Well the truth is that I wrote that paragraph upwards of a week ago and I’ve probably had a least 50 similar moments since then.  I just so happened to be in front of my computer when it struck me that the series of events taking place around me should be captured in words.

The Central Coast of California has to be one of the most captivating and yet best-kept secrets in global travel.  The Mediterranean climate and access to pristine natural resources has attracted everyone from world-class surfers, kayakers, and paragliders, to world-class observers like John Steinbeck who wrote Cannery Row while living in the Wharf District of Monterey.

One particular character who deserves mentioning in this Central Coast short story is Hugh Murphy of Surf the Sky Paragliding. I had arranged to meet him around lunch on a high dune on the southeastern stretch of Monterey Bay to check out his outfit, learn a bit about the sport, and talk to him about what we’ve been up to at SWAE.  Elliott and I had gotten up around 6:00 a.m. to catch some amazing head-high waves off Pebble Beach and needless to say I was already in a very good mood before biking back out towards the beach.

As I helped Hugh set up several of his wings and listened to him explain the idiosyncrasies of human flight, the correlations between his passion and surfing became readily apparent.

Both involve tapping into nature’s raw energy and riding that line between bliss and absolute destruction.  After he had got all of his students into the air, Hugh asked me if I wanted to get out and see what it was all about.  As we strapped in and the wing’s airfoil lifted towards the sky, I could almost hear Pink Floyd’s “Learning to Fly” playing in the background.

It’s hard to explain the feeling of lifting off the ground, watching the cliff pass behind you, and riding those invisible currents that move like the hand of God over the waters.  It was amazing, serene, and one of the most powerful feelings I’ve ever experienced. Others have described this moment of taking to the skies much more eloquently and it is with the sentiments of DaVinci that I’ll leave you:

“When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always want to be.”

In the meantime we went and had lunch at this amazing little fish and chips place that served food out of an old double decker bus like the kind you’d see giving tours around Trafalgar Square. I finished by battered cod deliciousness  and then left Elliott to go meet Daniel and the good folks over at the Alpine, Institute. I was super excited because one: they are one of the best guide services in the world and two:  because I had been speaking with then back and forth on Twitter and was stoked to put a face to the person I had been having two sentence conversations with.

When we got to the Alpine Institute we were met by Emily Znamierowsk and Ruth Hennings who were super excited about what we were doing. It turned out that Emily was the person I had been talking back and forth to and was totally stoked about the power of social media and what was going on with SWAE Sports. AI’s director, Dunham Gooding, greeted us and then we got in to what it is that SWAE does and how we’ll be able to drive more traffic to their door. You could see a light bulb go on kin Dunham’s eyes and within 30 minutes they were starting to post trips on SWAE. RAD! Looking forward to working with these guys for years to come. I mean come on, John Krakuer once said that they are “the best all around climbing school and guide service in North America.”

So afterwards I jumped back on my bike and started peddling south to meet Sharmon and Moondance in state park south of town. She was so accomodating and even allowed me a small intro to the journalists about our bike trip and the launching of SWAE. We then unloaded the sea kayaks and proceeded to paddle around the bay. Let me tell you, its not as simple as I had thought but it was a blast to be out there on the open water and picturing orcas swimming below us. I was paired with this really cool guy name Michael McCarthy who writes for the Vancouver Sun and runs a website called the intentional-traveler.com. He had some interesting insight into intentionalism and a nice dry sense of humor, which is always refreshing.  After that, Sharmon greeted our arrival to shore with fresh local strawberries  and chocolate covered truffels – nice touch.

I met Daniel and Elliot back up on Chukanuat Dr  and we then biked about 20 miles through some of the most beautiful shoreline I have ever seen until we reached Bay View State Park. We decided that instead of camping there we should go up the street and see if it was alright to put our tents down in the backyard of this beautiful lawn that sat on a bluff overlooking the bay. We knocked on their door and this little old lady came out who was as hospitable as if her grand kids had just shown up. Not only did she let us stay, but she brought us out chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies to go with our meal. The perfect end to and amazing day.