Farewell Ali'i

I made a tough decision last week.  I decided to sell my Ali'i, my first stand-up paddle board.  It wasn't something I was contemplating at all until I met Kathleen, who is new to stand-up paddling.  She was part of a group of beginners taking a first lesson and I was there to assist.  Paddling out on the water with her brought back memories of when I first started SUPing.  She was a natural, already asking about paddle-surfing.  I recall not even thinking a flatwater paddle lesson was necessary for me when I first jumped on an SUP.  I was amped to get out on the surf.  I saw the same kind of excitement and fire in Kathleen's eyes.  At the end of the lesson she asked about boards and asked if I would keep my ears open for any used SUP boards that may suit her.  It wasn't until I opened my garage to park when I eyed my dusty Takayama Ali'i on the racks.  It was too good of a board to let go, but even more worse to let it sit unused.  I knew that Kathleen would put the Ali'i to great use.  And so I bid farewell to Ali'i, allowing it to create more exciting memories for someone new.

Go to my very first post and you'll see a similar shot.  Kathleen recently moved
back to San Diego from Maui... there goes another surfer to paddle-surfing.