And a voice came to me and said "Follow the Publix Truck home, boy"
I always knew there'd be a time when I'd return to my homeland. I had relocated to the South Shore Area of Massachusetts in 2012 for career reasons. But now life circumstances are calling me back home, and I'm very excited about it.
Please let me start off by apologizing to all of the folks who I did not properly say goodbye to... I am really going to miss some of you, and I'm thankful for the amazing memories we've shared! The truth is, I never thought I'd live in the Northeast as long as I did, and deep down my heart has always been in the tropics. The New England life I was living, especially the cold water surfing- it all just felt so unnatural to me, and unlikely to begin with. So after nearly a dozen years in the Bay State I'm headed home to the Sunshine State to be closer to my family, reconnect with my roots, and if I'm being totally honest, get back into some warmer waters in my retirement.
There are definitely pros and cons to living in the Northeast vs the Florida east coast. And it's not just about the air and water temperatures. But I'm not going to break it down, and I don't ever want to pit them against each other. One is not better than the other from a surfing perspective. They're just different experiences. Nearly polar opposites, in fact. So they just take some getting used to, some figuring out, and some due diligence, in either place, to really get the goods.
When all of the events began lining up that set me on this path to return, I started to think about what I'd do with this surf blog. It's more than twenty years old at this point, and a fair amount of effort to keep it going. I'd killed jebshred.com once before (2010-2015), but after relocating to New England I thought it was a good vehicle for driving some unique surf content. And it totally was. I'm so glad I brought it back to document this time in my life. But now I'm headed home, and I suppose that story is not as interesting. So I'm thinking, is this where the story really ends?
Probably not.
I just enjoy the process too much. Suck it haters. So to all the people who enjoy this blog, I hope you're surfing where you are! And I'll start posting again once I'm all setup on the Space Coast!
Moving right along...