Paddling into the Present

Last weekend I had the distinct pleasure of hanging out with my buddy and we finally found the time for another exploratory jaunt into nature #adventureswithmajid. I am the proud owner of a funboard style paddleboard that I had only ever used in a pool, which is sort of the aquatic equivalent of trying to parallel park for forty-five minutes...However! On a recent Sunday, Majid and I loaded up the Mazda, tossed the paddleboard on the roof and made off for places unknown...well unknown for me....he knew where we were going, AND finally christened the SS El Jeffe, er cheapo paddleboard!

We ended up at Lake Solano Park, a little campground with a boat launch ramp, and prepared to hit the water. Majid brought his inflatable kayak, which thankfully came with a pump and we proceeded to get ready to launch!

We paddled out under the bridge and fought a very gentle .5 knot current upstream and I was immediately at home. Surrounded on both sides by trees and birds and the gentle lapping of the water as it knocked against the board. I was in my element. I felt free, adventurous, and totally present. 

There is something very special and spiritual about being totally immersed in nature. I lose myself in something bigger, I return to my childlike curiosity, which is always just underneath the surface, and the rest of the world melts away as I take it all in; the smell of the water, the sound of the wind rustling the leaves on the treetops, the errant calls of the birds and the exhilaration and burn of paddling and trying not to fall into the still frosty water. 

We stopped at a fork in the river, or lake, or whatever we were on...and beached our watercraft for a quick test of the water and to snap a few photos...the birds were not bothered by us and the water was cold...The kind of cold that starts off with a shock, then sort of makes you go numb, then kinda burns...I chickened out after about five minutes, but Majid endured long enough for a stoic adventure pic. 

After some moments of joy and reflection and thawing out our feet, we decided to head back. The paddle back as with the current and we made it back so quickly that we questioned just how far we had gone. On the way back we found another sludge-free place to beach our vessels and took our obligatory dip. I think Majid enjoyed himself, but I couldn't tell over the sounds my my shrieking. I also managed to relocate some geese with my nature calls...

We made it back to the boat launch and Majid gave the paddleboard a try. He almost got up, but decided to remain kneeling, but he didn't capsize and that is a big deal. The first time I stood up on a paddleboard I wobbled and then Tasmanian Deviled directly into the drink. 

We brought our gear to the boat wash and cleaned the board and kayak, washed and dried ourselves and packed the car back up to head home. On the drive back, it hit me just how wonderful and easy it is to find experiences that connect you with others, with nature, with yourself and with what is happening in the present moment. I spend so much time and energy worrying, thinking, analyzing and living in the past or future that I forget how to live in the moment. But when I can, I feel absolutely alive, like the world is a beautiful place and that anything is possible. (even the possibility of me getting an actual tan...#notlikely)