The Fearless Femmes: July 2012

For our close-knit group of friends, July equals "lake time." For five years now, we have made an annual trip to Hidden Valley Lake for our girls weekend getaway. This year, we decided to start the weekend with a bang! En route to Hidden Valley (outside Mound City, KS), we made a stop at KC Watersports in Hillsdale, for an adventure that was sure to test our balance, agility and endurance . . . paddle boarding!

Possibly because this adventure was incorporated into our lake trip (or more likely, because Meghan can't keep a secret), there was no element of surprise this time. We knew all along what we would be doing, and I think that we were all pretty excited about it.

After signing our liability waivers and paying our fees, we were ready to get this adventure underway . . . preferrably before the 100+ degree Kansas sun made it's debut. The first challenge was working up the nerve to disrobe into our swimsuits, knowing photos would be taken and published on this blog . . . props to these self-assured, beautiful women for meeting the challenge!

Ready to rock this!

Next up, we received a quick, simple lesson from our instructor, Sarah, on how to mount the board, stand up, paddle, turn, and adjust speed. It all sounded pretty easy actually. Sarah encouraged us to start off paddling in a kneeling position until we were comfortable with being on the board, and then to eventually stand up. Alli went first. After approximately 4.7 seconds on her knees, she decided she was ready to do it like a big girl, and she did! Up she stood, no big deal. Her gumption inspired the rest of us to bypass the kneeling stage, and we each followed suit with no big hang-ups. That is, until it was Amy's turn . . . I should preface here by stating that Amy worked a 12-hour shift the night before, got off at 7am and was ready and raring to go in Hillsdale at 9am! What a trooper she was, but unfortunately, she did not have the advantage of restful sleep the rest of us had. Ok, so, back to the story . . . it's Amy's turn to stand up. All the rest of us are up at this point, slightly boisterous about our success, ready to tackle this adventure . . . basically, thinking we're pretty much the shit. Amy's knees shake as she tries to stand upright, but the instability of the board is too much as she is thrown off the back like it was a bucking bronco. Seriously, board shoots off one way, Amy with her feet straight out in front, arms flailing, shoots another. And in that split second we were all brought back to reality . . . "please don't let that happen to me!!!"

I must say, we look awfully good on those boards

Shortly there after, Amy was up with the rest of us, and we each made several laps around the lagoon. After gaining some of our confidence back, we tried to learn a few "tricks" from Sarah, like different ways to spin around on the board. When we got tired, we tandemed (put two of our boards next to each other so we each only had to row on one side, rather than alternating back and forth), and when we felt energized we tried to race (that didn't last long). Overall, it was a very relaxing, zen-like experience, and I think we were all equally adept to it. I would have to say that paddle boarding was a HUGE success!

A collection of shots from the day

A few points worth mentioning:

Alli and I each lost our balance at one point during the adventure, and fell off our feet, but were able to stay on our boards.
Doesn't Alli rock that neon like no one you've ever seen??!!
Paddle boarding turned out to be a surprisingly "dry" activity as Amy was the only one who was ever submerged in the water.
Yes, we all agree . . . Jessi looks great in a bikini! ;)
While calm and relaxing, paddle boarding is also a great workout for your legs, core, arms and back. We were sore the next morning, and thankful all we had to do was float in the lake all day.
Amy was born to party!!!
The Fearless Femmes are now up to FIVE liability waivers from these adventures! Good thing we all ~~have life and health insurance~~ are so invincible!
Meghan couldn't have picked a better adventure!
KC Watersports is primarily known for wakeboarding . . . future adventure????
I bruise like a peach . . . oh wait, we all knew that already