I'm 28 years old, and born and raised in Florida... lately I had such a flashback that it made me realize how amazing Florida and life in general is.

I got my first surfboard in 5th grade. My dad bought it for me for $100 from a classmate named Zach Meyer. It was a Natural Art board and I thought it was the greatest thing in my life. I took it to the Deerfield beach pier and floated on it cause that's all I knew how to do.

That summer I visited my grandparents in Melbourne. I brought my board up there and we went to the beach... I don't recall the name of the beach but it's where the Longboard House is and Bizarro Pizza. My grandma would buy me pizza for lunch after floating that morning, buy me pizza for dinner after floating that afternoon.. then go home. All summer long... All the kids that surfed that beach were cool as hell... and taught me how to catch a wave, were just chill as hell...

Well life happened.. and I quit surfing for years... I'd go watch the surfers every now and then but then never really thought about getting back into it. This past week, I bought an older 8 foot Funshape Mayo surfboard... and my girlfriend (who surfs) and I went up to 2nd light... I was nearly in tears I had so much fun... I forgot how amazing it was to be out there.. and catching my first wave in over 15 years.... As great as that was... and how much that one wave literally changed my life... on our way back home we stop off some place to have dinner... and we pass bizarro pizza.... we go into the longboard house... I wasi n shock how many people were out there... And as I sat on the SAME wooden chair i sat on when I was a kid.... I ordered the SAME slice of pizza I had eaten all summer long...every summer.. when I was a kid. It made me realize again, how lucky we are to be able to experiance this part of the world... and how awesome life really is. It's pretty damn amazing how One slice of pizza, one wooden bench, a flat fiberglass board, a wave, and experiancing all of this with somebody you really care for, can change your entire aspect on the life you live. Anyway, thanks for reading!

You've got it, don't let it go.

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Dora Hates You

Surfing , stoked for life...

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So if you are a surfer I wish you the prosperity that allows you more time to pursue the salt water dream, and the true happiness that comes from warm water, clean waves and the companionship of your fellow surfers. If you are an internet troll just spewing bs then f off.

best written, most sincere, and purely surf related post that i have read here in quite some time, if not ever. stoked for your stoke and thanks for making my day, as, i am so glad your day played out as it did. never quit!

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Just shut up & paddle out!

That was cool.  We had the same thing growing up at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.  Sand, surf, girls, pizza....good times.

Keep surfing.

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Have a surf. It's good for you. 

43 and looking back at 24 years of surfing...Loving it now more than ever...

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Who needs a better life?

I use to hate Brevard County and the dismal waves....the long summers, etc. I couldn't wait to get out of here and surf some real waves. Over the years I scraped money together, made pilgrimages here and there to many of the top surf spots around the world....at least to the ones I could afford to get to. I quickly realized that I can be at the best surf spot in the world, and have a miserable time....and I can be at a crappy beachbreak in Central FL, and have a blast. I remember some days in Hawaii just being completely frustrated....and realizing that paradise aint paradise if your mind aint right. It's not the destination, it's the journey. And your attitude makes all the difference. I try to convey that to the groms when I have the opportunity. And that, to me, is the essence of surfing. Good post.

Which led us to make the biggest mistake that we ever made-- moving away from the ocean. I'd take one foot crappy sloppy afternoon windswell behind Ron Jons at this point. Of course we left molehill waves for mountain trails and not mountain waves. 

A word of advice: never ever leave the ocean unless you have a very good escape plan.

I hit up longboard house almost. I'm in west palm area. I went to that pizza place and it was horrible haha but man that's one awesome story. I still eat astronaut food randomly everyone says its gross but I always ate it as a kid

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9-6 Neilson Pig__9'4 Donald Takayama in the pink (signed)__9-6 Yater Spoon__9-1 McTavish Razar