A Weekend in Rosemary - May 14, 2011

It’s been pretty hectic at work lately, so we needed a weekend away.  We decided to take our boards to a cute little beach village just 20 miles west called Rosemary Beach. 

 

"The Green" at Rosemary
Photo Credit: Travel 30A

Developed in the ‘90s, Rosemary was one of the first planned communities in this area of the panhandle.  It’s built around a town square and embraces the concept of a walkable community.  So everything – the post office, town hall, shops, and restaurants – are within walking distance from the residences.  The village stays true to its name with rosemary bushes lining the bike-friendly lanes and surrounding the many greens that are used for farmer’s markets, concerts, and weddings. 

 

The craftsman architecture has a beachy twist with organic elements like crushed shell paths winding through the canopies of old scrub oaks.  The upscale homes capitalize on plenty of windows to bring the outdoors in, and there is wood everywhere: wood-trimmed windows, wood flooring, wooden garage doors.  It’s certainly not your typical Florida beach town with chintzy rattan furniture and flamingo-themed upholstery.

My favorite tree - coastal scrub oaks

We rented a carriage house that was a shell’s throw from the gulf, and we could smell the salt air from our front stoop.  After we got settled, we walked our boards down a sweet little path to the gulf.  It was a beautiful afternoon with slow moving waves gliding up to the shore.  It wasn’t a lot of push, but it was enough.  So we surfed until the sun was low in the sky and our empty tummies began to remind us that there were tapas waiting just over the dunes.


After we washed the salt off, we walked to La Crema, a “tapas and chocolate” restaurant (I know, heaven has an address in Rosemary Beach, Florida).  We delighted our pallets with all sorts of treats: serrano-wrapped figs in honey, eggplant with basil and “aged goat cheese,” and lamb lollipops with rosemary (way better than a tootsie pop, for realsies). http://lacrematapas.com/



The owners of the place decided to open the restaurant after a trip to Spain, and that inspiration has led to a hugely successful business.  Not having much exposure to Spanish wine, Ted took this opportunity to introduce me to tempranillo, which is akin to a hearty pinot noir, but with more punch to keep you interested.  We rounded out the experience with a dark and white chocolate fondu that I’d swim back to Rosemary just to have. 

Strawberries?  Good.  Pound cake?  Good.  Strawberries and pound cake dipped in chocolate?  Gooooood. Thank you Joey Tribbiani.

We took the “long way home” (so, a block or two out of the way), in an effort to walk off our small plates.  We walked to one of the boardwalks that goes down to the beach so we could get an idea of what the surf would be like in the morning. 

It was gorgeous – seeing the stars out over the dark, expansive sea.  Rosemary is a tiny village with very few street lights to compete with the stars, so we could see what seemed like thousands of stars strewn across the sky,  much more visible than what we are used to seeing back home.

We went to sleep that night to the sound of waves rolling up onto the shore, and we dreamt of riding them.  It was a perfect getaway – a weekend at the beach was exactly what we needed.

And that's...how it's done.

Last Day in a Wetsuit - April 16, 2011

There was really no surf forecasted for this weekend, but I was anxious to get back out on a board after returning from California.  So when I first opened my eyes this morning, I called the local surf report hotline. 

“Good morning Panama City,” the voice on the recording called out to all the hopefuls dialing in.  As my head was still resting on the pillow, I heard the best few words I could have asked for, “It’s a beautiful day out here on the beach.  Grab your long board because the sets are coming in clean.”

WHAT!!   I sat up immediately.

Within minutes I was out the door and on my way to Ted’s.  Once there, we donned our wetsuits for the last time (spring is here and summer is just around the corner, soon we’ll only need our rash guards) and jumped in the truck. 

The surf report didn’t lie; the gulf was gorgeous.  The waves were coming in sets from the southeast, the light breeze out of the north was keeping them clean, and the sky couldn’t have been prettier. 

Because why not?

There were already a few surfers out in the lineup and one, we noticed, was doing a headstand on his board – not kidding.  We ended up sharing waves with him for the morning and it turns out he’s both a surfer and a sailor, and wicked good at both.  However, he had already transitioned out of his wetsuit for the season but his boardshorts didn’t quite fit…if you get my drift.  More than once, he surfed by us in the lineup, and it was a whole lot more under-the-kitchen-sink than you would expect when out surfing.

We also met a woman in her early 40s who was camping at the state park with her family.  She grew up surfing but had been away from it since her children were born.  Now both are teenagers so she’s returning to the sport.  On this particular spring morning, her husband was with the kids so she could score some beautiful waves – cheers to cultural progress!

Ted and I had a really good morning, catching tons of nice rides.  My paddling work must be paying off because there were several slow rollers that I would have missed a few weeks ago, but this morning I was able to get in front of them.  They had a decent height, almost as tall as the ones we caught in La Jolla, so I was able to enjoy some gratifyingly long rides.

As it got closer to midday, the winds shifted around to the southwest so the waves were becoming more hip than shoulder high.  Ted decided to trade in his board for the video camera so he could film some of my popups.  That way, I could see the progress I’ve made since the fall when he last filmed my surfing. 

Tell me there’s a notable difference in my capabilities…