I learned the above lessons from one of my best friends, LB Wales. I met him over in Australia, and four days after we shook hands, we bought a car together. I could write pages about our time in the Southern Hemisphere (in fact, I have), but he was one of the first people who really got me hooked on the travel bug.

At the moment, he lives in VB. Born and raised in the area, it was like walking around with the mayor of town. He surfs his brains out, and he now reps three big surf firms: RVCA, Billabong, and VonZipper.

He’s a wild dude, and I learned a lot about taking care of yourself on the road from him. In Australia, he taught me how to immerse in the culture, protect yourself from thieves who prey on outsiders, paddle out into some gnarly line-ups, and negotiate your way into buying a car without driver’s license or an idea of the rules of the road. It wasn’t his first rodeo, but it sure was mine. I’ve used what I learned ever since, and it’s been coming in quite handy on this trip. I know I’m still in the same country I grew up in, but at times I feel worlds away from anything familiar.

He and his roommate, Thomas, like to fill their free time with some fun little social experiments. He works his tail off during the week, but they choose to be starving artists after hours: been trying their hand in writing, producing, directing, filming, acting, etc. It’s definitely out of the ordinary, but it’s also super fun and interesting. Check out one of my favorite social experiments they’ve done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9Ko6Xfa84w. Hilarious idea: sometimes if you create enough buzz, there doesn’t even have to be a bee.

I was happy to be sleeping indoors during the storm that week, and I actually got to reap a little of the benefits. I found some time in between writing to grab the single-fin and paddle out for a bit of a surf. It felt weird using my arms to propel myself again, but after the first wave I remembered why I love it. I met an old guy out there while I was surfing, and it made me happy to know I’ve found at least one thing I know I’ll be able to enjoy for the rest of my life.

Our nights were filled with sushi, boxed wine, forgotten stories of Oz, and monopoly. We didn’t have a TV down under, so our nights were spent passing Go and collecting $200. I hadn’t played since our last night in Australia, but I think it was the perfect way to spend my last night in Virginia Beach.