The Ocean

That place is by far one of my favorite places to be in the world. I could care less what I'm doing there as long as I'm there.

I remember the first few times I ever went there, I was a wee tot and probably around 2 o 3. My parents had taken me before and I remember hearing stories of my dad out past the waves with his little 2 year old son with other people freaking out lol...He put me on a board when I was probably 4 and it stuck with me. The second time I almost died was actually bogey boarding at Carona Del Mar, our families favorite beach..Yes there was a previous time that I almost died....the start of a fun life for Mont! Almost dying twice before I was 6 haha......I had gone out past the area that most of the waves break cause I wanted to show my dad how much I had learned that day, So I was just paddling away, not really paying attention to what was going on. Now that is a problem lol, because where I was at is where the waves are at their biggest before they start to break, I turned to catch the next wave on my bogey board and remember only how big it was and flying through the air. The wave took me and tossed me about 10ft in the air before I came crashing down and got nailed by the next and next wave. Then I don't remember anything after that but waking up on the beach with my dad and a life guard standing above me. My dad always tells the story from his point of view. " I was out watching my son get some great waves when all the sudden I see him flying through the air, at the same time thinking I should go get him" haha So even after a near pretty close death experience the beach was still a huge part of my life. Also my father throwing me into huge waves so he could teach me how to surf...lol The beach and ocean are just wonderful places to be. There is so much to do, and there is so much to catch! From fish to the little beach crabs you can catch as the tide moves out. Just follow the triangle to its point and dig in the sand a bit and you have a sand crab. Cool looking little things. I always knew that there was things under the water all around us, but it wasn't until I got scuba certified that I realized how much life was right under our noses! The first ocean dive I did was at Catalina Island off the coast of Cali. We walked out about 20ft and the water dropped down to like 65ft. The water was so clear you could see the bottom, and everything walking around it. We saw tons of fish and sharks and all sorts of awesome stuff. I was attacked by an Octopus and almost caught it, but it got away. They are slippery little buggers. When we were in Mexico we went diving the day before we went surfing and I only had to go out a few feet to see a huge world of fish. The water wasn't even that deep, just enough to cover me, and there was fish everywhere. The farther I went out the bigger they got and I'm pretty sure I scared a huge school of something that was really big. Kinda freaked me out at first. They were big fish, but it was awesome just being able to swim around the rocks and get pictures of all the fish. The next day surfing every time I got up on the board I could see tons of fish below me just swimming around. It was really cool and at the same time I was hoping that the next time I got up I wouldn't see a beasty shark swimming with me.

I just don't know, there is something about the ocean that just constantly draws me to it. The water is so amazing and so beautiful. The waves are just endless(in most areas) and I love riding them in to shore...swimming back out sucks after a while, but it's still amazing. It's so calming there and I just love the life that is everywhere there. It's so fun to be in the middle of a school of fish and watching them just swim with you and all around you. I can pretty positively say that I would rather be under the water swimming with the fish, then doing anything else in my life any day. It's so peaceful and so fun. One of my dreams is, well 2 of them is I wanna go diving with Whale Sharks. Something I'm saving up for and I really wanna be in the water with a Great White Shark. They have such awesome power and I truly believe that they can only be respected when you get to see them up close, not in the comfort of your own home. It would be so awesome to see one up close and personal. The Whale Shark would be equally as amazing. They are huge.

All in all I love the ocean, and have so many memories, from almost dying to making huge sand castles then watching the tide destroy them as night falls, then making huge bon fires. It was a huge part of my life that I wish I had back. I miss the beach and can easily say that I am a huge beach bum.