If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I tried stand-up paddling, a new kind of surfing for the first time the other day. Among surfers, it’s controversial because the use of a paddle gives stand up paddlers an “unfair” advantage over regular surfers in the competition to catch waves, but to me it looks like fun and I was happy to try it.

As I pulled up to a calm section of river where my friend was already practicing, I became so excited that I a) left my keys in my ignition and the door unlocked and b) left my flip-flops so close the rivers edge that they floated away with the rising tide. Fortunately, no one steals cars on Kauai and flip-flops sell for about $3 a pair.