Shedding Grace on Surf Etiquette with Rylee Owens

In this week’s episode with Riley Owens, we talk about surfing with women, her top rules for surf etiquette, how a lifetime of sports led her to pick up surfing as an adult, living in a trailer and living frugally to gain 5 months of freedom every year, and her love of mentoring the next generation of women surfers. Riley sheds grace on all of these subjects.

Highlights:

00:00] Surfing with women
[03:53] Her top rules of surf etiquette
[20:00] A diverse sports skill set
[20:41] Learning to surf as an adult
[25:48] Living in a trailer frugally for 5 months of freedom
[29:24] Mentoring the next generation of women surfers

Quotes by Rylee:
“I see these young girls in the water and I think they're so cool and love that they're charging and kind of sticking it to the man, because surfing is such a male dominated sport. I love when all the girls paddle out. I see them in that world surfing. And then I'm like oh my gosh, they send it on all these crazy waves and they love surfing hard. What would they be if we went backpacking or rock climbing or snowboarding? Giving them those first experiences has been so fun for me.”

“I would just take my board and sit in the car and watch people for 30 minutes; how they put their wetsuits on, where they're paddling out, how they're standing up on a wave. I got humbled a lot and surfing still humbles me. It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever learned how to do, and it's constantly changing, which I think is what I'm drawn to. It's kind of addicting to be in such a fast shifting sport. You're trying to catch a moving wave in the ocean. It's really difficult. It's thrilling. It's awesome, but also very frustrating. I've been doing this every day for eight years. You'd think I'd be a pro by now. There's days you feel I've got it, and there's days where you're like, have I even surfed?”

Get in touch with Rylee

• Instagram @ryleowens

More about Christine Foerster

• christinefoerster.com
• Instagram @christinefoerster

Chapters

• 0:00 Surfing with women
• 3:53 Her top rules of surf etiquette
• 20:00 A diverse sports skill set
• 20:41 Learning to surf as an adult
• 25:48 Living in a trailer for 5 months of freedom
• 29:24 Mentoring the next generation of women surfers

Transcript

Rylee Interview

Christine: Hey Riley.

Rylee: Hey 

Christine: Welcome to the podcast. 

Rylee: Thank you very much. 

Christine: It was so kind of you to meet me in the water the other day because we don't even know each other. We didn't at that moment.

Rylee: . I got your name in the water. 

Christine: So on that day, I remember I paddled out about 7:45 and you had been there since 6:30 in the morning and I found myself surrounded by women. 

Rylee: Totally. 

Christine: It was so cool. I looked in every direction multiple times and I was  woman here, woman there, woman there. . So is that normal for you to surf with a lot of women?

Rylee: . it wasn't at first when I first started surfing, but now it's a very frequent thing. I got a lot of friends that surf. I mean, I surf alone a lot, but when I know people wanna surf or people are in town, or you're feeling social, it's  you just want to tell everyone where you're going, just so you can all hang out, and especially if it's small and it's more gonna be a chatty day. 

Christine: You also said you were concerned about the tide moving in and you talked about it in terms of the reef. So can you just elaborate on that specific place? We were at Terramar

Rylee: Terramar doesn't really handle a high tide very well. There's that cliff right there. And so as the tide pushes in and more water comes through, the waves tend to just kind of roll over the reef rather than break on the reef. You'll tend to get a lot of softer waves unless there's a bigger set, unless there's more swell in the water. But because the swell was dying and the tide was really high, people were struggling to catch waves or long borders were catching more of the waves cuz they were able to catch 'em further out.

Christine: And that day, you were on a had a pretty short board, right?

Rylee: , I paddled out on my 5’ fish, but then my neighbor was out and we live right next to each other. She's actually my landlord, kind of. I  asked her if she wanted to switch cuz she had to go in to feed her kid. She just had a baby. She let me use her mid length. So that was  about a foot longer than what I was on and more foam under me. It was easier to paddle into waves cuz on a shorter board you just need a little bit more of a push and that wasn't really happening that day. 

Christine: You still caught some nice rides though.

Rylee: , for sure. But on my shortboard I was paddling in circles, trying to fight for waves with the guys on  the 10 foot board. So , it was still fun. I didn't have  super high expectations. 

Christine: That's the best way to go out. 

Rylee: , totally. 

Christine: So one of the things that we talked a little bit about was etiquette. And you mentioned that since during Covid a lot of people were pushed out of the gyms and at home working. And so there were tons of people learning to surf. And that has meant that there are now a lot of newbies on the water without an understanding of etiquette. So I was hoping that you might go into your top rules. If you could go through what you think are the best rules of surf etiquette for people that are listening that might want a little breakdown.

Rylee: Definitely. I've been surfing for a handful of years and I taught myself at 23, so everything that I would say, as far as etiquette goes, comes from someone who was a beginner at an older age, who didn't know surf etiquette and, tries to give a lot of grace in that aspect too. Whereas I know a lot of the kids I mentor and hang out with or people who are from here, they're a little less patient because they've grown up surfing and they know it at a young age. You get a mix of people in the water where you got old local guys who are super grungy and  mad that there's a bunch of people surfing. And then you have some in between people and then you have people who don't know what's going on. And so I think the biggest thing is we live in San Diego and North County where there's a plethora of waves that are all different kinds and we tend to pick up a lot of swell throughout the year that's surfable, and it's also very crowded. 

Rylee: So my biggest thing in the last few years has been taking off on a wave. Once you've gone grown past the whitewash phase where you're just catching the wave as it's already broken and you're trying to catch face waves that are have more shape, or they have  a direction to them, it's learning the wave and where to be on the wave and how the wave is breaking. If someone is already on the wave if you should sit back and not go, or if  how, kick out of a wave if someone's already there. If you notice people surfing, , Grandview this morning, a wave comes through, there's gonna be  six people paddling for one wave. It's pure chaos. Whereas you go to other places in the world or other places, in general, there might not be that many people surfing or there's more of  a hierarchy happening. And so if you're gonna all paddle for a wave, you have to be looking down the line or behind you technically, if the wave is breaking on your left, looking at the whitewash and who's closer to the pocket of the wave and see if someone's already on it. And if that's the case, back off of the wave or if  how to kick out because a lot of people will drop in and go straight cuz they're learning and either cut you off or could run into you or, run your board over. I've had my board run over a handful of times and that's, money outta your pocket having to fix it. Or there could be a collision. Being mindful of other people, and knowing , oh, I need to actually look before I go. It's  if you're at a turn on a street,  you gotta look before you go. 

Christine: What you’re describing these six people on a wave, I’ve seen that at Terramar all the time. The wave's happening and then everybody's paddling for it. But what you're saying is if you are one of those six people, everybody needs to be looking very carefully all the time. Because of the six people, it seems  usually one or two may actually catch it. So then that's part of it, everybody wants that opportunity, but you have to, if you're in putting yourself in that position, you also have to have that technique or that know-how of how to back off, or kick out or any of those things so that if you aren't in somebody's way, that you're moving out in time.

Rylee: You have to be vocal about it too. It's hard when people aren't reading each other's minds or there's so many different situations too. Typically the person who is deeper than you,  if it's a ride at Terramar, the person who's furthest left. and the wave is breaking and that person stands up first and is on the wave, that's technically their priority. Cuz they're moving at a higher speed on the wave first. I mean, there's sometimes people who stand up maybe a second or this goes into back paddling, but whoever's  standing up first technically is on the wave. 
  
Christine: Back paddling is what we talked about in the water, can you go over that again?

Rylee: can you go over that again? Say I'm sitting there waiting for a wave and it's a right, so we're facing out at the ocean and I'm sitting there, say you're on the left of me, and a wave comes through and I turn to go on the wave you would then paddle fully around behind me, back paddle me. And then catch the wave as it comes through, closer to the pocket. You're basically just swooping the wave, which is a big, big issue in California. I feel  if you go to other places where,  in Mexico there's a few people surfing and it's a point break, there's  this hierarchy of people and as you sit and wait your turn and then the wave comes through and you catch the wave and then you paddle back out and it becomes  this conveyor belt of turns happening.Whereas where we live, there's so many people surfing and only a few sets coming in at a certain time and it's a full paddle battle. You go to Trestles,  Lowers is  one of the most  coveted waves or known waves in California. And you sit there and watch people and it's gonna be a paddle battle all day. But you'll get crap in the water if people notice that you keep back paddling. They'll definitely say something. 

Christine: And, and even at Terramar, there are these areas, where the waves definitely peak better, but they seem  they kind of shift and move a little bit. It's not  a point break, right? 

Rylee: For sure. It’s very dependable. There's a very definite right and a very definite left there. But again, with different swell directions,  sometimes it'll work, you'll notice there's more people on that left in the summertime, cuz it's a typically more of a south breaking wave. And then you'll notice Ponto breaks more in the south and then in the winters it's not really working. So another thing that gets frustrating is as I've lived here for probably 8, 10 years now. You learn where you live and when you surf all the time, you have to learn the waves and learn the tide and the swell direction, and with Surf Line, putting cameras on every wave, I can wake up, look at my camera and be , oh, it looks good. Or if they say, the mid-morning window between blah, blah, blah. is the time to go. You'll notice. That is when everyone's there, everybody goes. If it’s orange and it says it's good at Oceanside Harbor, you're gonna have heaps more people out there.

Christine: So that's why I look for the poor conditions.

Rylee: Exactly it's crazy though, cause I've surfed so many days that are actually good and it says they're not good. Or you'll surf really good days that say they're good and they're actually really bad. And so it's sad for me. I mean, I'm guilty of looking at cameras too, but when I kind of have a hunch where something's gonna be good. But if someone's just looking at an angle on a camera, Cardiff has three different cameras on one wave, there's gonna be way more people in the water.

Rylee: If you go up to Santa Barbara, they've done a really good job of not allowing cameras anywhere. So Rincon, a very world class wave, will say one to two all the time, and there's no wave. Those guys aren’t gonna let a camera go up. 

Christine: It's incredible. I was just there this weekend and the city is also unbelievable. I went to school there 30 years ago and it looks like the exact same city that I left 30 years ago. It's also one of the most expensive places to live now. But I had no idea about the cameras. That's good. They protected the waves.

Rylee: They try their best. And I admire that about the surf culture in some aspects where it's a very hush hush thing in a lot of places. I do my due diligence of  traveling to Mexico in the winters and try to find those spots. putting in the work to figure it out and it's kind of a rule, if you find something good, you don't talk about it. You don't post about. And nowadays everybody's on Instagram and everyone's watching the cameras or everyone's surfing. So it's really hard. I even told my friend, I wish there were still more secret waves in California because I'm gonna surf Swamis. And I get up and there's already 20 people on it cuz Surfline says it's three to four and fair. I was like oh, I'll just go to Grand View. There's less people here. And then you get out and there's  20 people there. 

Christine: On the train back from Santa Barbara, I was wondering about  the whole Camp Pendleton base. There must be so many secret waves but you can't even ride some of it. So much of is inaccessible.

Rylee: And so again as a beginner surfer, at an older age, learning and I teach surfing, so you want people to experience that. I teach to a lot of  younger kids or kids from other countries who have never been to the ocean or never don't know how to swim. I love when they get excited about surfing. So it's this constant battle where I want it to myself, and then I want people to know how fun this is. Right? I think that's the combination. How do we make it to where people are doing this in the right way? If you go to Ventura and Santa Cruz, there's big placards on the beach that say, this is surf etiquette, how to not snake people or drop in on them, or this is how you don't back paddle someone, or this person has priority and it'll have an arrow, and if they're going this way. Or say you're going back out into the wave, that's always a hard thing to navigate. You see someone be lining it down a wave right at you. A lot of people, 9 times outta 10 are gonna try to paddle their hardest to get out of your way around the white, around the wave and not take the whitewash. Right? But etiquette is you take, take the whitewash, let them be. There's so many times I've had to get off of a good wave because someone's sitting right in the spot, you wanna do a turn or get back into the pocket. And, it's frustrating cuz you're out there sitting for 30 minutes to an hour or whatever, waiting your turn, trying to be kind about it. And then when you're just navigating on the inside of the wave now at that point and trying not to hit anybody or someone's dropping in on you on the inside or something cuz they're learning. So, it's stuff that you have to think about. And unfortunately surfing is a very selfish sport. And, unless someone's yelling party wave and everyone can go, and that's a verbal declaration that you're not sneaking anybody. But most of the time people are gonna be fighting for it. 

Christine: So we have not dropping in or understanding where you are located, who has right to the wave, not back paddling. And then taking the white wash on the head. Right? If somebody's on the wave right, you let them enjoy their wave. Any other thing that you think is really key to mention?

Rylee: It all comes down to where you're at too and what the waves are looking like . It's more acceptable for people at a beginner wave be going out there and having these going on. The biggest thing is making sure you're safe and surfing's intimidating. Especially as a female going into it. I know a lot of friends that started out surfing and it's just so nerve-racking, being the only girl out there or seeing all these guys surfing. So it's also giving yourself some grace to figure it out. The top things I think are not dropping in on people, not back paddling and then trying your best to get out of people's way. I mean, you never know if a long border's gonna fade left if they're super steady and well, I can't read your mind. I don't know what you're gonna do on a wave. And I'm super guilty of being, I can paddle around this, and then being in the worst spot, and so we all have to give each other grace. 

Rylee: And it's also just this common knowledge of how many waves have you been catching and maybe you've been catching every set wave, so take a break, let other people catch waves. You don't want to be the person out there hogging everything. I have a few friends, who I don't really like surfing with them because they just surf circles around you and they don't think about other people. So that's something you would just consider after time too. Once you are going, don't paddle for every wave. If you're new, I get it. Everything looks like it's a surfable wave and you're gonna get really tired cuz half the waves aren't gonna be that. And the first few months or years is you figuring out the timing of a wave. Do you sit really far out and let 'em roll under you? Or do you sit right as the lips gonna land on your head? So figuring out how to read those things, but also being considerate of other people. It's really tough when a beginner surfer is paddling for every wave and not really considering other people cuz if they're beginning, they also aren’t gonna not really know how to manage their board once they're moving.

Christine: They're probably not having that 360 view. 

Rylee: Totally. So they might not even drop in on you, but they might land on you or fall. This morning, two beginner surfers were paddling, kind of sandwiching me and it would've been such a fun wave. But I knew going into it, just looking at them and where they were sitting on their board and how they were paddling. I was like, I don't know if I wanna put myself in this spot. Right? Because they're both gonna drop in no matter what, and they're not gonna be able to control what they're doing and I'm gonna be stuck in the middle. So I don't wanna, I'm on a new board that's not even mine that I'm borrowing. I don't want to break it. It's just being considerate of other people, which is hard cuz you want to catch waves and tell that to the local guy who's been here 20 years,  he's gonna catch whatever wave he wants, even if it means every set wave.

Rylee: I'd hope to teach people to take time to talk to people who are beginning too and be like hey, are you new here? How long have you been surfing? Or, hey, maybe sit over here or, try to watch where you're going, and be kind about it. I've definitely taken time out of my surf session to try to help other people and the groms that I mentor. I think it's just being mindful. Cause I grew up in doing all these other sports that are more conducive to other people; rock climbing and snowboarding and all these things. And you kind of learn as you go, but there's are also rules around it. So you would just hope that surfing would have that too. Snowboarding is always, people downhill have the right of way. You see these signs everywhere. As you're going up the lift or whatever, and then you get to the ocean and people don't even know if they're getting into a wave that's way too big for them. I remember surfing, growing, starting out, and I didn't know wave size. There's so many times I shouldn't have been in the water. So, learning your limits too, for sure. And, being safe. 

Christine: Can you go into your history of surfing a little bit now. You said you grew up in Texas? As a snowboarder, right?

Rylee: . Well, I started skiing in high school, and then I went into  snowboarding. When I graduated, I went and taught snowboarding in Colorado. I swam a ton. I grew up competitive swimming and then grew up, wakeboarding and doing some climbing. Then when I moved to California after guiding for a few years up in the mountains, I was like, I wanna learn how to surf and I wanna be by the beach. A lot of people from other states are like, oh, surfing's so cool. They go to Hawaii and all these tropical places. And I grew up swimming, so I felt  I'd really this. I  moved to Orange County and I was living with a family that I had met on a road trip. I just kind of showed up and they were like, come live with us. And so he was super generous, super hospitable, and was like, take whatever you want, whenever you wanna go. And so I bought a used wetsuit or I started on a 9 L and then I was riding a 7’6” Ellington or something every day before work.

Christine: How long before you made that drop down?

Rylee: Pretty quickly. I think I was trying the longboard for maybe a couple months. I remember at Bolsa Chica Beach, I was on a long board and I was ready to ride a face wave. And then fully pearled hit my head on the bottom of the sand, compressed my neck. And that was really gnarly and I don't wanna do that. And I think I just realized I was on this big board that I didn't know how to maneuver at  a beach break. And so I was like, I'm gonna try a shorter board. Also people think, how do I get to a shortboard as fast as possible? Cuz that's what the surf culture is. Short boards are cool. And I would just say if you're starting out, be okay with being on a longboard. Be okay with having foam under you and learning the wave. And then as you progress, then go smaller. I think I was in that mindset of oh, I don't wanna be on a long board. So I jumped ship really quickly. But as I've taught and as I've gotten older, you don't really need to just do that cause you're just gonna be frustrated. And I was pretty frustrated but I figured it out and I surfed. 

Rylee: I was surfing Newport and Huntington and so those are mostly beach breaks. You go surf out near Blackies or any of the jetty waves, you take three strokes and you're in the lineup. It's really close to shore. I learned at Black East Beach and I would just take my board and sit in the car and watch people for 30 minutes. At first it was pretty intimidating cuz I didn't know what I was doing. and I had maybe one surf lesson from a friend, who kind of just, I mean I'm guilty of this, but you teach someone the little quick and easy and they're like, all right, see you out there. And then you just totally bail on 'em and they're like I don't know where I am. I would just sit and watch people, how they put their wetsuits on, where they're paddling out, how they're standing up on a wave. And I would just do that every morning. Definitely got humbled a lot and surfing still humbles me for sure. It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever learned how to do, and it's constantly changing, which I think is what I'm drawn to, it's kind of addicting to be in such a fast shifting sport. You're trying to catch a moving wave in the ocean. It's really difficult. It's thrilling. It's awesome, but also very frustrating. I've been doing this every day for eight years. You'd think I'd be a pro by now. There's days you feel  I've got it, and there's days where you're like, have I even surfed? But, I started surfing out there and then I traveled a bit and got really into it. After moving around a bit, I've landed in San Diego. I call this home for a little while now. 

Christine: I actually started on a Wavestorm for a little while, but then a friend of mine shaped the board I ride now which is a 7’.

Rylee: . Looks awesome. It has a lot of foam, 

Christine: But I'm wanting to move now to a long boarder. At least have a long board because I feel there are these skills, and I've been told this from a few people, that you'll be able to catch more waves more often. And just get basic skills a little bit faster. I had this Onewheel that was one of those impulsive purchases. And then I realized I have no business being on a Onewheel, where I'm gonna fall and hit some cement. I wanna just be in the water, fall in the water. So I just sold it and I've got a little bit of cash, so I'm gonna start looking for a longboard. Super excited. 

Rylee:. And, the cool thing about surfing is there's so many options. It's gotten to the point where it's not just a longboard and then a super gnarly, high performance shortboard, that's a potato chip. There's all these in between funky shapes and mid links and fishes and all these things that do different things on the wave. And so I've really valued surfing a bunch of different kinds of boards cuz it just makes you a better surfer. And also when it's small, you're gonna be really frustrated if you're on a mid length. Whereas if it's tiny, you can have a lot more fun on a longboard. And then as you progress, then you can shift into more of shortboard world. I only longboard when it's pretty small. But it's so beautiful to watch people who are good at it. And I have so many friends who are just so good at long boarding, and I'm like, wow, this is awesome. I'm more of a shortboarder, a little bit more racy is my vibe, but I also really admire people who are  all around at surfing. 

Christine: I was also intrigued by what the way you've set up your life.

Rylee: Totally. 

Christine: You're a strength swim instructor? You teach them swimming for about five months out of the year, and then seven months you’re free. 

Rylee: Oh, it's the opposite way. 

Christine: So you're saving and you're pretty frugal, right? 

Rylee: Yes. 

Christine: And then the other five months you travel. And that time is yours. So talk a little bit about how that, how you set things up that way.

Rylee: Well, I got a degree in Parks and Rec in college with an emphasis on youth development. And so right out of the gate I was doing guiding work. I already was in a seasonal pattern of work. I'd be here for three months and there for four months and, bouncing around, doing different things: snowboarding, rock climbing, those kinds of things. But I was living outta my car and  bouncing around different national parks and that's fun in your early twenties. But as I became an older twenties, I was kind of losing steam of the whole van life vibe. I was like I'd like to live in a house and host people. I got over being  the one being hosted and so I landed in San Diego and I was still guiding a little bit, but then I was working for a coffee place and it's just been in my nature to  mentor young girls and take them on trips and stuff, and so I've always tried to work in places that would allow that to be my first priority. As Covid hit, I lost my job to the coffee industry. And so I was just traveling. I was like, well, I can't work. I tried really hard to get a job and everyone was on lockdown. I landed on a sailboat for 20 days and then I was camping in Mexico a bunch. And then my friend called me and was like, hey, we're looking for more swim instructor. And at first I was like, no way. I'm not doing that again. I was an instructor when I was a young kid, so it felt like I was kind of rewinding. But then I met the boss. She's wonderful, wonderful schedule, Pays well and we get three day weekends, and then you're off. So, next week I finish. 

Rylee: So you work really, really hard from March to October, and you're in the pool all day long working with kids, but then when you're off the season's over because people aren't heating their pools at in the middle of December and stuff. I don't think I would last if I did that full-time, cuz you're in the pool for seven hours a day. But I try really hard. I don't spend a lot of money and I live in a trailer currently. . . 

Christine: That's so cool. 

Rylee: And friends, my friends have really blessed me with a spot to stay, cuz I kind of got kicked out of my house right before work. I was about to start my job. Where am I gonna live? And some friends bought a house and they're like, why don't you just stay next door? And then another family just offered to let me use their trailer. I've just been fully covered by blessings by them. And so that'll probably change once my season ends, cuz then I'll probably be traveling a bit. It's a little stressful because I'm not from here, so it's not, oh, I'll just go crush on my parents for a while. Once you're up, you're up. So there's a lot of decisions to be made, but I try really hard to play a lot on my off season and I don't know if I'll continue the swim thing maybe, maybe in the future, but, the biggest thing is just keeping in mind what you're passionate about and making that, I said, the girls are in the forefront of my mind as far as how do you mentor, how do you be a good example, and so planning trips for them. 

Christine: And so how do you connect with these girls that you mentor?

Rylee: How is that? I've met a lot of them through surfing and then some friends, and I did a little skate ministry when I first moved here, and so kids would come over to the backyard and I met some young people there and then I volunteered for Christian surfers as well. I just see these young girls in the water and I am just drawn to talking to them. I think they're so cool and love that they're charging and kind of sticking it to the man, because surfing is such a male dominant sport. You saw me with all the ladies, I love when all the girls paddle out because guys don't tend to talk too much to each other, depending on where you’re at. But girls just talk and I see them in that world surfing. And then I'm like oh my gosh, they send it on all these crazy waves and they love surfing hard. What would they be if we went backpacking or rock climbing or snowboarding? Giving them those first experiences has been so fun for me. 

Christine: What would you say the average age that you monitor?

Rylee: Probably 15 to  22. And I've known the 22 year olds since they were 15. Now they have little micro-groms that they bring around. And so there's just this little chain reaction happening. I really value my relationship with God and what that means to kind of disciple the younger generation into living fully and being good examples and good people in the world. What better way to hang out with all these young kids and try to surround them with good, positive energy rather than what they're seeing in the surf world or on TikTok or something. And they're gonna get all of those tips and pointers that we both want. You wanted it, right?

Christine: It's so helpful when somebody offers that hand or that little extra bit of help.

Rylee: You appreciate it so much in those early days, I think. And, seeing where they're at now. I don't hang out with the older ones as much cuz they're  bringing the younger ones in. And it's cool. I wish at that age I had someone hitting me up and taking me on trips. That's kind of what I'd hoped to give them. And then they teach me about surfing all the time. ,I was in Hawaii with a few of them and this a young girl named Taylor, she's 16. She's like, if you would've stalled for two seconds, you would've been totally barreled. Well, you're my surf coach! Tell me what to do. So it's fun surfing with them too, cuz they've been doing this forever. And I'm the old lady out there with them just kind of putting around. I think they’ll keep me kind of young and wanting to try new things too.
And then I try to take 'em on stuff to get 'em all riled up in, in doing other things too, besides surfing, because sometimes they can only get stuck in their little bubbles. 

Christine: That's fantastic. I'm really inspired by what you're working on and all of the mentoring. Just tell me real quick, what are you doing now that your five months is about to start? What's the plan?  

Rylee: I don't really have much plan. I'm going to the outer banks in North Carolina. To visit a friend. She's got a little girl crew on the outer banks and we've done a few trips out there to see them and get all the girls as a whole kind of frothing on each other. So I'm gonna go visit her and there's a camp happening out there. And then we have a Christian Surfers international gathering coming up. So a lot of international surfers are gonna be all in Carlsbad for a week, all surfing together. Kind of having this fun fellowship of, oh, you live in Nicaragua. Oh, you live in Costa Rica? Getting connected and making friends, and I just bought a dirt bike, so I'm gearing that up for Mexico. Getting a surf rack on it. Kind of trying to convince all my friends to buy little dirt bikes to take down there. I'm an instigator. It's bad. But, definitely gonna spend some time in Mexico and who knows?

Rylee: I have a lot of question marks I have to figure out, but I'm trusting God always works things out for our good, and so I'm just all right, here we are. I get anxious about it sometimes, what am I doing? I'm 32. I'm still not, figured out, but who cares.

Christine: It's great. It's a good way to be. Thank you so much, Riley

Rylee: Of course. 

Christine: It's really great to meet you.

Rylee: Well, thank you. 

Christine: Can't wait to see you out in the water again. 

Rylee: We're gonna have to do another lady's day. 
Yes. Great. Thank you.

Rylee: Of course.