With the official turn of seasons, the Autumn equinox, I feel like I can finally do a recap of Summer. I read once that every Summer has a story, and this year, mine truly deserves the title, “The Endless Summer.”
It started with a girls weekend over Memorial Day. We had a bachelorette party, though none of us are getting married this year. Who needs a bride to throw a bachelorette party anyway? We rented a house on the central coast of California, and watched and talked about and watched and talked about again Beyonce’s visual album, Lemonade. It’s absolutely worth a watch if you haven’t seen it.
Shortly after, my family celebrated my dad’s 60th birthday with our annual trip to Zion National Park. We hiked, rappelled, climbed, and adventured through the most beautiful canyons. At one point, we were rappelling off a 200- foot, overhung cliff, in the dark, next to a spring of water shooting out of a giant sandstone wall. That trip was one for the books and sparked my idea to get to as many national parks this summer as possible in honor of the National Parks System’s 100th anniversary.
I then went back to Nicaragua for about six weeks with my sixteen year old sister in tow. She became what she called the token Surf With Amigas “gromslave” or the “mini-mermaid,” and we loved cruising and playing and hanging together. Something about hanging out with a high schooler really makes summer feel real.
From Nicaragua, I went back to the US with my boyfriend, Hugh, and straight into a giant road trip, cruising in our home on wheels through the National Parks System. It began with Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks and the surrounding areas, with both sides of my family. That area is so incredible.
I really could have spent months driving around backroads, searching for swimming holes and hot springs. The scenery is out of control beautiful and there is something really majestic about seeing wildlife like moose, bears, and bison just cruising around their natural environments. I was also able to reconnect with one of my old passions- whitewater rafting. River life is so different from beach life, but special and fun in its own way. “Whitewater With Amigas,” anyone? Let’s make it happen! 
On the way back to California we stopped at Crater Lake National Park for a detour then south to Humboldt County for some time in Redwood National Park and river time in my old stomping grounds.
From there, we headed down the coast for a camping trip in Big Sur with a bunch of friends. It only took a few days in the fog to start craving hot summer weather and warm rivers yet again, so we mobbed out to Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Park. Hugh had never been to Yosemite, so it was fun watching someone experience the glory of what John Muir called, “The grandest of all the special temples of nature I was permitted to enter.” Yosemite never ceases to blow my mind. 
Now, I find myself in Nova Scotia, on the eastern shore of Canada, hanging out, watching the seasons change. Seeing so many perfect point break set ups with no swell in the water has been slightly painful for me, but so it goes on surf trips. We’ve been cruising up and down the coast, taking in the scenery, attending weddings, praying for surf, and relaxing a lot.
Though the leaves are beginning to get some color and the days are starting feel chilly, I’m grateful to say that my summer won’t end any time soon. In a few weeks, I’ll be back in Nicaragua for more retreats and warm weather and epic adventures. See you soon, Amigas! 🙂