
J-Bird

Jacob and I set off on a 6 day road trip to move from Massachusetts to California on September 18th, 2010.

Our road trip in a nutshell:
MA to RI
RI to MD
MD to TN
TN to TX
TX to AZ
AZ to Los Angeles, CA
LA to Pacifica, CA - our new home!

We stopped in RI because our friend was having a birthday party and it was our last and final party on the East Coast. The week before we left the East Coast we were so blessed to see so many of our family and friends. They made us feel so loved and we already miss them all!

Our road trip was pretty smooth and each day we pushed the hours we could drive. The last stretch from LA to SF seemed to drag out because we were so excited that it was the last day we were in the car for a long trip. Honestly, I thought driving across the country was going to be a lot more tedious, but it was really interesting to see the different landscapes and eating the local cuisine of each area.

Once we arrived in Pacifica, our new neighbors greeted us. We also put packing on hold and went surfing with some new people that we met through twitter. They have been so kind and even invited us to a surf party in the city and we won free movie tickets to the Red Vic, an independent movie theatre. A special thank you to Luke Kilpatrick for being so welcoming, inviting and helpful!

While Jacob started his new job, I have been unpacking, setting up our new place, and surfing every day. Once things settle down, I plan to travel everywhere to "Spread the Swell" on the west coast!

Here are our pictures from our Road Trip & Grand Canyon:
Road Trip
Grand Canyon

Life is Swell!
J-Bird