Pop Up

Here we are experiencing a nice fall chill brought on by day two of a South Georgia nor'easter and my thoughts travel to these mom and kid surf clinics they have going on in Cocoa Beach. First off my kids have kids so I am not considering myself a candidate but it does seem like a fun way to be active and bond with your child. The lessons aren't terribly expensive either. For groups of 10 or more the cost for kids is $45 and parents $35 and board rentals are included in the price. Private 2 hour lessons cost more. The place to eat when you've worked up your appetite is Grills Seafood Deck and Tiki Bar on the waterfront at the port. This is a place I have personal experience with and along with the food being fresh and scrumptious, the view is great too.

Now to the pop up part, I've been intrigued with paddle boarding, watching people do it anyway. I know it isn't surfing but it does happen with a board on the water so stay with me. I mentioned the sport in first person (suggesting that it would be a sport I could participate in) and my oldest pretty much laughed the idea off mumbling something about the size of the board I’d need, probably the size of a cruise ship, I figure. Not to be deterred I decided I needed to work on balance and over the course of a couple of exercise videos I have realized that I cannot get up from my knees without something to hold on to and a surfboard (even one the size of a cruise ship) doesn't have grab bars. But when I was reading about the mom and kid surf clinics I spotted a section on how to just pop up on the board. No knees are required with it. You go from prone (on your belly) to standing by popping up. It helps if you have good balance and less weight, another thing I’m working on, but maybe paddle boarding really isn't outside my reach. When you think you can’t do something or there is an obstacle in your way, you might just skip getting on your knees or whatever step is holding you back and just pop up and give it a go. I may find paddle boarding isn't for me but I am certainly going to give it a try.