So it's been a few years since I've been on Lady Bird Lake. I used to have a rowing club membership for several years that allowed me to check out a board pretty much whenever I wanted. I stopped my membership renewal one winter and never went back. Oh how I missed being on the water!
The sky was overcast, and the weather was starting to heat up. Christina and I decided to try out her new inflatable boards. I'll admit I was a skeptic and held prejudice since I'd ridden the real deal solid core paddle boards, but the weather was nice and it was an excuse to adventure! So we loaded up the gear in my truck and miraculously made our way to the best possible shore to cast our boards off of during the ever crowded Austin Marley Festival. Let me explain... as soon as we made it onto the highway I noticed traffic was heavier than usual (Festival) which mean't taking back roads and traveling counter to the traffic. After a circuitous route we parked for free in the shade under highway 35 at the park closest to the RBJ health clinic. The drive there was just the start of the adventure.
When we unrolled the boards and hooked up the electric pump we attracted the eyes of the locals which included a gang of Mexican fisherman. But then a gaggle of middle aged women coasted onto the shore between us, assuring the normalcy of paddle gear.
I used the manual pump to inflate the rafts which surprisingly filled quickly and managed to convert the dubious roll into a hard core solid lightweight board. The paddles themselves were easy to lock together to form proper oars. We took to the water!
I was so excited I broke my cheap rubber sandals getting into the water. "The water feels good" after all these years I thought. We actually did a test run and decided to fill more air pressure just in case. When we finally got out into deep water we discovered the wind was blowing incredibly hard which tossed and turned us in all directions in addition to the waves. The little paddle boards did fine, in fact we saw several solid foam paddle boarders fall off into the water. It was fun! I couldn't stop smiling and enjoyed fighting the wind to make it out into the middle of the lake. I remembered listening to water again. I looked up and saw the birds flying in the sky. I laid down on the board and looked up to admire God's sky! Christina balanced on her knees while she paddled looking like Disney's Pocahontas. I opted to stand up and paddle using my core and hips. I was able to glide and push over the water with speed and precision despite the wind trying to topple us down. Hours flew past as we made it as far against the wind as we were prepared to sweat before we decided to rest and let the wind carry us back home to shore. We sipped our water and adult beverages and enjoyed the blessed moment. I also witnessed somebody riding an electric hydro-foil which was absolutely incredible to watch. If I were to describe it in words it was be like watching somebody float above the water as if they were surfing a cloud of air like the comic book character The Silver Surfer. It was unreal to watch them surf a simple lake like mine but as if they were in Hawaii. I discovered later that it was an expensive hobby, but that hydrofoils have been around for a long time and can be ridden without power if they can take off from a dock in the absence of waves.
Deflating the boards and storing them in my little taco was easy. When we made it back home, we simple re-rolled the boards and placed them into their storage bags for next use. Christina went home to shower and relax before I had the random urge to dress up and take her downtown on my motorcycle to enjoy a fancy dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House. While our food was delicious, we have become practiced carnivores on our Keto-vore diets and decided we can prepare better Ribeye steaks.
The sky was overcast, and the weather was starting to heat up. Christina and I decided to try out her new inflatable boards. I'll admit I was a skeptic and held prejudice since I'd ridden the real deal solid core paddle boards, but the weather was nice and it was an excuse to adventure! So we loaded up the gear in my truck and miraculously made our way to the best possible shore to cast our boards off of during the ever crowded Austin Marley Festival. Let me explain... as soon as we made it onto the highway I noticed traffic was heavier than usual (Festival) which mean't taking back roads and traveling counter to the traffic. After a circuitous route we parked for free in the shade under highway 35 at the park closest to the RBJ health clinic. The drive there was just the start of the adventure.
When we unrolled the boards and hooked up the electric pump we attracted the eyes of the locals which included a gang of Mexican fisherman. But then a gaggle of middle aged women coasted onto the shore between us, assuring the normalcy of paddle gear.
I used the manual pump to inflate the rafts which surprisingly filled quickly and managed to convert the dubious roll into a hard core solid lightweight board. The paddles themselves were easy to lock together to form proper oars. We took to the water!
I was so excited I broke my cheap rubber sandals getting into the water. "The water feels good" after all these years I thought. We actually did a test run and decided to fill more air pressure just in case. When we finally got out into deep water we discovered the wind was blowing incredibly hard which tossed and turned us in all directions in addition to the waves. The little paddle boards did fine, in fact we saw several solid foam paddle boarders fall off into the water. It was fun! I couldn't stop smiling and enjoyed fighting the wind to make it out into the middle of the lake. I remembered listening to water again. I looked up and saw the birds flying in the sky. I laid down on the board and looked up to admire God's sky! Christina balanced on her knees while she paddled looking like Disney's Pocahontas. I opted to stand up and paddle using my core and hips. I was able to glide and push over the water with speed and precision despite the wind trying to topple us down. Hours flew past as we made it as far against the wind as we were prepared to sweat before we decided to rest and let the wind carry us back home to shore. We sipped our water and adult beverages and enjoyed the blessed moment. I also witnessed somebody riding an electric hydro-foil which was absolutely incredible to watch. If I were to describe it in words it was be like watching somebody float above the water as if they were surfing a cloud of air like the comic book character The Silver Surfer. It was unreal to watch them surf a simple lake like mine but as if they were in Hawaii. I discovered later that it was an expensive hobby, but that hydrofoils have been around for a long time and can be ridden without power if they can take off from a dock in the absence of waves.
Deflating the boards and storing them in my little taco was easy. When we made it back home, we simple re-rolled the boards and placed them into their storage bags for next use. Christina went home to shower and relax before I had the random urge to dress up and take her downtown on my motorcycle to enjoy a fancy dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House. While our food was delicious, we have become practiced carnivores on our Keto-vore diets and decided we can prepare better Ribeye steaks.
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