Monday, December 16, 2019

That Time I Did Something Totally Austiny and Cool

One of my closest friends, Kelly {we ran track together in high school, lived together in college, and were in each other's weddings}, asked me if I wanted to go paddle boarding with some friends of hers as part of a holiday get-together, and I promptly said  yes because I'd never done it and it sounded fun!

Her friend that put it together did it as part of a fundraiser for a local organization that provides food to the homeless in the area, so it was also for a great cause. We were told to dress up in holiday costumes, and that was hilarious.

Kelly and Allena

Ready to get our paddle on!

The whole crew - we had a Christmas tree {the organizer}, a giant present, Santa, elves, 2 reindeer, a snowman...so many great costumes!


The only truly scary part of the experience was getting onto the paddle board. I decided to start seated since I'd never done it before, but once I was settled it was pretty easy and lots of fun!




A little ways in I decided to stand-up which was a bit scary - again for that whole 'not trying to fall in the water' aspect - but once I was up, it was great!

The weather was amazing and we even got some great pictures from a friend who took them from some of the bridges above us.



I love this one with the skyline in the background!





Later that night, I got a message via Instagram from a social media friend who lives in Austin. A friend of hers sent a picture randomly of our Christmas tree - we had lots of onlookers who loved our costumes - so when she saw my IG stories about it, she questioned if the tree was who I was with. I love how small Austin can be!

We had a blast, and I can't wait to go again! Who's in for next year?

5 comments:

Kathryn Bagley said...

This is so my thing! I'm so glad you went and experienced this! If paddle boards weren't so expensive I'd totally get one! So for now I'll stick to my kayak. I love the costume idea!!

StephTheBookworm said...

Oh my goodness, how fun is this?! But also scary! Good for you for doing it!

Emily said...

I haven’t done a lot of paddle boarding (I have poor balance) but every time I do, I step off and realize my toes are cramping from gripping the paddle board haha. Also I LOVE your friend’s Hanukkah outfit! I need to find those leggings!!!!!

Kelly said...

It was so much fun! So glad you came and we will definitely have to do it again next year.

Natasha said...

Oh, I so want to do SUP. Dave and I had booked it for one of our anniversary celebratings and then the water was unsafe so we couldn't do it. Boo. And I love your friend's Channukah leggings -- so fun!!!