Granville Paddleboarding and Red Star Dining

Maggie and I got up at a decent time the morning we wanted to go stand up paddle boarding. We had originally wanted to show up at the dock when the place opened at nine so that we would be sure to be able to rent a couple of paddle boards as our coupons were on a first-come first-serve basis. We arrived a couple of hours later than we had planned, but I was not too worried: The weather was very cool, and I did not expect the place to be busy on a weekday. I was wrong, but fortunately they still had a couple of boards left for us to use.

Maggie on a paddle board.

Our instructions on how to use the paddle boards was pretty basic and limited: Where to stand, where not to go, and if we had kayaked or canoed before. Then we were left to our own devices.

Since we were both beginners, neither of us felt comfortable getting off of our knees, especially when the wakes of boats would rumble under us. A decent breeze was powerful enough to stop my in my tracks. I felt so ill prepared and uncomfortable that I was even thinking of just turning around and calling it a day after we left the dock. However, we persisted and I managed to get on my feet after seeing a couple of much younger girls (who did not seem to be much more of an expert than us) up on their feet and paddling back towards us. Getting on my feet helped my knees, and allowed me to put more power into my stroke, but I felt even less comfortable and I had a couple of moments where I thought a rogue wave would have caused me to lose balance.

Maggie pretty much stayed on her knees for the whole two hours. She was able to get up on her feet while we were stuck in a secluded lagoon though.

Maggie standing up on a paddle board.

After dickering around for an hour, I figured it was time to work our way back. The current was against us as was the wind, and it took us a long time to make it back to the dock.

But while we were pushing against the current and the wind and the waves from the passing boats, I think I finally got the hang of it, and paddle boarding suddenly seemed much more natural! Of course, I do not think I would go out of my way to try it again unless we were in a much warmer climate..

Me on a paddle board.

After we finished our two hours of paddle boarding, we had lunch at the Bridge Restaurant, which had a tasty crab and fish burger, and then spent time at the Granville Market, which was very much like the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto. We picked up some cheese and donuts for Brad and Nancy before heading back to the house.

We got cleaned up before going out with Brad and Nancy to meet up with the elder Tangs for dinner at the Red Star restaurant. The food was pretty good, but the service was excellent for a Chinese restaurant. The Tangs beat us to the bill so we will have to get them back when they are in Toronto.