Paddle-boarding in Ladybird Lake Austin Texas
Early this morning at around 7.30am I was back in Ladybird Lake, this time to go paddle-boarding!
My host Virginia was going running this morning and kindly dropped me off by the Rowing Center. It’s an activity she strongly recommended and I’m so glad I ventured out. I was a bit nervous at first, as I’ve never been paddle-boarding before. However, the instructor put me at ease and gave a demonstration on how to paddle and said I didn’t have to stand up. So I paddled away from the shore on my knees and spent a glorious hour in the tranquillity and calm of the lake, surrounded by lush trees and where I shared the water with turtles and ducks and watched the sunrise. It ‘s a wonderful way to de-stress, unwind and relax, with nothing to worry about except keeping my balance and avoiding falling in the water. Paddling was fairly straight forward, it’s just a matter of shallow strokes extending the arms and alternating between left and right. The city was always in view and I could see the traffic in the distance. I also saw 
joggers and walkers and a couple with their daughter waved to me. After about 30 minutes paddling on my knees, I did make an attempt to stand up, but when the board wobbled slightly I chickened-out and and resumed the knee position! I’m glad I had the experience to try it out in such beautiful surroundings and imagine I live in the seaside town of Parkstone, In Poole, Dorset and so close to Bournemouth Beach. I’m definitely going to try paddle-boarding there now!
