Fun Beach Day with Chicagoans

Not only do I absolutely love the sport of Stand Up Paddle Surfing and think it is fun, but I think it is also one of the best possible forms of exercise you can do.  That being said, the past few days I had a couple of houseguests from Chicago come stay with us.  Jen, a former gymnast at University of Illinois and teammate of Car

i’s and her husband, Bob – an athletic trainer in the Chicago High School system stayed with us for a few days. 

The first day they were here they used our bikes to take a trek down to the beach via Sycamore Canyon.  Bob nearly fell of his bike when a deer jumped across the trail 10 feet in front of him.  The second day we went Stand Up Paddle Surfing in Malibu at an undisclosed location and got both Bob and Jen out on

some boards that I borrowed from my buddy Chris (thanks Dude).  We brought out the camera and snapped a few pics.  They both did really well for their first time and were able to paddle around pretty easily.  Jen did get a little freaked out when a couple of dolphin came cruising by to say hi!  SHARK! SHARK SHARK! she screamed.  Nope, not a shark, but I can see that to a native Chicagoan anything looks like a shark after watching Shark Week on Discovery. 

When asked about it, they said they had not seen anybody doing Stand Up Paddle Surfing in Lake Michigan.  This

I think will change pretty quickly since you can do SUP anywhere – lakes, rivers, etc… and with Chicago’s boating scene I would think SUP is a natural fit for Lake Michigan.  Plus, Chicago can use the exercise!

It was a great

beach day, lots of fun.  Go Bears!