I’m not much of a stand-up paddle boarder (SUP), but I have a lot of friends that are. Specifically, my good friend Darius Narizzano, a real estate agent at Saunders & Associates, invited me to go for a little SUP action near his house in East Hampton. “I don’t think I can go,” I said, “My daughter is with me right now, and she won’t be able to do it.”

Darius lit up on the telephone, “Oh no! She can totally come! She can sit on the board while you paddle! Trust me, she’ll love it!” 

“Okay, if you say so.”

I’m an easy sell when it comes to mini Hamptons adventures. Especially when I don’t have the equipment on hand. I arrived at Darius’ house, who had already packed snacks, packed up his car with paddle boards, and his wife and college-bound son Orlando were also geared up with bags and towels. The whole family was amped. I looked down at Sophia, who was also amped up, even though she didn’t really know what was going on. Darius had a little dog with him who was wearing a little doggy life vest. It was adorable. 

We piled into his car and his wife and son followed us to their secret paddle spot. It made me laugh a little, all surfers have their secret surf spots, and I guess the same thing is true for paddle boarders. We hopped out of the car and Sophia put on her life jacket and climbed aboard the SUP, and I prayed that I was going to be able to balance the damn thing. Thankfully, I did. 

We started paddling, and it was simply gorgeous. The water was still, and we were paddling through untouched areas, seeing nothing but local wildlife. Sophia screamed when she saw a crab scurry across the bottom of the sea bed. And then Darius added his final touch to the experience, bringing out a portable speaker and playing soft music. I felt like I was on a Disney ride. Everything was just as it should be. 

You can never go wrong Paddleboarding in the Hamptons. If you don’t happen to know a veteran like Darius, check out Paddle Diva in East Hampton.