Stand Up Paddling in Hawaii

When was the last time you tried something for the first time?

I must admit, my life as of late has been very routine-based. As we figure out how to be parents, my husband and I’ve learned that babies do well with routines; it’s simply been easier to stay in our family routine than to vary things like our schedule and activities.

However, as luck would have it, one day my husband and I day found ourselves with a free day AND with child care for the baby. Since this is a rare occurrence, we looked at each other and asked, “What do we want to do today?”

There have been so many things we’ve wanted to do since we moved to Oahu nine months ago, like hiking, swimming, kayaking, etc. (It was challenging to do a lot of these activities since I was either pregnant or recovering from childbirth.) Now that the baby is three months old, and I’m feeling very good physically, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try something we’ve been wanting to do together: stand up paddling.

Here in Hawaii, and perhaps other places, too, stand up padding is called “SUP” (pronounced “suhp”, like the first syllable in the word “supper”). I’d seen other people do it before, and it seemed like a really fun way to be out in the water, traverse across the ocean, and get a bit of a workout in, too. This requires quite a bit of balance (which my husband learned the hard way, after repeatedly falling over into the ocean), and is easiest to learn on calm waters. I had a great time on the board, and would SUP again in a heartbeat.

If you have the chance to do it, give it a try. The feeling you get when you try something for the first time is invigorating; when it happens to me, I feel both youthful and alive.

Image credit: Jet Set With Mary