"...there’s a whole other side to SUP that's fun and relaxing!"—Bernd Roediger

Today my Dad and I went for our first paddle since the Olukai. We were going to “take a walk in the park” as my Dad said at the beginning of the run. At first I wanted to sprint as fast as I could, but then I looked at the landscape and decided to hang back and have some fun. And it was! My Dad and I were paddling past each-other, always trying to do the goofiest pose we could come up with!

A lot of the entries I’ve put in my blog have been about hardcore training and epic sessions, but there’s a whole other side to the sport that is fun and relaxing. Some days you can focus on the ten feet of water in front of you and burn through 8 miles of coast-line and other times you can look at the entire coast-line and cruise! For example, today I was watching a puffy cloud blow off the top of our eastern mountain when a turtle breached the surface and looked at me in surprise! After hesitating for a second he dove back down into the water and disappeared into the shimmering blue water until he was just a small grey speck in the seemingly never-ending expanse of the deep.

I was really happy that I decided to hang with my Dad and have some quality time to unwind from the high-strung contest mode. Besides who wants to go alone when you can go with your best friend?