SURFING SOAPBOX: Loving the wave of life

I was sitting on the edge of Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago on Tuesday, having dinner smack dab in the middle of the city. It was one of those moments that had me reeling with happiness and so grateful for such experiences. It always amazes me just how different the world outside Laguna Beach is.

I loved sitting there last night watching the water taxis coming down the river and the peach-colored lights of the sunset bouncing off the forest of tall buildings.

Just to the right was the famous Sears Tower, which seemed bigger than life itself.

Maybe it’s because Laguna Beach is such a small town with small buildings that I love the energy of big cities like New York and Chicago. The entire time during dinner I kept taking pictures of all that surrounded me — the people, the sounds and those tall buildings captivated me like a small boy playing with Legos on Christmas morning.

Surfing has taken me to a lot of places, but I never thought it would take me to the big city of Chicago. But then again I’m not really surprised because surfing has been nothing short of a living dream for me.

I guess you could say I’m still riding the wave.

Later today, I will be heading down to Grand Haven, Mich., before heading off in the middle of the night to another area of the Great Lakes where a swell is expected to be in the head-high to overhead range.

We’ll see.

All I do know is that along the way to our surfing destination we will be boarding a ferry to get to wherever it is we’re going, and I love that — I love the sense of adventure you get when you’re chasing a swell.

Perhaps better said: I love this wave of life.

Peace.

JAMES PRIBRAM is a Laguna Beach native, professional surfer and John Kelly Environmental Award winner. His websites include AlohaSchoolofSurfing and ECOWarrior Surf.com. He can be reached at Jamo@Aloha SchoolofSurfing.com