Wave Dazed

2010 has been a lame year for vacations but I did manage to take a short trip to Virginia Beach Virginia for a stand up Jet Ski event called Wave Daze. The event is called a ‘Freeride’ so basically lots of stand up riders meet to ride together and show off and have fun but it’s not a competition.

Even though I was there for the Jet Ski event I didn’t want to spend the whole time jet skiing. The first day was cold, dreary and rough water so I decided to explore a bit instead of getting wet. The Neptune festival …whatever that is…had taken place the weekend before so there was lots of awesome sandcastle art work. I was really impressed with the Neptune Sandcastle but I can’t help but wonder if giving him bunny ears in my picture upset the god of water just a wee a bit and caused our rough water weekend.

After the sand castle viewing I put on my inline skates and went out to explore. Virginia Beach was pretty but very touristy with nothing but T-shirt shops, hotels and restaurants. While exploring I noticed odd signs at almost every intersection that seemed to be saying ‘no cursing’. I found out later that I was correct and the city several years back had made a no cursing law and actually enforced it. Much like getting a speeding ticket on a bicycle the thought of getting a cursing ticket was almost appealing to me as a way to have bragging rights with my friends. I wondered how this law was enforced. What if you cursed in another language…would they know…could they still ticket you? Enquiring minds want to know. I was thinking I’d learn some obscure bushman curse words and be able to skirt the system that way. Plus the whole idea of a town that doesn’t like cursing but it’s ok to buy t-shirts that say “My Pen Is Huge” and “The person wearing this shirt is an emergency worker just lay on your back and do whatever he tells you” seems like an odd contrast and a wee bit hypocritical to me.

I spent a lot of time in my skates exploring and blading up and down the boardwalk. Thankfully it was off season since I heard it gets really crowded during season and I wouldn’t have been able to skate like I did. There was a really strong north wind so the skate out was hard but the skate back was way too easy. I wish I had my gps since I’m sure my speed was approaching mach 1. I would use my skates often during the long weekend to get around and explore and I even had a chance to do a night skate thanks to the ample lighting on the boardwalk.

I was intrigued by the free hugs t-shirts for sale. I’ve watched the YouTube videos on this and was quite taken by the kinship it showed so I bought a bunch of them for all my girlfriends. I’m just hoping they lead to a fun experience and not some rude comments like ‘what else do you do for free’. I’ll keep you posted on the outcome of those t-shirts.

Since the weekend was on the beach some kite practice was in order. I flew at night one time. It was my first night time flight experience and I liked it since I didn’t have to stare directly into the blazing sun like I usually do. I flew one day too and the wind was perfect. I was being dragged on my feet through the sand 10 feet or so and it was a great upper body workout. I’m still a long way from being an expert in this sport but I did feel more confident than most of my flying experiences.

And finally since it was a Jet Ski event I borrowed one and thrashed in the waves for a bit. The waves were rough and the ski was set up differently than I am used to but it was still a blast, I didn’t get hurt and I didn’t break the ski. So I’d consider that a good day of riding!

Cat “Dazed and Confused” Cathy