Paddle Boarding

We went paddle boarding on Friday. This was probably my favorite thing all week. Why? It wasn't cheap and we only paddled for about an hour. I think it's my favorite because the funniest stuff happened to both Jeff and I during that hour. Plus, I've never paddle boarded before and I never thought I could since my balance is pretty poor (plus the vertigo stuff). Here's an example of my BFF Jennifer Aniston paddle boarding.

Jeff wanted to snorkel (again) but he also mentioned paddle boarding on our last full day. The idea kind of sunk in fast and my mind was made up. We talked to a New Zealand guy (leaving one paradise for another?) and his prices were outrages.

Well, they were to Jeff; I didn't know any better. We left and found a more affordable place in the Hanalei shopping area. We were given two paddles after measuring our arm length and then a guy on a bike met us at Hanalei Bay to unlock the boards from their station. He gave us simple instructions--because it turns out it's a really simple activity, and we had about 3 hours to play. I can't remember if it was before snorkeling or paddle boarding that Jeff said I should let him know when I was ready to head back to shore by using a code word. His code word suggestion was for me to yell 'shark'. We started off practicing in a cove on our knees (as seen in the pic I took below)

and then we just stood up and headed out to the bay. The bay is also the marina. Here's a shot of the marina from far away.

You also saw it from above in the heli ride post. Here's where we headed which was to the left of the cove.

Here's a shot of the bay to the left of the pier. 

On to the funny stuff. The bay is really big and the waters are crystal clear and calm (except for the occasional slight wake from motor boats). I'm just paddling along and I look for Jeff. He's pretty far from me and is near the pier. I avoided the pier because there were more people over there and I would hate to fall on someone. Well, I'm getting closer and closer to the boats. I'm trying to make my board go to the left toward Jeff and away from the boats. I mean, I'm paddling hard. It's very difficult to turn those behemoths. The only thing that's happening is I'm going even faster toward the boats. I look at Jeff and he throws his hands up like, "Do something!" So, I plop down and straddle the board and paddle like a fiend. The front of my board was in the boats anchor line. Having my legs in the water and my furious paddling helped the board stop and I was able to backup and paddle away while still sitting on the board. At a safe distance I got on my knees and then stood back up. I looked for Jeff again hoping he hadn't seen the whole thing. I look up just in time to see him tip his board and completely fall into the water. It. Was. Hilarious. I was bent over laughing. He gets back on his board totally drenched. We're both laughing now and trying to enjoy the view as we paddle around. We decide to head back to the cove after 10 more minutes. Well, I'll be damned if I didn't somehow head right back to the boats and almost ram another one! I think at this point Jeff tried to act like he didn't know me. I got control about a foot from disaster and made my way to the cove. The one on the right was the first almost accident and the one on the left was the second. 

I lost my balance a little after a motor boat went buy but I never did fall in the water. That was all Jeff. Jeff was still standing on his board as we approached the shore. His board slammed into the shore and he kind of runs and stumbles into the sand still tethered to the board. Also hilarious. We were both laughing so hard. I decided to get back on my knees and prepare for the shore impact. Such a fun time. Jeff was able to get this picture of me displaying my awesome paddle boarding skills. 

We returned to Hanalei Bay on Saturday to look for more shells. I wish we had taken pictures because all the locals were camping on the beach, grilling, socializing, and the younger crowd had pool floats and noodles in the water. The entire bay is like a giant swimming pool and I wish I had taken pictures of all the tomfoolery. We did have some success finding shells here. These are my prize finds.

The bottom one is a cowry shell. Score! And it's creature free.