A gentle breeze rustles through the surrounding palm trees and caresses your body as you lay on the beach, totally surfed out from riding wave after wave after wave along a perfect point break. Your extremely friendly waiter, Raul, has just delivered a perfect pina colada, and the sun's rays have never felt better as you watch each surfer perform her own dance on waves that look like they came out of a machine. You...hey, wait a minute! You're in Texas, and these waves are coming out of a machine! What gives? Well, a couple of Texas surfers might very well make this dream scenario come true for all surfers. It's called Surf City Texas.

Webster's definition of "commitment" is "living in Texas and being a surfer" -- and when there isn't any surf to ride, Texans do the craziest things. We throw full, queen-size waterbed mattresses in the back of our boats and invite all our large friends to go "wake surfing." We chase around giant super-tankers in the bay, riding their wakes for miles, and we monitor wave cams and weather like we work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or something. Now we've committed ourselves to designing and building the world's first quality surf-park. And no, it's not your typical wave pool. Using relatively new technology called "wave cannons," the waves are generated by large, submerged, water-filled pipes (cannons) that shoot the water out with compressed air. The result is an impressive and very energy-efficient swell that, when reacting to a proper bottom contour, makes waves that can break for upward of 90 yards.

The fact that surfers are always at the mercy of Mother Nature's moods and their own hectic schedules makes practicing this wonderful sport a difficult task. We need a practice facility, like every other sport has, to keep in tune and perfect our skills. Surf City Texas could be the benchmark for what's to come -- a surfer's gym of sorts. Nothing can replace the feeling of paddling out at your local break, or stumbling upon that newly discovered surf spot, or even being snaked by that predictable butthole in the lineup, but when it's flat, or you had to work or go to school during the entire last swell, or you just have the desire to surf in a safe and controlled environment...well, it sure would be nice to have a place to just go surf.

If we have our way, everything may not be bigger in Texas, but it certainly is about to be better! To learn more about this exciting project, go to www.surfspecialties.com/surfcitytexas.htm.