On Lake Erie

I did it! I went stand-up paddleboarding!  Photographic proof:

(It’s me! I promise!) While I didn’t last the full 25 km (apparently practicing once doesn’t quite prepare your body for 8 hours of paddling), I was very proud of my 8-12 km (there were mixed thoughts on the distance we paddled).

And, I (surprisingly) didn’t take any tumbles in to the water.  I thought I was going down once — after the wake from a boat caused by board to bob quite violently — but I fell to my knees before I could capsize.

Southern Ontario was hit by a massive storm on the Friday night, which pushed our event from Saturday to Sunday because of rough waters.  On Sunday morning we had to wade through knee deep algae to get into the water (ick), but we started the day with glassy waters (ahh).  The lake was beautiful, as I have come to expect. The water was cool, but not cold.  And for a stretch I could see the bottom (which was only 3-4 metres below me).  Throughout the morning we took breaks to enjoy some water and granola bars while sitting on our boards with our feet in the water.  It’s was a neat feeling.

(C and I checking out a shipwreck.)  The whole thing had me reflecting on slowing down. As a novice paddleboarder, I was moving SLOWLY. Super-slow…, and it was pleasant. Once I got into a rhythm and stopped looking at my feet, my head cleared and it was a rather peaceful experience.  If you ever have the opportunity to try it, I’d recommend stand-up paddleboarding. :)

Stripes, Polka Dots & True Blue

Oy! This post has been sitting in my draft folder all week long… and my life is just not interesting enough!  Pen to page, nonetheless.  Not much has changed. I spent much of the week sipping on lemonade, iced coffee, water garnished with mint and lime juice, plain ol’ water… anything cool (it has been warm in this neck of the woods!) and banging my head against my keyboard. (Oh, work!)

Last week I went stand-up paddleboarding for the first time. I wish I had snapped a picture of me doing this, because I probably looked (and definitely felt) about as elegant as a fish out of water. Balance is not really my thing. On a good day. On solid ground.

I’ll be participating in a 25 kilometer long stand-up paddleboarding trip in July… (Which might be rather tough. Basically it involves standing on a surf board and paddling with an extra long canoe oar).  So perhaps some photographic hilarity will show up on this blog in late July. (I need to get my hands on a GoPro!  That would be so marvellous!)

I also may have just signed myself up to ride the entire north shore of Lake Erie in August? End to end? Well over 600 kilometers of cycling in 7 days?  For a self described couch potato, I’m signing up for a lot of exercise-y things.

Things I Like:

washing machines & clean clothes  |  summer dresses  |  stripes, polka dots & true blue  |  iced coffee |  sourdough bread  |  on Netflix: The Hour  |  Sesame Snaps & PC’s decadent chocolate chip cookies  |  Lego Harry Potter (for Xbox)  |  ART  |  storage solutions  |  Dominion (the board game)  |  Canada  |  rainy nights

Oh, check out the size of these flying squirrels! (No, that was not a euphemism!) ;)

Ciao darlings!