Experiencing life through a child’s eyes is sweeter when you do something for the first time together.
On Sunday, our friend, T’s Auntie E, whom we recently went to Tobermory with, organized a stand up paddle board outing for friends and us.
E is a SUP hobbyist and took us to Cherry Beach, a scenic place I’ve never been to in the 33 years I’ve lived in Toronto.
As the name suggests, you go out onto the water on a paddle board standing up.
As we departed from shore, E gave us a crash course on how to paddle, to go from kneeling position to standing up, to maintain our balance and to get back onboard if we fall in.
We were blessed with beautiful weather – sunny, but mild, and calm winds and water.
T sat with me and did well! I thought that our hyperactive kid would cause us to fall in the water repeatedly. But we only fell in once near the end, because my knees were tired.
It was awesome being in the water and we went in a few times to enjoy a refreshing dip. T felt completely at ease with his lifejacket on.
As we paddled away from shore, I wondered where in relation to downtown Toronto we were.
And then I turned my head around…
… and saw the Toronto skyline behind us; the CN Tower and skyscrapers dwarfing the tall trees on the beach shoreline.
It was truly an awe-inspiring moment.
We paddled about 1km away from shore towards Tommy Thompson Park, a 10km stretch of land known for scenic hiking and biking trails.
We sat on our boards near the park shore for a while and watched the skyline in the distance before we paddled back to Cherry Beach.
I could’ve started thinking about a metaphor for this moment – you know I love them! – about finding balance in life with T onboard, literally!
But I chose to be in the moment.
Life with T teaches us to be present and to inspire us not to put limits on what we can do together.
Summers and childhood are so short and T goes back to school in a week.
I want to milk every moment.
I was thankful to spend this most amazing day with good friends, the hubby and our T.
My daughter loves stand up paddle boarding, my son not so much. I think I’ll leave it for those who don’t mind falling in the water though.
I can see why they would like it or not like it. I only did it once and hope to do so again. But I can also understand the apprehension with falling in. 😊
Sounds like you had a fabulous day paddle boarding with your fam and being out on the water. The views of the Toronto skyline from Cherry Beach are gorgeous. It’s pretty impressive that you only fell in once. I’m sure the water felt refreshing!
It was an awesome day, Linda and I highly recommend it for you and K – if not, for that view of the Toronto skyline alone. My friend also goes before sunrise and during sunset and I’m told it’s quite the experience. And yes, the water was very nice to be in!
Will you adopt me? You three always have so much fun. Way to go T for doing so well on the board!
If you cook for us, you can live with us! 😆😂 Kidding aside, thanks Diane. We do try to fill our summer weekends with activities as they fly by so so quickly. Hard to believe school starts again next week.
You look like such a natural standing on the board! I really want to try this one day and considering I am 500 metres from a lake…
Thank you! It was a lot of fun and I can assure you I sent half the time on knee seated position. 🙂 It really is worth trying. My only advice is to make sure you go out with someone experienced or at the very least have a life jacket and go out during ideal low wind conditions. Have a great time if you go and do share your experience with us!
That just looks like so much fun. Hopefully the water wasn’t too cold.
Thank you Gary. It was a lot of fun and the water was refreshing. I don’t know if this is of interest to Hawklad but it is a nice distanced activity.
We love stand up paddle boarding! Such a great activity for the whole family. So glad you got to try it.
Thank you Kim! It was a lot of fun and we’re gonna try it again next summer! We’ll have to trade stories and tips!
I love this – balance is a great metaphor! And you only fell in once – that is awesome. The pictures, the skyline, the story of doing it together – just wonderful! I love you all milking all you can out of summer. You guys really know how to do it!
Thanks Wynne. It was our good friend who made the day possible including the lovely photos of us out in the water. Back to school will be an adjustment for sure but we’ll take it a day at a time. 🙂
I really love the shots of you and T, as well as you and your husband paddle boarding with the skyline of Toronto in the background. What a view! This looks and sounds fun, and you had a really nice weather that day!
Thank you, Bama. It was our good friend who took the photos. Thankful for them as it helped capture this wonderful memory.
I have to say I’m becoming less fond of downtown and city life as I get older, preferring the less populated areas more – but it was very nice to be in our city’s downtown core for this unique experience!
Did he stand? I have never been and want to try this! We are like 50 minutes from a lake! Looks like so much fun!
I hope you get to try it one day. The key is to make sure you’re with someone who knows what they’re doing, life jackets on everyone and calm winds. Fingers crossed for you!
T chose to be sitting (kneeled) the entire time. He didn’t want to fall in. Lol. We will try this again next summer and as he gets older, I have no doubt he’ll try standing up and may even want to do it on his own. 😊