Stand Up Paddle Boarding

There are days when I have no clue why I want to move away from home and attend college.

                                                                                                    Today was one of those days. 

A high of 75 in the dead of winter = one of the many perks of living in SoCal 

This morning I went SUPing (stand-up paddleboarding) with my friend Helena D. in Redondo Beach. It was my third time SUPing (and Helena's first) and my first time paddling out into the open ocean waters and not just the protected marina. We were quite lucky today. The weather was absolutely perfect with not one cloud in sight. Plus, it was a Sunday morning, so it was quite calm and peaceful with very few other boaters/paddlers out. 

We saw a fantastic amount of wildlife during our paddling journey including: 

Sea Lions! Several were stretching themselves out on the buoys a distance aways from ourselves, but a significant number decided to pop up inches away from our boards to say hi. Quite an experience I tell you.

Orange Fishies!

A variety of sea birds!

A puppy! (on a boat) Yes, at first we were extremely confused as to where the barking was coming from--whether it was from an actual dog or a sea lion, but as you can see, we did end up figuring it out. :)

And earlier this week, when I went SUPing with my mother, sister, and her friend, I saw my friend Paula, who lives on a boat docked there. Paula definitely tops all the other wildlife I saw!

The Redondo Marina

All in all I had a lovely morning. If you ever find yourself with nothing to do in the Redondo Beach area, I highly recommend renting SUP boards from http://tarsanstandup.com/ or http://www.fastkayak.com/ (if you are 18 years or older).