I swam in the ocean for the first time when I was seven years old, and ever since that day I’ve wanted to learn how to surf.
As surfing began in Hawaii, I felt it was only appropriate to try surfing for the first time in this iconic atmosphere. So when we traveled to Kauai back in 2009, surfing was at the top of my “to-do” list. On the morning of my surf lesson, we woke up early and drove North heading towards Hanalei Bay, near Princeville. The drive was absolutely amazing: lush, green foliage surrounded the road at times, and the one-lane bridges really made you feel like you were in the middle of nowhere. (I guess we kind of were, after all, we were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!)
We arrived at Hawaiian Surfing Adventures and met the surf instructor. As we grabbed the surfboards and our rash guards, I could barely contain my excitement! I was finally going to learn how to surf! There was one other student scheduled that morning, so the semi-private lesson was awesome. We spent the first part of the two-hour lesson learning how to read the waves in order to time the ride correctly. The instructor also taught us proper surfing technique and went over ocean safety.
The time came to put our new knowledge to the test and as I paddled into the wave I was able to stand up and ride the wave into the beach. I’m sure my smile was ear-to-ear. I paddled back out to the instructor as fast as possible so I could ride as many waves as time would allow.
The morning was overcast, and the waves might not have been as big as I’d hoped, but the fact that I was able to get up on the board and steer through the waves was exciting to me.
After a morning of surfing, we drove over to Tunnels Beach–one of my favorite North Shore Kauai beaches, bought a shave ice, a snack, and then relaxed the afternoon away on the beach.
Have you tried surfing? Did you enjoy it as much as I did?
Pictures and Plane Tickets 
Hi Krystle! Always enjoy your adventures. You look good on that board. Now get back out there! LOL
Thanks for reading, Susan! I’m hoping to go again when we visit Kauai in January. The waves should be much bigger then! 🙂
Very nice… I gotta try that next time I am there…. funny.. I also posted some hawaiian dreaming today…so much to offer on these great islands
It was a blast, you should definitely try it! You know what they say about great minds 😉
Wow, this looks awesome! I’m hoping to go to Hawaii next month. I went several years ago and I remember Kauai being very pristine and natural in its beauty.
Kauai is probably our favorite island of the main islands. Maui is a close second, almost tied… 🙂 Can’t wait to read about your trip to Hawaii and also your adventures down to your new condo Mexico. Lucky lady!!