Don't try this at home

For the past few weeks, and for reasons beyond me, I have desperately wanted to go paddle-boating. Paddle boats are like two-person bicycles on water.

The last time I’d seen a paddle boat was at the camp I attended when I was 8. There, in the dead of the North Carolina mountains, we young campers sang campfire songs, we paddle-boated to our hearts content, and I personally vomited up macaroni and cheese because I was so home sick. It is lovely memory.
So why now after all these years would I want to get back on the paddle boat? I have no clue.
Hubby and I were happy to discover Lake Michael in Mebane, a very small but clean lake that rents paddle boats by the hour ($1 per person!). We arrived ambitiously on Saturday morning at 10:30. We were disappointed that rentals had a time limit of an hour, but we were told we could keep it out longer – no problem. We paid our ginormous $2 rental fee, got our life jackets and headed toward the paddle boats. Hubby selected a sparkly red one.
We began slowly paddling/peddling around the lake, taking note of the quiet fishermen, the tadpoles swarming the boat, and the gorgeous day ahead of us. The sky was blue with fluffy white clouds, there was an insignificant breeze in the air, and the lake water was just slightly cool and fairly clear. According to the guy at the rental office, Lake Michael doesn’t allow swimming or motorized sports because it is used for Mebane’s drinking water.

It took about 30 seconds for my thighs to hurt ever so slightly and for me to become out of breath. We managed to make it one lap around the lake all in one piece. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it throughout my body – I thought the boat might actually tip over. Sweat was pouring off of me. I looked over at hubby who appeared cool, calm and relaxed. But by the time we made two more laps around the lake, we were both ready to park the boat and head home. We were only on the water for a total time of 30 minutes.
These things are much easier to operate when you only weigh 70 pounds. Let it be known that hubby and I do not weigh only 70 pounds. We haven’t given up on paddle boats completely and plan on returning some day. We plan on having two kids at that point and “granting them the honor” of paddling/peddling up front while we adults ride on the back. Kids enjoy that sort of thing, don’t they?