Clearly, there are a lot of activities that are difficult to start in your 50s and one of them is surfing. For most of my life, I’ve struggled with balancing on everything from a skateboard to skis and now I can add a surfboard to that list. Ever since I was a child, I’ve had this aversion to falling. It isn’t something that comes up every day in normal life. For instance, walking down a normal street, or getting out of the car and walking into the house. Not a problem. But put me on a precipitous cliff surrounded by ice and snowfields with a 500 foot drop with jagged rocks below and I become my five-year-old self, singing Jesus Loves Me, and feeling like I’m going to soil myself. So I do not ice skate, rollerskate, ski… And now I feel comfortable, giving up the desire to try to surf.

I recommend it though: 100%! And I love the fact that my kids both can actually stand up on the surfboard and do it…

For me now, it is a matter of logistics: Getting the campsite reservations, finding the best surf beaches, organizing the meals, making sure we have the right gear, and enjoying the process, being content with boogie boarding.

This last weekend, my daughter and I stayed at Twin Harbors State Park in Washington and found a gem of a location for both the beginning surfer and moderately skilled: Westhaven State Park. It is a day use park just north of where we camped with a nice parking lot, showers and restrooms. The hike to the beach is quick but does go down a fairly steep sandy trail. The waves were just right for beginners and decent surfers. I was impressed by how many people where out there giving it a go!

Wear a wetsuit!!! This is key to hanging out and being happy in the cold waters of the Pacific off our coast. Know your limits! Currents can be swift and dangerous. Logs are often out in the water, just floating around. I saw a few instructors from the local surf shop out with students which looked totally helpful.

Luckily we had a sunny day, and this means a full parking lot on Saturday! The temperature rarely hits 70 though, so be ready for feeling chilled.

Finally, we found a gem of a restaurant down in Tokeland south of our park. The food was pretty natural, made on site, and delicious after a day of cold water fun! Hats off to the Tokeland Hotel.

Again, I so enjoy the ocean. It is so peaceful to listen to the waves, and rest. I’ll leave you with a picture from my morning walk, with fog, mist, and no one around: