What's SUP?

Terrible pun in the headline, but I couldn't resist. So, last weekend I went SUPing with two friends. That's STAND UP PADDLEBOARDING, the latest water craze to hit the mainland! (It's been popular in Hawaii for years.) There are even yoga classes on stand up boards.

The day dawned with a thick layer of fog over our end of the bay. (For me it was dawn -- 9 a.m.) I called Sheila to see if we should cancel and I could go back to bed, but she said the fog had lifted at her end. So I put on my orange party pants and purple top and headed down to the harbor. If I was going to fall in, it would at least be colorful.

This is Lee, who said he's an old surfer dude. Now he rents boards to old ladies like us in Gig Harbor. www.leesup.com We ALL used to be hot beach babes, Lee.

Here we are, hot to trot and ready to get our boards. That's Dawn on the left, me in the purple, and Sheila. The fiery redhead, cool brunette and fun blonde. Sheila had done this once before and is also an excellent sailor, so she was our safety net. She brought her own whistle and a waterproof camera, so the photos of us on the water are hers.

After a little parking lot instruction we were on our own in the harbor, and it was a LOT shakier than I thought it would be! Here's Dawn, with me in the background taking our first baby steps on the boards. I thought it would be easy, but you really have to concentrate on not falling.

Here I am in the beginning, still concentrating and afraid to turn my head for fear of losing my balance. I can't imagine doing yoga on these. Note the name of the boat to my left -- Kahlua, my favorite baking ingredient after chocolate. I digress. This sport is a full body workout, from using your core to keep your balance, your feet and legs to grip the board (there's a sticky surface, but I still kept a death grip) and your shoulders to paddle.

Here's a link to REI's paddleboard instructions: http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/paddleboarding.html

Only one of us fell in, and I won't show you the photos that Sheila took. Hint: It wasn't the cool brunette, and Sheila was taking photos.

Till next time!