Not bad after a week off

Retro post for Friday 12/12/08
Summary
Yea, I'd take days like today every day. Uncrowded lineup, not too intense of paddle, and fun as hell waves.
Waves
Not perfect, but as close to it as you can get on a random trip back home to Northern California in the wintertime. Good size, consistent head high to three feet overhead. Most not the upper end of the spectrum, but the smaller sets have far more workable shape.
Crowds
Laugh at crowds. A Friday at Surfrider with waves like this would have both sides of PCH jam packed. Carmel had maybe 25 people at its peak just before 9. I guess I'm a good target for dropping in, because I lost count of the good waves I lost to inconsiderate people.
Weather
Pretty nice. Sunny, clouds/fog already well burnt off, slight offshore early on, then pretty hefty cross breeze.
Forecast
Looks mediocre. This weekend has too much power and raw windswell to have too much surfing. Hopefully conditions (aka storm that's about to hit up here) transform into moderate offshores early on next week as the swell drops into more managable size (6-8ft instead of 10-15ft...)
Eventful Stuff
I didn't kill myself! That's certainly a good place to start. The ocean had some fun size, some workable shoulders, and the occasional beautiful barrel on Carmel's white sand. Three boards in the car and maybe one more on the way (if I can find a cheap, good condition Tuflite midsize shortboard.) Getting up at 3AM to get up to Carmel is friggen worth it.
Wave of the Day
The one 8ft legit barrel qualifies for this. From what I remember (before it tumbled me all the way to shore) it was perfect beautiful carving shoulder, then barrels over me for about 2sec before it raped me. Most of the other super quality waves of the day were on the small end of the spectrum.

Summary:
Carmel Beach, Monterey County
6'1" Al Merrick White Dove
8:30-10:30AM
6-8ft with occasional monster sets, 14sec
Offshore-> Moderate cross
4/5