And just like that it was Summer. New Parking Meters. Lifeguards. Surf Flags. Girls in Bikinis. Guys wearing their surf trunks over their wetsuits. Hundreds, no thousands all wanting to surf. Every year it happens. The schools let the kids out and everyone heads to the beach. For us here in Hampton it's a mixed bag. For those of us who have kids who surf, we welcome the change. For everyone else who surfs and is single, or without surfing kids in the house, it's met with dread and frustration.

But love it or hate it. For the next two months, Summer is officially here.

I'm personally amused by what I observe. I mean, my roving eye and my camera lens relish in the absurd. Case in point yesterday. I was shooting one of our friends from the Northern Region. He was stretching before he entered the water. What's wrong with that you ask? Nothing. I mean I stretch 99% of the time before I hit the surf. I'm all for stretching. It was his choice of clothing and wetsuit combination that caught my eye.

He had his trunks on over his wetsuit.

As I snapped away, he gave me a look like "What is wrong? Why are you pointing your expensive camera at me?" I gestured back that nothing was wrong. I was just shooting human interest surf scenes. And honestly, there is no rule that says you can't wear your trunks over your suit. It's a matter of preference. It's a fashion statement. And let's face it, fashion is a big part of surfing, it always has been. I mean hell, I remember a time where you could actually pick out a surfer by the way he looked and dressed.

We actually had a certain fashion.

But today? Ha! Everyone dresses like surfers. Imposters most of em. But there is not one definitive "Surf look". It's every man/woman for themselves. Like wearing your trunks over your wetsuit. Whatever dude. And that's another thing. We used to have a language that was actually our own. And that too has fallen by the wayside. "Dude" became synonymous with Surfing. I used to hate to be called "Dude". In fact I still don't like it. Call me dude in the old days and I would be in your "dude spilling out your pie hole face". Call me dude today and I will more than likely roll my eyes, or give you the hairy eyeball.

In other words, I could care less "Dude."

No sooner had I shot the outer wearing surf trunks on his wetsuit "dude" when something else caught my eye. A "Dude" wearing some sort of wetsuit sandal. I had to look twice to make sure I was not seeing things. I wasn't. He had them on. The guy even stopped to talk to me. I'm not sure what he said because I was fixated on his Jesus wetsuit sandals. I was trying to get a photo of them. But he was moving too fast. And what he was doing, caused me to forget about his neoprene footwear, because this same guy was actually jamming his 10' longboard into the rocks at 10th Street, nose first.

He was trying to jam his board into the rocks so it would stand straight up.

Now I have seen some weird shit at this spot since the 60's. In fact, back in the day we used to actually stick our boards into the sand because...well, I'm not really sure why. The surfers in California did it, so we did it. But I have never seen this done before. I was standing next to Ed O'Connell and we were both blown away by both the awful sound and the act. We both shot away. I have always said, "if you wait long enough, you will some strange shit at the wall."

And we were not disappointed yesterday. Because that was weird.

The rainy opening day at the Wall was the first weekend with the Lifeguards in place. They were for the most part lenient to the masses that hit the water. Still the Flags went up. The "Flags" are, for those who are not aware, the borders that the surfers must stay between while surfing.

You can use your imagination to visualize what that does.

Putting 300 plus surfers of various skill levels in one tight area can only lead to terrible things happening. You are going get your share of banging rails, flailing bodies, people yelling, people cursing, and the occasional injury. Some days all at once. So for me and my fellow lens men? Well, we must keep the ever vigilant eye open. In other words...

We don't want to miss a BLANT DROP IN or a POTENTIAL PUNCH-OUT.

We are after all, just documenting what is going on around us. And now with the ever popular SUPs hitting the water, the tension has gone up a few levels. Thank God that 90% of the people who ride the SUP know what they are doing. I mean, Good Lord, the thought of a sea of first time SUP riders hitting the line-up all at once could have devastating results. I could actually run out of space on my digital card. The horror...the absolute horror.

Another Summer observance I had yesterday was the State SURFER signs.

The sign actually said that "Surfers" must stay at least 50' away from another person. Huh? How do we do that? You mean to say, if I'm riding a wave, all the other surfers near me have to paddle away? Wait...I think I like this rule. I'm thinking I paddle out and enforce this rule to my friends and fellow surfers.

"Hey guys I don't mean to bum you out, but according to the new rules, you have to get away from me when I am surfing. You know, paddle away. Don't come within 50' of me. I know I know...I'm sorry. But those are the rules."

You see me coming, please get out of my way...paddle away. Just do it.

And finally let's mention the new Parking Meters. It's only a matter of time before the first scorcher of a day hits and someone standing in line has a meltdown because someone can't figure out the new meter game. I can't wait for that to happen. Talk about reality TV. I hope I have my video camera with me when that goes down. I want to capture the whole thing on camera.

That kind of stuff makes for great filler in my surf movies.

Who among us wouldn't want to see that explosion of frustration and anger? You kidding me? I'm waiting. My batteries are charged, and I am waiting. Patiently waiting for that moment. And when it happens...BAM!! I'll shoot it.

Meanwhile, I'll shoot the action in and around the water. You know, the BDI's, the occasional Air, the quick snap off the lip, the cutbacks, the soft tops running someone over, the girls in Bikinis...and The dudes wearing their trunks over their wetsuits. And you know what? The more I think about it. The guys who wear their trunks over their wetsuits are actually dressed like surfers.

They stand out from the crowds by that look. They have set the bar as far as fashion goes on the beach. I need to find a pair of trunks that will fit over my suit. After all, I don't want to end up looking like a kook.

Welcome Summer...we're just getting started...DOH!