hergetupandride fora fewseconds
before fallingback. Iyellwordsof
encouragement toherbecause, youknow,
noteveryone isanatural.
Turnsout,neitheramI.Mybeautiful
beginner’s luck faded into thesunlight
alongwith thatwave.Sure, Igotupa few
more timesandhada fewgoodruns,but
thenexthourwenta littlemore like this:
Mario: “Doyourememberwhere the
centerof theboard is?”
Mario: “Whyareyouonyour
tiptoes?”
Mario: “Areyou trying tokickme?”
IhearTrishamuttera fewexpletives
toward theend, andI tellMario it’s time.
“Well, you’re thebestsurferI’vehad
fromDallas,”heoffersaswe (Mario)
carries theboardback to thebeach. I
don’task if I’m theonlyone—Iknow it.
T H A T N I G H T , T R I S H A
andIhead todinneratMichael’sat the
Galleryon theoutskirtsofdowntown
TodosSantoswithRancho’sgeneral
manager,DonMorris, andhiswife,Kami.
OvercrabcakesandThaigreen-
curryscallopsasbigasourfists,Kami
tellsmeshe taughtherself tosurfonLos
CerritosBeach.ShewasMario’sfirst
female instructorsixyearsago. “Hesaid,
‘I’vewatchedyou teachyourself, andI’ll
teachyou to teachothers.’Hisschoolhas
beenreallysuccessful—peoplewant to
learn the lifestylehere.”
Kami,originally fromSanFrancisco
andnowaPescaderoresident,notes that
Mexico’sclimate—alongwith thesize
of thewaves— iswhatmakessurfing
soattractivehere. “Irememberseeing
guys trying toget theirgirlfriends in
the freezingwater inCalifornia,”she
says. “Here, Idon’tget inwaterunder80
degrees!”
Backat theresort,TrishaandIgrab
amargaritaandwatch theocean from
mysuite’s terrace.Weadmit—witha
tingeofsadness— thatwearenot leaving
our livesandgoingpro.Tomorrowwe
willprobablyneedamassage.But fora
fewbriefmoments,wedancedwith the
ocean.Werodeawave.Weconquereda
fear.Wehad fun.Andweareprobably
Mario’s favoritepeopleever. “Cheers,”I
say, liftingmyglass. “Androll, tide, roll!”
JACQUELYNEFROEBER
is a senior editor
for
AmericanWay
and theeditor of
Celebrated
Living
,AmericanAirlines’ first-classmagazine.
She is thankful for wetsuits.
78
SEPTEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
LEFT:
Trisha shreddingwaves atLosCerritosBeach
BELOW:
Me, Trisha andKarla— surfing’s new
dream team
I Q U I C K L Y C O L L E C T M Y B O A R D
A N D T U R N T O T H E W A T E R
A N D M A R I O , R E M E M B E R I N G
T H E R U L E : N E V E R T U R N
Y O U R B A C K O N T H E O C E A N .
