BIG THINGS ON THE HORIZON

Point form ( I know I said that for the last one and it didn't end up that way but I'm half way through an important lesson plan so POINT FORM FOR SURE)

- I'm officially a volunteer at Ironman Australia next weekend! I'll be working in the T1 (Swim to bike) Ment's Transition tent. Apparently not many people like it, probably because you're forced to see lots of sausage when dudes change... whateva. I get a free tshirt and am done pretty early in the morning (like 9 or 10 latest)

- Bali. YES! We're going in two weeks. There, you all know! :) We got a sick deal. $600AUD return. And it's supa dupa cheap once you're there. We're travelling with at least Jared and maybe Michelle Czura (Julia's good friend from home) too. We'll be gone for one week (I have a one week Easter break coming up). WIIIIICKED!

Teaching is still super duper fabulous and I'm loving it, though some kids I'd love to choke. :)

Back to lesson planning! Mass, teaching the whole class. Should be good times, we'll see if I crash and burn. :P

Dad, you're getting a treat in the mail soon. Be ready.

In it to win it

This one's going to be another one of those point form entries because I'm far too tired to think up porper sentence structure (because lets be honest, it's terrible even when I try).

- Today was an uber productive teaching day. I taught pretty much the whole day, a combo of group and whole class. Morning was an hour literacy block where we worked on group reading and writing skills, I worked with small groups and individuals. Then we went to the library and took out new books. I didn't do much here, just a lot of observation and such. It was my first time in the library with the kids as last thursday we didn't go because it was Harmony day and we were doing other activities. That took us to 11:00 and lunchtime. Straight after lunch was Maths, where I taught the year 2s while Miss Pigram taught the year 3s. It was on data and graphing and she actually sat for a while and assessed me while I taught and thought I did awesome! That took us to 1PM when we went outside for fitness and I ran a 20 minute circuit of burpees, crunches, shuttle run, bench step-ups, skipping rope and ball passing. Then we were on recess until 1:50 and then from then until the end of the class I taught a lesson on Hockey. It was cute, I found a couple 3 minute clips off the net of great hockey goals and saves and the kids loved it. Then I drew up a hockey rink on the whiteboard and we discussed the rules of the game and how it is played and related it to sports that they are already familiar with. Then we went outside and practiced some skills (stick handling, passing and shooting). We didn't have enough time for a game even! So tomorrow we may try and fit that in. All in all it was a wicked day of teaching and I got great feedback on my lessons. Well, great in the sense that SHE think I did amazing, but I saw a bunch of things I need to work on in myself and I sorta wish she would give me some constructive criticism, but she seems to really like what I'm doing so no complaints there. I'm getting more and more comfortable everyday and that allows me to have more fun with it. I also found out that if she gets the job at Gwynneville that she'd still be teaching a 3/4 class and that I would go over there with her, and that would be WIIIIICKED, as the school is even closer to home that this one! :) We'll find out in the next week or so.

Tuna: She's kicking it hardcore with the running and workin' her lil tail off as per usual. She ran 11k today it a little over 56 minutes, meaning she's almost back to her kick ass 5:00/km pace for longer runs. I'm sure she'll be where she needs to be for Canberra when the time comes.

My running: Monday ran 15k and averaged something like 4:27/km, which was pretty solid! Then yesterday, ran 12.25k in around 53 minutes, which is something like 4:22/km. But when I got home I pounded a big bowl of yogurt/cottage cheese/oatmeal/wheatbix/bran/almonds/dried apricots and got THE WORST stomach ache. It was terrible because it ruined my night and I was so unproductive because I was in so much discomfort. I think what happened was this. I ran really hard. When that happens more blood is forced into the muscles and the more anaerobic I get. The more blood that goes to my legs, the less there is available for my stomach muscles. So I got home and my legs were just juiced and then I pounded that MASSIVE meal, probably too quickly, and there was no available blood to aid in the digestion, thus it just sat there, causing me crazy discomfort. Oh well, you live and you learn, I'm no worse for wear today so it's all good in the hood.

I reckon Julia should get on here and spill her guts out because I try to include what she's up to but I'm usre I'm forgetting important info and I'm sure ya'll would like another person's point of view! I'll try to get her to write one this week. It's tough though because like this took me about 8 minutes and it would take her two hours because she'd be too worried about sentence structure and that sort of garbage. Please, that's what school's for. :)


Again, mom, I'm going to get some more pictures up here soon. I took some there just not on the computer yet so as soon as they are I'll get them up on here. :)

LOVE YOU ALLLLLL! Hugs and kisses. (Lots for Lucas, your email made me miss him a lot mother!)

Appreciating

I was downstairs printing something off for my Maths (Area) lesson tomorrow. It's for the Year two's, so stage 1. Don't know EXACTLY what it's going to be like. Probably have them practice measuring area using 1cm x 1cm units on top of different shapes. In any event, I was down there printing something off. It's a beautiful night so I opened the front door and stood on the porch, sipping on some delicious cordial (like crystal light) and just enjoying the moment. It's a beautiful night, probably about 20C, and there's some lightning and it rained a little earlier but it's really nice out now. I was just standing there, thinking of how lucky I am. I do think about it from time to time but it's also very easy to just take it all for granted. I was standing there thinking to myself that all of things I wasn't "sure" about in this adventure have pretty well all worked out and I really have nothing to worry about. School is going great, we're fine financially and no other disasters have happened in the first few months. I was thinking how lucky I am. I have an amazing, supportive family that have helped me more than I could possibly imagine. I'm lucky that I've been given so many opportunities to do these kinds of things and it wouldn't have ever been an option if my parents hadn't worked their own tails off to provide me with the life I've had and given me the tools to support myself (for the most part:) ). Annie, my amazing sis who is an inspirationally motivated person, and who's success makes me want to work harder so as not to disappoint. She's become a great friend and soon to be amazing mother. I'm so lucky to have the love of my life and the absolute best thing to ever happen to me, here with me. She's the most supportive person in my world. Whether it's raising money for Diabetes, my training and racing adventures and now this, she's always 100% behind me and willing to take on these challenges together. I couldn't ask for a better partner in life, as I type this she's at work, working her tail off at a job that she's not too fond of so that we can pay the bills and do some travelling. (don't worry, I'll still be getting a job soon enough). And she's got an amazing and supportive family that have helped us with so many things as well; living arrangements, travel arrangements, employment!, good food :) and all sorts of other things, and they've helped her in all the same ways my own parents have helped me.

To all those that help make what we do possible. THANK YOU.

PS - Don't think for a second I've forgotten the little man. He gives me 100% unconditional love and companionship. He's one of my biggest heros. :) And I just want to hug him.

Focused, down to business....

It's two-fold. Both school (prac) and running.

School:
It was a great first week of prac. I was a little nervous going in because you never know who you're going to end up with for a prac supervisor and I heard a few horror stories of people who got real dick heads as prac teachers. My supervising teacher (Miss Pigram) turned out to be pretty cool and this should be a great experience. She's very laid back and helpful and we're getting into the swing of things. Thursday at school was Harmony day (multi-cultural appreciation) and the kids spent time painting all the things that Aaron and I had set up out in the common play area. It's very colourful up there! We also did a Harmony Day activity (that I set up, and ran) in class. I got two big sheets of blue bristol board and printed out "Welcome" in big orange bubble letters and past it in the middle of the two Bristol boards that I taped together length-wise, and underneath we put 2/3P (for the class). Then all the kids traced their hand on a piece of white computer paper (I provided) and cut them out. I had also prepared a sheet of the word "Welcome" in about 20 other languages and the kids had to use AT LEAST 8 of them on their hand and then they could decorate their hand however else they wanted. It was a huge success overall and the kids really liked it I think. :) I was also graded by Miss Pigram and did AWESOME. She gave me perfect/above perfect marks and great feedback. So all in all I was super pleased with it.

Friday we had a lot going on. In the morning we played Cricket, then the kids wrote their Numeracy Test (to get ready for the National numeracy test they will be writing in a few weeks). After Lunch Miss Pigram and I had RFF (relief from Face to Face) and i did some planning for this coming week as I have a few full lessons to teach. I'll be teaching a lesson on Length, one on area and one on Ice hockey (but using field hockey equipment). That should all be awesome fun!

Now the REAL FUN STUFF, Running:
Tunes and I are really getting into it now. We're both into our marathon training plan and first looking at the half marathon we're running in 8 weeks. My goal is sub 1:27:30 (I did 1:27:47 two years ago at the National Capital in Otttawa) and her's is under 1:45:00. We've both been running great, especially her who is right into it this week. She ran 5 times this week and just finished a 20k run (her longest ever) in about 1:55:00. So she's got a little work to do, but we've got 8 weeks so I'm confident in her ability. My goal will certainly be a challenge too. My 1:27:47 at Ottawa was an amazing time (avg 4:10/km) and will be one hell of a tough time to beat. Those races are in Canberra and the course looks pretty sweet.
Right after we're done there it's time to focus on the Gold Coast Marathon. Her goal is sub 4 hours (which may change after Canberra) and mine is once again 3:10 so I can race Boston in 2010. We're motivating each other and I love being able to chat with her about and help her set goals and get excited about racing. I have all the confidence in the world of her ability to race well and I have no doubt that if she wants to, she can easily qualify (3:40) for Boston as well in the next few years. It's true though that running here is a HECK of a lot more enjoyable than at home. No offense to Ottawa, but there's something to be said for running along the Pacific ocean at sunrise. I get goosebumps when I look out over the water. It's like friggin' paradise down here.

Mom: I took some random pictures yesterday as I walked up to pay rent, I'll get those up soon.

a couple school related terms:

a period is a full-stop
a marker is a texter (or texta, as they pronounce it)
an eraser is a rubber

First Days of Prac

So I've done two days now at Keriaville Primary School. My supervising teacher is pretty laid back which is nice, and she's breaking me in nicely. Yesterday I worked with a group of 4 students to draw a hopscotch grid on the ground as part of our maths lesson. I also did a lot of observing her and the children and helping them one on one. It's funny, I got a good idea of the personality/behaviour types in the class. There's the smart kids (2 or 3), the super ADD case hope is annoying as hell, the brown nosers and the "normals". I remember a few names and faces now and should have most covered by the end of the week.

Today was mostly spent working outside with Aaron (the other prac student at my school) drawing out the outlines of various things (map of asutralia, clock, their mascot owl, a snake etc) on the concrete where students will paint in on Thursday during Harmony Day activities. I got my first card today! From a cute little girl named Olivia. She drew a picture of me on the front and wrote "Dear Mr. Lafluer, welcome to our class sorry if I spelt your name wrong. From Olivia" haha, super cute. Today I also ran the fitness part of the class where they do circuit training. That was fun. :)

I get into more and more hands on later this week and into next week as well.

Should be fun!

What an ADVENTURE!

Friday morning I went over and picked up the car. When I got home, Lee wanted to take it out to go to the place where we got our larger fridge from to give them heck because it has stopped working. I checked with them and she was allowed to drive so that was fine. She noticed a screw in the tire so stopped by the rental place and let the guy know. Apparently he already knew about it said it would be fine and not to worry. We left Wollongong around 2PM to head to Sydney to pick up Michelle. After getting a little lost in downtown Sydney we finally got to Michelle’s and then were on the road again, this time to Katoomba! Katoomba was the town where the race started and it was where I had to go to pick up my race kit (race number and chip). It was in this really nice big hotel. I got that take care of and then it was the final stretch to Jenolan Caves, about another 75km. On Jenolan Caves road I spotted some kangaroos so we pulled over and took a quick peak, but they were pretty far away. I continued driving and the girls were hoping to see some closer. ALL OF A SUDDEN THREE JUMP ACCROSS THE ROAD RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE CAR, I DAMN NEAR HIT ONE! I’ve never even come close to hitting a deer in Canada yet my first day driving here I almost take out a Kangaroo. So we started getting closer and closer to Jenolan Caves and we were descending into the caves are where our hotel was. This was a really cool drive. Then we go the caves are and you have to drive through a cave to get to the hotel! You’ll see pictures, but this blew our mind. It was dark when we arrived here and my headlights lit up the cave as we drove through, that was pretty amazing. We got to our room, got settled and organized and then went back to the main building to play the piano and some pool. We went to bed pretty early as we had to be up early (me 4, the rest 4:30AM)

Race Morning.
I got up and did my usual race morning routine. I had my coffee and oatmeal and protein shake, went to the washroom and got dressed. We were out right at 5:30 to head to Katoomba. Lee drove this stretch as I just wanted to chill in the back seat. We got to the park and ride place pretty early and I had another chance to go to the washroom, then we all boarded the shuttle bus to the race start. At the race start I finished up a few last minute details and we all had some bread with butter and maple syrup on it, delicious.

Race:
Wow. This race was absolutely amazing. It was honestly so incredible that I could not possibly describe it in a way that would truly do it justice. But I’ll certainly try. J So the race start is by “Explorer’s Tree” in Katoomba, I’m not sure what the significance of the tree is at all, but in any event, that’s where it was. The race starts and we all run ahead about 200m and then start descending. This part is SUPER slow, like walking in Disneyland super slow. This is because it’s steep downhill and it’s a combo of big rocks and stairs from dirt and a single 2x4. This was a good 15 – 20 minutes of just walking downhill, pretty treacherous terrain and I almost slipped twice. Then we go to a dirt/gravel path and it started to pick up. I was running behind these 3 folks, two who had done the race, one who hadn’t and the two were explaining to the one about different things so I was listening attentively. Oh ya, and no music for this race. We were allowed, but I figured I’d be going slow at various points and it would give me a chance to experience the nature and chat with some folks. So the first 15.5k is mainly downhill to Cox’s river crossing. After the initial slow part it picked up and it was somewhat rolling terrain, down paths in lush forest and then through big fields. There were some fences along the way and they set up these mini ladders, three steps up, three steps down, to get over them, always single file. There were probably 8 or so of these. After a run through some fields we were back in the forest, still descending, but this time it was fun. I rolled my ankles a few times each, which stung for a bit. The downhill grade was perfect, not so much that you were really trying to slow, but just a little down, then flat and then a little more down. I was running behind this guy who was a BRAT (Bondi Running And Triathlon member) and he was behind this other girl and we had a really good thing going for a while. That was so much fun because it was really technical running but the legs still felt ok and it was terribly strenuous up or downhill. So we arrive at Cox’s river! We’re approaching the river and there’s a volunteer there saying “wet” and pointing at the river, and saying “dry” and pointing somewhere up the riverbank. Everyone was opting for the wet, this is the thing to do at this race, thus I was no different. Waist deep folks. It was nice on the legs to feel the cold water. It’s about 15m across and when I got out my shoes felt like they had cement in them. I just started running again, hoping that the water and gravel I just picked up would kill my feet over the next 30k. I ran for a while and my shoes eventually dried out and I could dump out the gravel. Immediately after the river we start climbing. I don’t mean we started up a little hill, I mean we started climbing, like hiking up the steep inclines in Gatineau type thing, these hills were HUGE. So it was mostly a walk but I threw in some light running here and there. The hills were steep and the hills were long. We’re talking 400m over 4k, picture 10% incline on the treadmill for 4k. It was alright, gave me a chance to chat with a couple people, experience the scenery, which gave me goosebumps. We’re walking up this mountain and getting pretty high now and the side of the road is basically a drop down to the river. It was beautiful to look down into the river and see the rushing water way down below. It looked like a jungle. You do a lot of staring at the ground in this race (from fear of stepping on something and going down, which more than a few people did based on the amount of blood I saw) so it was nice to get a chance to look around and experience where we were. Some people bring their cameras to get some photos. I got up to the top of the first major climb, through an aid station and then STEEP downhill again. You’ve got to understand the logistics of pain in this race, you walk down a few hundred steps, run flat, run technical downhill, through a river then up a major climb, so the legs at this point are getting sore and are just PUMPED with blood. This downhill was a dirt path with big rocks (like the size of my fist) everywhere that you’ve got to look out for. You’ve got make a decision to either go fast and just get down there or go slow, and be careful, regardless though the hurt is just the same. I went fast/cautious, as my ankles were already thrashed from earlier. That was really painful and it really set in the start of the pain. At the bottom of that big hill and then we start right into another LOOOOONG climb up to Pluviometer. This is all between the 16 – about 30k markers. It’s just another chance for some more walking and light jogging, if that’s what you wanna call it. I wish I could somehow describe it to put it’s steepness in perspective. It’s like you know when you’re really tired and going up a really steep hill and push down on your knees to help power yourself up? Ya sorta like that. People hike this thing, in three days, not less than 7 hours. We passed a ton of people hiking, they had poles and were moving super slow. So anyways, I got to the top of this hill and then started into another rhythm, if that’s what you want to call it. I’m in major pain (just muscle soreness) at this point so it’s one of those runs. I got to talking to this man Steven from Melbourne. A really nice man and we were going at a good clip so it was one of those things where we kinda egged each other on to keep going. Eventually I bailed on him and had to walk for a bit again. From about 34k to the 42k is rolling, with a few REALLY REALLY REALLY steep, but thankfully short inclines. After the last incline it was relatively flat for a while and gave me a chance to get running again. It was single file through the forest and was like that earlier part that I enjoyed, except now my legs were screaming out in agony. So we got through that and then we’re getting real close and we hit the last aid station at around 41k I think and they tell us to be careful on the descent. OK? What am I in for now. It was the most EXCRUCIATING pain on my legs. After running a standard marathon in terms of distance they put this in front of you. Very narrow path with cracks and crevices in it and big rocks and EXTREME downhill. This was SO painful! SO SO SO SO SO PAINFUL! I was super careful here and got passed by a few people, but that was ok. It felt like forever but eventually the path got better and the road was less steep. I went through a little more bush and path and then you can start to see the hotel (the finish line is where we stayed in Jenolan) and the finish and you can hear the people and you suddenly feel fantastic, like “holy shit I’m gonna finish this thing!”. The last 800 or so meters is actually quite enjoyable, first time on concrete or pavement of any sort. It’s along a path with a hand rail that descends to the hotel and you’re running along the side of the mountain and people can see you coming. That was cool, apparently they announced my name but I didn’t hear it. I rounded the corner and finished in 5:05! Not bad considering my goal was 5 hours, thinking the terrain was a LOT easier than it was. That race was amazing. Painful as hell but amazing.

The girls went to the car to get something and Jared and I went back to the room. They come back in giggling and want to show us some pictures. Apparently we A) had a flat tire and B) had no hub cap, on the other side. GREAT. And they were leaving for a cave tour so I was left to deal with it. I called the roadside assistance place and they sent a CAA type vehicle out to fix it. It took them about an hour and a half to get there so I was sitting around a lot in the parking lot, alone, missing all the action at the finish. It was ok though, I saw some people finishing and then the truck came and did the job and I got back down to the finish to see the award presentations. After that I went looking for the 4 of them over by the caves and waited for their tour to end. We then came back to our room and ate dinner and chilled out a bit in our room then went back down to play some more pool. Then to bed and here I am now. Damn this hurts, and I start my in-class professional experience tomorrow. Eek, hopefully lots of stretching and hot showers today will help. I’m just praying to god that we get home ok today, after this hellish adventure.

A week of Ramblings

It's almost been a week! How'd I let this happen? It's certainly been a busy week, with school and training and everything else. School has really picked up with papers due this week so I was busy doing research and writing 3 different papers and a poster presentation. I swam a ton last week, most probably in any one given week, 5 times! Tues - Fri and then Sunday. Pretty awesome, and I'm well on my way to March goal of 40,000m! That would eclipse last YEAR'S totals.

My calf is good. I went to see a massage therapist on Thursday and it was like immediate relief. I ran 6km yesterday and it felt great, except I felt like I had shin splints! The FONT of my lower leg was now bothering me, what are the odds! :( It's be all good though. I swam today and will run again tomorrow, maybe on the treadmill, very easy and controlled. The Sixfoot track marathon is coming up fast! I can't beieve it's less than a week away! I'm pretty nervous but pretty excited.

I also found out on Friday that I'll be attending Keiraville Public School for my professional experience (PEX), in a stage 2 (grades 3/4) class. I'm both excited and nervous for this as well. Not sure exactly what to expect. I just want to get it started and meet my PEX teacher to get a relationship going because they're the one that I'll be working with for 6 weeks and they're the one that will pass or fail me!

Julia and I both applied at Woolworth's today, but you have to do it online, which is kinda gay.

I miss home. Snow or no snow, I'm starting to miss home. I miss all that familiarity, miss my family and my friends and my old job. I know this is all worth it, but I'm just starting to miss certain things.

We watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button today... that was weird. I watched yes man last night.

I guess that's all!

B

Calves and Home Brand

Two completely random, unrelated topics.

First off. I have this pretty serious calf issue at the moment that's got me worried about my race in a week and a half. I think LAST last Saturday (the 21st) on my long run I did some sort of damage to it and then made it worse trying to run through it on Mon - Wed. I haven't ran since last Wednesday and there's been pain since then as well. Tolerable pain, and only when I walk on it in certain ways... but that does bode well when you consider that I'll be RUNNING on it, it all sorts of terrible terrain. So I'm in a terrible position. What do I do? I'm resting and I think I've diagnosed it pretty accurately, but I'm not sure how long it's going to take to heal 100%. Do I risk racing and doing further damage? Do I bail on the race, knowing it will be my only chance to ever do this race? It's frustrating also because I typically DON'T feel any pain, so I don't feel injured at all, even though I am.

Home Brand. This stuff is like North America's No Name I guess. It's been great to us. We buy a TON of that stuff because it's just always the best deal. Eggs, cottage cheese, dried fruits, cooking spray, cheese, canned goods, pasta, oats, pb, etc. A lot of the stuff that we eat a lot of, we buy Home Brand. No complaints as of yet, it's all pretty decent stuff.

That's it for today.

Finding our Mojo - Surfing

This was a big, great, fun weekend. We signed up this adventure back in January and have been looking forward to it ever since. Friday finally came and we took off for Sydney around 2:20PM. We got to Sydney around 4:15PM, found the Mojo surf bus, dropped off our stuff and went for a quick bite to eat before leaving. Bus left Sydney at 5:30 and we were all pimped up for the adventure we were about to experience. There were maybe like 16 – 18 of us from U of W, some students on an exchange from California, Florida, Wisconsin, France and Luxemburg and a few others. There were give or take 45 or so on the bus. After awhile a little of the initial excitement was gone, the overall atmosphere of the bus mellowed a little bit as we all realize that we were in for a lengthy bus ride. We wouldn’t be at camp until close to 1:30AM. So maybe an hour out from our first stop, the driver (Morgan, a pro surfer) decided it would be a good idea to play a little introduction game. He had everyone come up to the front, one by one, and take the microphone and say 1) your name 2) where you’re from and 3) one like and one dislike. Me: Brian, Ottawa, Tuna/running, Waiting to go pee while sitting on a bus. Tunes: Julia, Ottawa, Peanut Butter and Chocolate, Smelly feet. Hmmm. First stop: fuel, crappy food, chance to go pee and for a quick walk/jog to loosen up the legs a bit. Back in the bus and our next destination was Buladelah, and the bottle shop at the plough inn for some last minute liquor for the weekend. Now it’s the final stretch into camp, where we passed the time watching Pineapple Express. We got in around 1:15 AM, got assigned a room (6 per, Julia, Jared, Katie, Lee, Kym and myself), dropped off our stuff and headed down to the humpy for a little. The Humpy is basically a little party area with a fire pit down by the ocean. We got to bed soon after that as we knew we were in for a long day tomorrow. I was up around 6:30 and headed down to the ocean to check it out real quick. It was a brief, but absolutely peaceful moment. The we had breakfast (muesli and toast) and got a start on the surfing! We had a quick lesson in the camp area then headed down to the water, grabbed a board and had another dryland lesson on the basics. Soon enough we were all in the water, having an absolute blast! We caught on pretty quick, and as long as you did the basic steps they had told us, you’d get up at least 30% of the time. We surfed and surfed and the more we did, the better we got, which in turn made it more fun. It’s a really cool feeling being able to stand up on the water like that. Jubes straight up rocked it hardcore, more or less a pro and they even offered her a job! (in her own words) These first hours in the water FLEW by and before you knew it we had to get out and go for lunch. L After lunch, we (Julia, Jared and I) walked down to the beach and up along the ocean to these cliffs that stick out from the coast line. We got some amazing views from up there. We got back to camp just in time to head BACK to the beach for round two of surfing for the day. We again had a blast and were ALWAYS the last ones out of the water. We’d have to be told to get out as we were heading back. The instructors truly make the whole experience that much more fun as well. They’re all super helpful and friendly and come out in the water with us and give us all sorts of tips or just hold your board and give you a push as a wave is coming so that you have a better chance of getting up. We got out around 7:00 and headed back to camp for dinner. Dinner was awesome, potatoes, salad, burgers, sausages, steak etc. In fact the food ALL weekend was amazing. After dinner we headed straight to the Humpy for a party. Our own party really happened down at the beach though, as the humpy was crowded and I don’t think we were REALLY in the mood to drink. We brought blankets and Lee, Jared, Julia and I laid on the beach and looked at the sky, it was absolutely incredible. We stayed there for a couple of hours and made our way back to bed around 11PM. We were up again around 6:50AM and cleaned up our room and took our stuff downstairs. We had breakfast and headed back down to the beach ASAP for some more fun. The first day i hadn’t used a wetsuit as I was fine with my t-shirt and board shorts, no chafing at all. But today it was painful so I went up to the truck that brings our boards down and got myself a wetsuit. That made it 10 times better. Again we had a blast just catching as many waves as we could in this, our last session. This time the instructors came out on boards also and had some fun with us, making it all look so easy! They would go side by side and one would jump on the other’s board (and one of them did this to Jared! Though it didn’t quite work out the same way) and another guy surfed with the camp dog on the front of his board. All in all it was another amazing session of surfing and once again, dead last out of the water. We got back to camp around noon and had lunch, packed the bus and got ready to leave, but they had one little last surprise for us. On the way out, all of our instructors (4 – 5 of them) were all buck naked, hiding their junk with everything from guitars to socks, standing on fence posts, hiding in bushes and such. Good laugh for the ladies, I think most of the dudes (except one who wanted photos) wanted to vomit. J So now I’m sitting here, writing this while it’s all so fresh in my mind. It was certainly worth the money and an all-round awesome experience.