Golden Ticket

After a long day of obsessively checking the weather, I drove to Newcastle Beach park to take advantage of the storm front moving in. I pulled into an almost empty parking lot. Apparently I had missed the big wind. The 25 mph gusts I had been watching on my computer screen had simmered down to a steady 10 mph.

As I stepped into the water, I noticed the clouds breaking up. The sun was starting to shine through. It was 53 degrees outside, but my to-to-totally 80s pink wetsuit was keeping me perfectly warm.

My goal was to sail to Coulon Park and back (roughly 10 miles). Every now and then some big gusts would come along, and it felt great to cruise through the water. I made it almost to the park when the sun started to set, so I decided to turn back early.

On the trip back, I looked at all the cars on I-5 and the I-90 bridge. I couldn't help but feel a bit smug that I wasn't stuck in rush hour traffic. It then occurred to me that I hadn't seen another person on the lake. After realizing I was all alone, I did what every sane person would do: I started singing really loudly. I belted out a rendition of "I've Got a Golden Ticket" in my best opera voice. I have no idea why this song suddenly popped into my head, but I didn't ask questions, I just went with it.

I was now within a stone's throw of my destination. Except for my feet, I had stayed completely dry. As I belted out a final line of "And with a golden ticket it's a Gol-den W---." Suddenly a gust of wind came from the opposite direction. The sail and mast knocked me backwards into the frigid water. Did I let it ruin my day? No. I only needed to remember the simple refrain, "Cheer up Charlie..."



Now that you've endured my long story, here are some fun pictures and videos from our summer windsurfing.