Sunday Funday: Ask The Editor

     Thank you for all the wonderful questions for todays Sunday Funday: Ask The Editor edition! I had a lot of fun going through all of your questions and choosing some of the best to answer on this blog.
     Today, I chose a question from @Isurfamerica on twitter who wrote, "What was your favorite place to sure, outside of the US, and Why?"
     This question is very close to my heart because as you guys will soon find out, surfing is my true passion in life. I started surfing at the age of four when my father, who is an avid surfer himself, pushed me into my first wave in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Ever since than I have been a surfing fiend and cant stay away from water longer than a couple of days.
     I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to surf in some incredible locations around the world. Some of which include Australia, Fiji, and my personal favorite New Zealand. As most of you know I called New Zealand home for the better part of 3 years in high school, and during that time is when I was able to spend the most time honing my surf skills. I lived in a house that was about a half miles walk from the beach, so I would wake up every morning early before school and go out surfing with the boys on our local break. Our local break of Papamoa Beach was home for us, but when we got the chance to travel about 2 hours north to Matakana Island thats when the magic really happened.
     A surf trip to Matakana Island was an experience like no other. Surfer Magazine ranked this break in the top five surf spots in the world, placing it along side famous spots like pipeline in Hawaii. But it wasn't necessarily the quality of the waves that kept drawing me in. Being on the island was like stepping out of reality for me. It was my happy place. I remember being able to go out for a surf and not see a single person for hours and feeling completely at peace with myself, nature, and my surfing abilities. And when you did run into a fellow surfer they were always the nicest people you could ever think of meeting in the world. This place really was heaven on earth for me, or shall I say, heaven on sea!
     Thank you all for listening and a special thanks to @Isurfamerica for the great question this week! I hope you all get a chance to check out Matakana Island at some point in your surf careers, or at least put it on your adventure list!
Have a great week everyone! and remember, ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!

Welcome!

     Welcome to Be The Wind, your one stop shop for all things adventure sports! If your like me and love to travel, surf, hike, kayak, rock climb and everything in between your going to love this blog. each week I'll bring you insider news from the action sports world, as well as tips, trick, and personal anecdotes from my own life as an adrenaline junky.
     To start things off, Ill tell you a little about me. My name is Lauren Patton, I currently split my time between Orlando Florida, and New Smyrna Beach Florida where I am an avid surfer and work for a small Surfing / Water Sports company.  I love what I do here, but my true passion in life is traveling. I caught the travel bug at a very young age when I was blessed enough to be able to travel the world with my family. I was able to explore beautiful places throughout South America, Northern Europe, China, and the UK just to name a few.  But in
2011 I decided to move half way around the world to New Zealand for two years. There I had some of the best times of my life and I realized there how much of a true adrenaline junky I really am. (With the worlds best extreme sports in your back yard its hard not to be.) I participated in two week long hikes, climbed active volcanos, mountain biked, sky dived, Zorbed, kayaked in the most beautiful place on earth, and of coarse surfed.

     I would love to share these experiences with you, along with many more! I also hope you share some of your own experiences with me as well! Every Friday I will post a fans story for fan Friday, so please submit your own wild and crazy adventures you have had. Hold on tight this is going to be an exciting journey! and remember, Adventure is out there!