It's never boring down here, that's for sure. It's something, but it's never boring. And so while some of the tired scenesters sit around on a Saturday afternoon and talk about how slow the heats are and how soft and burgery the waves look, I'm not having it. Life isn't always exactly what you want it to be—you can either sit and wait expectantly for bright flashes of stimulation and excitement, or you can your spend the time appreciating the small complexities and subtle curiousities that surround you. You can notice the bottom contours of Herbie Fletcher's longboard, or the way Carissa Moore releases the fins after a wraparound cutback, or how the orange neon paint is running down some girl's back from a temporary tattoo that says I HEART OC. You can study the lines Brett Simpson takes when he's pumping for speed before a backside air, or look out over the crowd and imagine the riot of '86, or stand on the beach to watch a group of surfers from the Life Rolls On Foundation taking people with spinal cord injuries out into the water on surfboards, making it possible for people with difficult lives to experience, if only for a brief moment, the fun and freedom of riding a wave. There's a lot to take in, wherever you are, and the US Open of Surfing is no different. It's all in how you see it.

For all the day's action, check out www.usopenofsurfing.com.

Wicker bike with attached sun canopy. Good style.

The weather pattern has been the same every day—marine layer with good surf in the morning, then the conditions deteriorating as the tide comes up, the fog burns off and the sea breeze starts. This is Nathaniel Curran taking off on a solid one in his Round 5 heat.

Joel Tudor gliding along in the Pacifico Nose Riding Invitational, which kicked off just after noon.

With the log riders hitting the water, there were some very elegant pieces of foam left lying around.

It was pretty small today, but there was the occasional pulse showing up from the southwest.

Dane's board of choice for the Expression Session.

Camera guy.

One of Carissa Moore's boards, on display in the Red Bull tent. Moore won the Women's division today—going home with $50,000, the largest prize in women's surfing history.