Row, row, row your...(insert preferred water vehicle) gently around the...lake!

Undaunted by the fact that in our modern era Labor Day signals the sentimental end of Summer, our merry little band of intrepid Bootcamp Adventurers nevertheless pushed bravely forward with a September Field Trip. After all, Mother Nature follows her own schedule, regardless of the calendar--and around here, that means we know to expect the sweltering weather to continue unabated for probably about another month anyway. So why not take ourselves to a nearby lake for some on-the-water fun-in-the-sun?

I was especially excited about this one, since we'd be renting out a transportation mode of choice: either a kayak or a paddleboard. I've been keen to try the latter for some time now, so I squashed down a (small, manageable amount of) trepidation, slathered on sunblock, perched my hat jauntily on my head to shade my eyes, hiked up my big-girl bathing suit, and gave it a shot.

Why the slight misgivings, you might wonder? Well you see, I'm not what you'd call...the splash-around-without-a-care...mermaid type. I mean, I can swim...it's just that there's something about being in an open expanse of water that makes me a bit nervous. So when they informed us that you were required to take a life jacket with you, whether you chose to leave it sitting next to you or wear it, you can bet I clipped that puppy on immediately. Admittedly I felt mildly foolish...but also tons more secure...so it was clearly a worthy trade-off, for me at least.

Then I could relax about the safety issue, and focus on the more important matter at hand: figuring out what the HECK I was supposed to be doing up on that big old slab of fiberglass. Okay, let's see, here. Slide it into the shallows, fin up: check. Take it out to about knee-deep and flip it over: check. Place butt in approximate correct location (as instructed by our Fearless Leader, whose guidance was invaluable to this newbie, by the way). And now, folks, for the truly tricky step...carefully, slowly...rise to standing.

Needless to say, some wobbling occurred while hauling myself from a seated to an upright position...while adjusting to the rocking of an object on an uneven surface. Thus I was soooo pleased with myself upon achieving Homo Erectus status--for about a second, until the next challenge of, you know, "moving". Now I just had to maintain my posture while propelling myself with an oar taller than me, switching it from side to side to go forward, rather than in circles. Hah! No problem, yeah? Sure...until I forgot, somehow, that I was bobbing on an expanse of liquid, and blithely turned my torso to photograph one of our buddies in action. Holy Rock the Boat, Batman, that was a near-dunking situation, right there! Message received: face front at all times, and keep excess twitching to a minimum! (I was still able to snap pictures, just much more cautiously...)

Honestly, the most difficult aspect was that I'm not naturally possessed of a set of "sea legs", if you know what I mean? Thus, in order to feel like I was firmly anchored on my floating conveyance, I found myself gripping the board with my toes, and keeping my calf and quad muscles tensed...which over time causes some serious fatigue, as you can imagine. Add to that the repetitive upper body motion of pushing the paddle through the H2O, and you have one heck of a full-body workout, my friends! Oh, and also, a SUPER-FREAKIN'-AWESOME experience.

After our entire group had ventured out away from the shore--evenly divided between kayakers and SUPers--we were free to meander wherever our hearts desired, for our 2-hour recreational window. So we chatted, and glided...and occasionally plopped down and rested (as shown!), and a couple of courageous folks vacated their crafts to swim for a while. I did not...mostly because I was concerned about how much trouble I might have getting back on the board from the water. However, I did get to practice lowering myself down and getting back up, which was very useful!

Let me tell ya, it was an altogether delightful way to spend a Saturday morning. Bonus time with some of my favorite fitness pals...a stunningly warm and sunny late-season weather gift, introduction to a new skill, invigorating physical activity in the Great Outdoors, an abundance of fresh air and a temperate lake. Have I missed anything? Oh yeah, the greatest part of all: I. Did. NOT. Fall. In! We're already talking about our next outing, since several people who wanted to join us couldn't, due to schedule conflicts. Hopefully we'll get back out there before too long, so I retain some of what I learned, and don't have to start all over again. How about I just consider it a journey toward earning my water sports badge...one stroke at a time!