The water was about 38 degrees, the air 23 degrees.  As cold as it was, I wish I could have been out there.

Rain drip drops on another blurry morning

Shoulders stiff neck cries

Arms lying that they're ready for more movement

Ready...

Plenty of options but no solid plans

No plane ticket waiting no airplane gating

No boardbag jet lag rehab calendar dating

Home and the smell of olive oiled garlic and onions

On a worn out pan near a reliable knife

A lovingly familiar comfortable life

Strong coffee mornings waiting for light

The flag out the window tells me is all right

Offshore again for the second week in a row

Red yellow colors still swirling

Pixilated on my computer show

As I sit waiting, watching, considering where to go

Slurping that coffee, cool now, last sip

4/3 and booties still stinking with drip

from yesterday afternoon's kelp clogged mind-freeing trip

legs still remembering the hike up the cliff

sunset ingrained and the need for a 6'6"

6'1" buckled on an inside cylinder

5'11" speared by a clueless beginner

but there are others in my VW ready for their chance

to glide beneath my feet in an un-choreographed wave dance

there's a warm sun rising to pinken the clouds

and a familiar song being sung out loud

more lines coming long and true

it's time to load up, set off, suit up, paddle out, take off, pull in,

and enjoy the view.

Four years ago, my boyfriend and I found a secret wave. Ok, well, it wasn't just our secret, but it was incredibly uncrowded for how perfect it was. Like most things that seem too good to be true, the perfection was elusive. Due to a very strong current that would suck you out to sea on a dropping tide, it could only be surfed on the incoming tide. Since the wind turns onshore around noon, that only allows for a small window of opportunity. All the elements had to come together to make it happen, the right swell, the right wind, and a rising tide. Unfortunately for us, those elements were coming together, but only very early in the morning. In order to catch a few waves before tide bottomed out and the horrendous current took over, we had to get up at 4am, be down at the beach just before sunrise, and beginning the long paddle out to the outer reef as soon as it was light enough to see. The fact that the only restaurant in the tiny remote town didn't open until around 9am, meant that we were going to have to do it all without coffee. It was almost a deal breaker, but we kept thinking of those perfect waves and had to go for it.

We did it! Well, sort of. We made it all the way out there and caught a few leg-burning long rides. It was just the two of us and when one person caught a wave, the other would be left bobbing alone in the lineup. The swell was big and lumpy, the sky low and clouded. I got that creepy feeling that something just wasn't right. When my boyfriend finally made it back out after another seemingly endless ride I was just about to say something about the strangely creeped out feeling I was having when we both saw something that rendered us speechless. A fin popped up in the face of the approaching wave, not gliding up and down like a dolphin but charging straight towards us with an agressive swishing motion a few feet behind it. Not wanting to completely panic, I said, "did you see that?" He had already started to paddle for the first wave he could. We rode it together on our bellys, not wanting to risk the chance of falling, all the way in to the sand. We hadn't seen any teeth, but we didn't want to stick around to make sure. Whatever it was, we were happy to leave it out there to take any wave it wanted, or maybe we just really needed a warm cup of coffee.

Last month we went back. The tide was rising all morning and there was a new swell building, perfect for our secret wave. Inevitably, the secret has spread. We were no longer the only ones in the lineup, but the crowd was still small and friendly, and at least we figured the odds were better in case that toothy local showed up again. Or maybe we just felt better because we were caffeinated. I had packed an electric kettle and a pound of Silver Joe's French Roast on the trip, so there were no excuses to get up early and charge out there!

Tahiti is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Steep rugged mountains with sharp ridges covered in green fall down to clear blue water that lightly covers sharp colorful reef. It's dramatic. It's also incredibly frightening. The amount of energy filling the air and water is intense, and the places where those two things collide are powerful beyond belief.

Take for example one of the world's heaviest waves, Teahupoo (pronounced "Cho-Po"). Here swells generated in the Southern Hemisphere collide abruptly with shallow reef creating a wave that seems as if the entire ocean is rearing up, bottoming out, and then falling over onto itself.I visited Tahiti for the first time way back in 2000. I had only been surfing a few years at that point and was in no way prepared to challenge a wave of that magnitude. I sat in a boat for 8 full hours completely awestruck by the power of the ocean, watching boys get towed into life-threatening caverns, only to be successfully spit out into safety glowing with visible adrenaline. Since that trip, people often ask if i've ever surfed Teahupoo. Until this month the answer had been "no".

Paddling out for the first time I was admittedly scared to death. After all the photos i'd seen of the wave and reef scratches i'd noticed on other surfers I had a very healthy amount of fear and respect. But still, I wanted to challenge the place for myself.

There aren't any hotels on the far end of the island of Tahiti where Teahupoo is located literally at the end of the road. Visiting surfers stay with families and share in the communal experience of breakfast and dinner. The first morning, I was disappointed to only be faced with instant coffee. As a full-blown caffeine addict, my favorite part of the day comes shortly after that first sip of coffee. Instant just wasn't going to cut it. Fortunatley, I had packed some sample packets of Silver Joes coffee and my trusty silver mug. I brewed myself a little caffeinated heaven and charged out to face my fears fully awake and feeling alive.

I started out cautiously. I watched, I payed attention, I learned. Eventually I paddled for a wave, committed, made the drop, pulled into the tube, and slid into the channel with a big smile. I had conquered my initial fear and the rest that followed was simply fun.

My boyfriend Ryan and I are coffee addicts. We never travel anywhere without a full coffee-making setup including electric kettle, plastic drip cone, filters, and of course Silver Joe's coffee.

On our most recent trip to Central America we left the kettle at home since we had yet to hook up electricity to our new house down there. We figured we might just have to make the five minute walk to the nearby hotel for coffee in the morning, but brought plenty of Silver Joe's Kona Blend just in case.

Our caretakers who had been living in our house in our absense had rigged an elevated concrete fire pit that they used for all their cooking. I had brought pots and dishes down from home to leave in our house, so we had everything we needed! Of course, it took a little more time in the morning to get coffee going. Unlike home, we couldn't just wander into the kitchen half asleep and push the start button. This involved collecting sticks the day before to use for the fire, getting up pre-dawn to get the fire started, then waiting while the water got hot enough to make a strong cup of aromatic coffee. My favorite part was sitting on our porch in the morning, watching the sun rise to add color to the green and blue scenery, then downing the last drop of coffee, grabbing my board and skipping down the muddy path to the amazingly fun and uncrowded surf right out front. I wish I was about to do that right now!