Instead

Recently I started climbing again with my sometime surf buddy, Christina. So this morning, instead of surfing, I was top-roping a route called Stairs in Mission Trails Park.

Those tiny white dots in the distance are climbers

Christina told me that although she hasn't surfed in a month, she doesn't miss it since she started climbing, and she reeled off a list of reasons she likes climbing better than surfing. I nodded and said, "Ah, I see," but really I don't. For me, there is no substitute for surfing. Nothing even comes close.

Not my favorite flavor of water

Being in the ocean makes me feel happy and alive, even when it's kicking my ass. Rock climbing, which I started to assuage my fear of heights, just makes me wonder what the heck I'm doing clinging to a cliff face a long way above the ground.

On the way home, I detoured slightly to check the surf. Alas, it was barely this side of being blown out.

There's a large swell filling in, and the southern La Jolla reefs looked a bit wild. Still, I would rather have been out there this morning instead.