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What’s In Your Bag?

by Bev Sanders
Las Olas - Packing Like a Pro

Years ago, when I needed some me time, I’d fill a suitcase with books, oatmeal cookies, and doll clothes, then just get away from it all… down the street at my best friend’s house. I was six, but I’ve relished packing for adventure ever since. They say the journey is half the fun of getting [...]

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O Ashley!

by Bev Sanders
Ashley Lloyd in O! The Oprah Magazine

Las Olas surf coach, surfboard shaper, and singer/songwriter, Ashley Lloyd Thompson is featured in the June 2013 issue of O, the Oprah Magazine. Showing off her collection of custom, handmade surfboards, Ashley shares her story with Laura Birek as she explains what it was like to be an eight year old California surfer girl who [...]

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Shopping for a Surf Safari?

by Bev Sanders
Surfcamp checklist

When planning your vacation from work, the last thing you want is more work. Let us help with the research by answering the most important questions when picking your surf safari. And, allow us to brag a bit in the process. Obviously, we’re proud of what we do. At Las Olas Surf Safaris for Women, [...]

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Worth sharing.

by Bev Sanders
Julie Cox Video

Having just returned from spending two wonderful weeks at Las Olas, I’m not exactly ready to be back at my desk. So, this surfing video came at precisely the right moment and I just have to share it with you. The surfer is Julie Cox, a Las Olas surf instructor and, in my opinion, the [...]

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We do it for them.

by Bev Sanders
Bev & Company

I found this ad I did in a snowboard magazine back the ’90′s. I rounded up the girls in my neighborhood and my friend Polly snapped the photo. At the time, I was the Marketing Director for Avalanche Snowboards and was considered “a pioneer woman” in the sport. Even as an owner of the company, [...]

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Secret to Great Surfing? Check the Tides.

by Julie Cox
Tides

Ever wondered how the really good surfers seem to always know when to paddle out? Bev Sanders caught up to Julie Cox last week to discuss just that. Bev at Las Olas: What are tides? Julie: Okay. Tides are basically the rise and fall of sea level. It’s when the water is even with sea [...]

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The Cross Step, Explained

by Julie Cox
Walking on water at Las Olas.

It’s not easy to catch up with surfer Julie Cox, but while she was in Carmel last week, she slowed down for a face-to-face with Bev Sanders, founder of Las Olas. The subject of the day? Cross stepping on a longboard. (No time to read? Click here for a full audio version of Julie’s interview.) [...]

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Dreams Come in Waves

by Annie Perry
Annie clears her mind for a little daydreaming.

What happens when a landlocked school teacher goes surfing at Las Olas? She becomes a student of the sea. Annie is now a surfer- she takes weekend road trips, repairs her own dings, and she’s returning to Las Olas for another warm water session this season. Can’t wait to paddle out with her again because [...]

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Rack and Roll

by Mike McDaniel
Mile 22 FAT Straps get your surfboards to the beach in one piece.

One of the little luxuries on a Las Olas Surf Safari is that you’ll never have to worry about strapping surfboards to the van. You’re on vacation, so let us handle that. But if you’re like many of our guests, you’ll want to take your board on a road trip once you’re back home. Las [...]

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Movie Review: Otter 501 with Katie Pofahl

by Bev Sanders
New movie Otter 501

What better way to celebrate Sea Otter Awareness Week than with Katie Pofahl, star of the new movie Otter 501. (Listen to the complete interview with Bev Sanders here.) Meeting Katie this week at the Blue Ocean Film Festival was an adventure in learning. She’s an aspiring marine biologist and surfer who now lives on the Monterey Peninsula. [...]

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Night School, Surfstyle

by Bev Sanders
Baby sea turtle's journey begins.

In November, some of our best surf lessons happen at night. You may already know that our November Las Olas safaris are during the annual sea turtle hatching season in mainland Mexico. But did you also know that we can participate in helping the local sea turtle population thrive? In 1992, when Grupo Ecológico de la [...]

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Go With the Flow

by Mike McDaniel
Skip the rip. Find out how.

For new surfers, venturing out into the waves can come with a fair dose of anxiety. Consider natural hazards like submerged rocks and reefs, crowds and territorial locals, and of course, modern media loves to remind us of sharks and tsunamis. But responsible for more drama than anything else is the very real threat of [...]

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Kids Tell Mom to Go Surfing

by Kate Hayward
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My name is Kate. I am a single mom raising two sparkly and spunky little girls, and  have had one heck of a year. Last February, I got divorced. In March, I bought a house, and in April, I went back to work for the first time in a decade. There were so many changes, [...]

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Go Surf. Be Happy.

by Jackie Sanders
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Remember when you were a little girl at the playground and you’d walk right up to another kid and ask them to play? I don’t know when I stopped doing that, but pretty soon it became awkward—adolescent insecurity, competition, or shyness overtook my youthful boldness. Women come to Las Olas for many different reasons. For [...]

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Savoring the Las Olas Scholarship

by Emilie Brand Manhart
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Before I won the Las Olas Scholarship competition, I had never won anything in my life. When I found out that I had become a top ten finalist, I was so excited about the possibility, that I dared to let my imagination run wild with thoughts of learning to surf in Mexico, and went to [...]

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Car-Free at Surf Camp

by Bev Sanders
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“Will I need a car at Las Olas?” It’s a common question asked by our guests. The answer? Absolutely not. After we meet you at the airport and shuttle to your villa, you won’t need a car again for week. Surfing, shopping, dining, yoga, and massage are all steps from your terrace. It’s one of [...]

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Surfer Girl for Life

by Jill Robinson
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When I’m not working at my kayak shop on the beach in Half Moon Bay, I’m either sitting at my desk writing travel articles, or on the road to do research for those same articles. In a given year, I travel to more than 30 destinations on assignment—mostly adventure related. While my adventures on these [...]

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Book Review: Hints to Lady Travellers

by Jackie Sanders
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If you’re like me, planning a trip has many stages of giddiness. FIrst, the should I or shouldn’t I? It’s expensive, it’s far, I don’t really have the time… but man, I really love a good adventure. I’m going to do it! Next comes the decision of where to go. The world is my oyster; [...]

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What’s Calling You on a Surf Safari?

by Bev Sanders
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¡Hola chicas! Enjoy the 2012 What’s Calling You on a Surf Safari? scholarship entries. Every one inspired me to get out in the surf and savor the adventure. Thank you so much for participating and hope to see you in the waves. Hasta luego, Bev Founder, Las Olas Surf Safaris for Women Est. 1997 _________________ [...]

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Welcome Back to Las Olas

by Mike McDaniel
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The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) spends the summer in the very cold but nutrient-rich waters of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. There, they stock up on food for the long journey south that begins in the fall. By the time they reach Mexico in winter, they are ready to give birth or find mates. Whales [...]

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