Check That Off The Bucket List: US Open

I mentioned yesterday how I had an even greater life experience on Saturday than I did the day before. Early Saturday morning, I woke up in Newport Beach and drove over to Huntington Beach for a big bucket list item of mine.

As we drove down Main Street in HB, it was all becoming a little surreal. Again, here I was, this East Coast girl now living the Southern California life. It was truly a place for many years that I only saw on TV and in movies and now I was seeing this cute little beach town with my own eyes. Not only that, but I was there to see the biggest surf event in the United States: The US Open of Surfing.

Since we arrived on the second to last day of the championship, all of my favorite surfers [yes, even Kelly Slater] had been knocked out the day prior. I was totally bummed. Completely. But it was still so inspiring and fun to see so many pro surfers giving everything they had for a chance to win. I was most inspired by Courtney Conlogue for her back-to-back rides through the pier, a very tricky and dangerous maneuver but she did it and it just so happened to be right when we were standing underneath the pier. And as soon as she finished, she turned around and paddled right back out to catch another. Talk about strength and determination!

The US Open was nothing like the time I was at Volcom Pipe Pro on the North Shore. In Huntington, the waves were smaller, the crowds were larger [and much more rowdy as I'm sure many of you heard about the riots], and it was just an entirely different experience. However, I enjoyed the time I spent watching heats from up above on the pier or below on the sand as the tide rolled in.

It was a nice treat for me. A reminder of the determination it takes to do well, insanely well, at what you love. Throughout life, we have certain passions that never leave us. I've written about this before and how important I believe it is to bring those passions to life throughout our time here. The art and sport of surfing has been one of those passions for me. I stopped for a moment and reminded myself that I was there, among the world's top surfers, in Surf City, USA... something I had only dreamt of for so long.