I’ve been away from the water for a while due primarily to the recent turmoil in my personal life. In the last few weeks, though, I’ve returned to the water. Bolsa Chica has grown even more crowded than usual, so I haven’t surfed there much this year. (Clearly, my earlier admonitions — here and here — had little effect. ) Instead I’ve been going to … never mind. No need to draw attention to the new “secret spot” else half of Orange County might follow. Not that the surf was that good this morning. Indeed, there were a few occasional knee high sets interspersed with long periods of near glassy conditions. The highlight of the day was when one of my buddies caught the “wave of the day”, slipped as he attempted to stand and ended up nearly doing a face plant on his longboard. Seeing this I laughed so hard that I missed the next best “wave of the day” that rolled in right behind it. But it is a treat to surf until 10 am with only a small handful of other surfers within 100 yards.

Driving home I passed Bolsa Chica and I was surprised to find the place at nearly 80% capacity (based upon the number of occupied parking spaces). Feel like hitting the beach? Head on down to Bolsa Chica, there may be a little room left.