Meet Surf Bananas
Editor’s Note – The Wave is super excited to welcome Reece Pacheco and Annie McBride to the fold as contributors. In this space, they will share their love of Rockaway life, surfing, sustainability and travel. Welcome aboard Surf Bananas! – MH
It’s overcast, the sky is heavy, and the wind is waiting for the right angle to slap everyone’s hat off. But still, we are determined to sit outside on our brand new ferry and soak up every bit of the trip, even if that means some rain. We’re heading on an off-peninsula date, which we do irregularly, in pursuit of the hidden gems around NYC. As we gaze up at the bottom of the Verrazano, we can’t help but jump back to an earlier date, two years prior, when our real adventure began in this same spot.
Reece and I separately found ourselves in Rockaway Beach, here for the ocean and, regardless of the DFD (down for the day) sneers from “locals,” here to stay. Like seagulls to an overflowing beach trash can, we are to the ocean, ready to dive in at any moment.
City friends know that if they want to see us, they’ll have to put on their swimsuits and make the trek. We are endlessly appreciative of what Rockaway Beach has offered us – the clean open ocean (those sunsets!), waves (sometimes!), a healthy lifestyle, an awesomely diverse and creative community, and the right dose of city grit. Even with the potholes, planes roaring overhead, eroding beaches, and ever-present threat of sea level rise, it’s our urban paradise.
All that time spent volunteering with the Surfrider Foundation paid off when we met. Right from the start, it was clear we were heading in the same direction, literally. We both had to get into the city for work each day and back in time for sunset surf. We’d meet at the ferry, and each long commute would fly by. Then buddies, deeply engaged in conversation, we would never have expected where we’d be today… still commuting on the ferry together, but now engaged to be married!
We keep a ferry ticket on our fridge… y’know the old paper ones. It’s a reminder of that fresh feeling of new love and unknown adventures in a far out place, flush with sun and salty air, now the place we call home. True to who we are and in celebration of Rockaway Beach, we’ll be sharing weekly tales of waves, real and imaginary, and funky local happenings, with a sprinkle of sustainability. – AM
Annie is bananas about the Rockaway Beach community. If not working or surfing, you can find her rooting around the community garden. She spends more time cleaning the beach than she does laying on it, no seashell left unturned in her wake. Annie loves writing about off-the-beaten-track adventures around NYC.
Reece was once described as a “salty seabiscuit.” That’s apt. He loves running the boardwalk, if only to justify all the cookies he eats. He can be found checking the surf, talking about surfing, and sometimes even surfing passably in Rockaway and beyond.
Originally shared by The Wave on May 26, 2017