Whether It’s Skis or Boards, You Gotta Let the Boat Pull You
Packing the boards on the boat set for adventure.
In my humble opinion, nothing is better than rounding up a couple of great friends and finding activity we can all participate in. This past weekend, our found activity: Wakeboarding. We gathered up some refreshments, snack and spirits and took a short trip down the coast to Carlsbad, CA. If you’ve ever taken a car trip down to San Diego or Mexico via the 5 Interstate, you’ve probably caught a glimpse of the activities that are happening in the lagoon directly off the freeway. In one glance you’ll notice boats towing waterskiiers, wakeboarders and tubers, lots of jetskiis, paddleboarders and an array of oddly shaped paddleboats. You will also see a small beach with beach volleyball and some picnic tables full of families and friends.
We decided to take an early time window for our boating excursion – one of our friends has a knack for skiis (in the water and in the snow) so beating the other boats into the water minimized the choppiness of the wake. We didn’t beat August’s marine layer by coming early in the morning, so it was a little chilly and foggy – but as the day advanced, so did the temperature and fog line.
She's up!
First player’s turn in the water: She’s up! Makes it look like a piece of cake. Second player’s turn in the water (wakeboarding): He’s up! Makes it look like a piece of cake. Third player’s turn in the water: She’s up! Piece of cake! Fourth player….snorts a lot of Salt Water! Fifth and Sixth players rocked the wakeboard, as well – taking advantage of tips from our driver and utilizing every ounce of determination to stay up longer each time they stood up on the wake!
The trick to wakeboarding and water sports on the lagoon can be found by using this recipe: one part “let the boat pull YOU up”, two to three parts inhaled salt water, six parts fun friends cheering you on when you struggle and when you succeed and eight parts try, try again! (And I’ve heard that if you find the right boat driver, you may also add a couple parts of beer to wash it all down.)
The Molecule!
After we were all pretty beat, we decided to taxi the boat in to retrieve “The Molecule” which is a three person mega tube. Needless to say, this thing was an intimidating beast of a tube… but you really don’t know what to expect until you watch the first person experience the rush. At this point we had been on the boat for a few hours bonding and joking around with our driver, who now felt comfortable to assess how daring each of us were. We learned a few things from The Molecule: how to fear for your life in a good way, when to grip harder, when to let go and if you are 6’6” you get to cheat because your legs can reach the handles on the opposite side of the tube for extra grip!
In closing, if you’re looking for a fun and humbling bonding experience with your family and friends – taking a day trip to the lagoon in Carlsbad is a great idea (and cheaper with the more adventure-seekers you bring to split the cost). Don’t forget to take advantage of the awesome Mexican restaurants the area has to offer; the best cure for one part Dramamine is three parts Margarita. No Salt. – Maux Gitto
If you would like to see more pictures of our Carlsbad adventure, check us out on facebook.
Comment by Cara Schwimer — August 30, 2010 @ 11:28 pm
Would love to see more pics of this mini-vacation! Sounds like a blast!
Comment by Lori Bartlett — September 1, 2010 @ 6:30 pm
Thanks Cara! If you would like to see more pictures, check out our facebook page. Just search Survive the City Los Angeles!