Have you ever have one of those mornings that were so fun, calming, and exactly what your soul needed at that particular point in your life? And it only happened because some awesome friends asked if you wanted to tag along for the day.
Well, this was one of those mornings.
My good pal, Monica, and her husband, Kenny, paddle for Lanikai Canoe club, and asked if I wanted to tag along for some paddling in Lanikai while Monica had practice early in the am. Note to anyone reading this: mornings are THE absolute best time to go to the beach and be in the water. So an emphatic yes should always be the answer. Which it was.
What followed was a Saturday morning for the books…
Kenny and I took out a 2 man outrigger and paddled out to the Mokes (the two small islands off of Lanikai), around them, then caught a few waves (one really fun one), and man oh man was that a blast. And it’s fun to say I have now officially caught a wave in an outrigger. Even though I think Kenny did 95% of the hard work to get us on the waves. Thanks dude.
No clue how long we paddled for, but it was honestly just the exercise and adrenaline I needed.
Then, I took Monica’s SUP out and just…went for a paddle. Aka one of the most relaxing things a person can do. In my opinion. I know it’s considered exercise, but it’s like my zen-quiet time, and as close to walking on water as I’ll ever get. There was hardly any breeze, the water was warm and clear, and hardly any people were out where I went. It was heavenly. I just stopped and laid on the board and floated awhile too. Which I highly recommend.
Then, on the way back, I paddled by a lady playing fetch in the water with her dog (It’s name was Sam. Sam has a really great life and place to play fetch.) and she just looked at me, smiled and asked if I wanted her to take a picture, because she said if she was me, she’d want this picture. Yes. I always have my waterproof cam in tow.
Well, the resulting pic is one of my all time favorites from the trip. I’ll let you guess which one it is.
Thank you lady…whatever your name was. I’ll just call you Sam’s mom.
And thank you great friends for bringing me along for such an amazing morning.
Sun-slapped skin, endorphines, much needed time in some warm tropical water, white sand, waves, and photos with water drops on them included.
Pics, top to bottom. (I kind of love the water drops and how they aren’t perfect): View from the beach on the Mokes // Celebratory post-wave catching pose (the tank is here) // Relaxing. To say the least // …and the pic Sam’s mom took. High five for baby bump paddling silhouettes in one of my favorite spots.