Surf's up!

So today I had my first surfing lesson, and I have to say it was a little scary at first. I didn't know you were supposed to jump off the board before you get to shore, and I rode all the way to the sand on my knees instead of standing on the board (which I later learned is a big no-no). Yea I think I almost died. (Not really, but I almost got hit in the head with my board.) But seriously...it's kind of scary because once you're on that wave, you're at it's mercy. I have a great respect for the ocean because it's actually pretty dangerous when you stop and think about it.

Once I got over my near-death experience, I was able to get back on it. I fell down a bunch of times, but it was fun and I definitely want to try again.

On the way back to the surf shop, we were dragging our boards along the coast, and I stepped on something that hurt my foot. At first I thought it was a rock or something, but when I looked down guess what I saw....a BEE! First of all, wtf is a BEE doing on the ocean coast? Bees don't belong on the beach! Secondly, out of that whole huge beach with all of those people there, how did I manage to be the one who stepped on it?

After we returned our gear, Cristina and I walked a few blocks to The Stand. It's a cute little vegan restaurant that I heard about from a coworker last week. It's funny that this place has apparently been in business since the 70's, but I didn't find it when I did an online search for "vegetarian restaurants" in Laguna (they don't have a website or even an online menu). It must be a good place if they are able to survive that long without advertising. I guess word of mouth can work in some cases. We had a hummus and guacamole pita with a salad that had romaine lettuce and about 3 different kinds of sprouts. The lemon herb vinaigrette was pretty tasty. We got a strawberry/kiwi shake made with almond milk (though it tasted more like bananas to me). Everything was fresh and good. I would like to go back and try something else next time.

Have I mentioned that I love living here?