While most days of this week held an adventure of some kind, surfing at Soup Bowl was the highlight. I’m going to say Soup Bowl is a famous surf spot. Not as famous as Mavericks but since Kelly Slater named it one of his top 3 waves, its up there. I’ve been there several times so far and it always takes me an hour to get there. It takes the locals half that time. But the roads are so bad, especially on that side of the island, that I crawl my way there for fear of a flat tire. Anyone who knows how fast I drive will find this hard to believe. Soup Bowl is in the fishing village of Bathsheba. As you descend from the mountain the views of the beach, with the giant boulders scattered along the tide, are breathtaking. We met up with a well respected & well known Bajan surf instructor named Alan. Due to the challenges at Soup Bowl we wanted a pro and a local to take the boys out and really teach them how to surf this particular spot. The waves this day were 6-7 feet (the locals were complaining it was small … what?!), reef break & real tricky entry and exit so Alan decided to only take Shane out. The reef there is littered with sea urchins. We had already spent one evening removing sea urchin spikes from Collin’s foot after a session at Soup Bowl a few weeks ago, so we really wanted Alan to teach the guys how to avoid them. There is only one spot to get in that is free of the urchins. And only one spot to get out. As Alan paddled out with Shane I have to admit I was a little nervous. There’s a strong rip current that acts as a conveyor belt to take the surfers out. However this same rip can be dangerous if you end up in the wrong spot and it can make it tricky to come in to the shore. The water above the reef here is shallow and right at the point where the waves break there’s a steep drop. These dynamics make for a tremendous wave not only in size but in power. In fact they’ve nicknamed the break as such because the wave scoops and curves like a bowl and the frothy white moving water below is like soup in a bowl. Dan paddled out to join them. I thought Shane would be too nervous with waves that size, and intimated by these amazingly talented local surfers out there, to even try to catch a wave. I was wrong. He killed it! Best waves of his life. And Dan wasn’t too shabby either!

Collin and I baked on the beach (quite literally as you cannot swim there), explored the tide pools, collected shells, & tried to pry open coconuts. We also collected a lot of discarded plastic bottles which is a bummer! A few hours later the boys came in, lots of smiles and one 12 year old boy feeling incredibly proud of himself!

On Friday night we took a trip back in time…. to the drive-in movie theater! Its the only drive-in on the island and its been around for a looooong time. In fact my neighbor told us he and many of his friends are known as “drive-in babies”! This theater is in the middle of no where. Driving on pitch black roads, one of the few cars out there, suddenly the Globe Drive-In Theatre sign pops up out of nowhere. We turn in, drive down the long dirt driveway to the little old man sitting in the entrance booth. We pay, he gives us tickets and we drive in. We got a great spot close to the screen. The kids (the boys & a friend) got comfortable with blankets on the roof of the car while Dan & I sat in beach chairs on the ground. We each had our own cardboard box with a piece of chicken and fries (dinner!). The best part is that during favored or funny scenes everyone honked their horns with approval. It was hilarious! I don’t think any of us will ever forget the night we watched Justice League under the stars on this beautiful Caribbean island.