SoCal Day 6

I've just decided it was pretty lame of me to title all of these posts with just "SoCal" and then the day it is. I'm actually disappointed in me. I'm sick of it. But I'm definitely not going to break format just to please myself. I'm a little (really a lot) obsessive about things like that. If I could have picked one for today, it would have been something way cool, like "Wipeout" or something. It would give a better lead in to what the post is actually about. So on behalf of myself, I'd like to apologize for the lackluster titles. I will do my very best to spice them up after my trip ends.

Today, we hit the beach. We hit the beach earlier in the week, but that was like a warmup to this hitting of the beach. It would be like our first trip was Steve Urkel socking you in the jaw, and today was like Chuck Norris. There's quite a significant difference. 

We went to a part of Newport Beach called Balboa. I really couldn't tell you if that was the name of the beach. Whatever. It was a pretty cool beach. I must say it wasn't quite as busy as I had expected, and there were less of the tourist-types too. Stupid tourists (that is very sarcastic, seeing as how we are definitely tourists. I wouldn't want all of you thinking I was moody or something). We rented some boogie boards, and the fun began.

Honestly, there isn't much to say about boogie boarding. It's a blast! What more is there? I guess there's that magical feeling the first time you really get caught by a wave. 

It sounds ridiculous to call it magical, but after many failed attempts of catching a wave, you're kind of surprised when the wave actually starts to do something for you. 

This picture here is one of the first times I felt that magic. I do look quite excited about it too. I don't know if that's because I knew my mom was taking the picture or true excitement... I guess there's also the rash you get on your belly (ooh and on your inner thighs... Ouch!). And the absolutely disgusting taste of ocean water. I must say I've been in the ocean before, but never where I was actually swimming in it. So this was my first experience with the biting nastiness of water that has seemingly made very good friends with a salt shaker. A couple times as I crashed, and oh did I crash, the ocean water was pretty forcefully shot up my mouth and nose. I don't suggest it. I've kinda got this funny heartburn/acid reflux thing going on I would assume is from swallowing saltwater. It isn't pleasant. Oh and on a completely different note, we saw some porpoises today by the beach. I'm not gonna lie, it was incredibly eerie seeing a fin poking out of the water. 

I told myself they weren't sharks. But, I don't think they were. There were a few traveling together, and they came out of the water once to the point that I could determine they were gentle mammals instead of sinister fishes. This other picture is all of us with our boards just heading out. I think I'm just figuring out in this picture that the tether isn't actually supposed to go on your ankle. That was awkward... Boogie boarding seriously wears you out however, I'm surprised I'm even awake to write this post! I'm pretty sure I'll be sleeping well tonight. I think tomorrow we're planning on marking off another one of the "10 U.S. Places to See Before You Die" when we visit the Huntington Gardens in San Marino.