just beachy

Back to day one. Greg Barker took me out surfing this morning at the place where I went surfing for the first time: Manhattan Beach, by the pier. Ah, the memories. A little over a year ago we woke up at 5:30 a.m., drove down in anticipation to the pier, waxed our boards, and got pounded by the waves. Today it was much less scary. Amber waves. We had fun splashing around in the white water, taking videos, and enjoying the warm water. This was the first time I had gone surfing without Bob. I'm thankful the waves were little. Greg likes to send me paddling into waves that are huge and scary. For my own safety, small waves were a good thing today! I got back home at 8:00, ate some Cocoa Krispies in bed, and went back to sleep for 3 more hours. Apparently some cereal missed my mouth as I woke up with brown flakes stuck to my arm. Oops! :)

Rise and shine at 11:00. I got ready for the best part of my internship experience. 5 Good Shepherd folks and myself got the thrill of attending the Southern California Synod Assembly today in Thousand Oaks. Thrill is an overstatement. All I can say is thank goodness for Wifi. Though it was cool to bump into a few fellow interns and someone I knew from Luther, I have to say I was a little irked that I was missing a night of stamping with the girls for the assembly. Which, really wasn't as bad as Karen being there on her birthday. I'd be ticked! The best part of the night was checking into a sweet hotel suite, and going out for supper to celebrate Karen's birthday. We ate at the Elephant Bar. YUM! I had coconut fried shrimp (thanks to Anna in Tacoma), sweet potato fries, mashed potatoes (yes, two helpings of starch), and the biggest piece of ice cream pie I had ever seen.

Karen and I had a late night slumber party. We stayed up for a few hours chit chatting before we both fell asleep. It's always fun to get to know people on a more personal level due to trips like this, and I'm certainly glad I got to know her better. What a kind woman.