This year for my birthday Shaun wanted to take me on a Shark Tour at North Shore. Only time available was an 0600 slot (that's 6am for non-military personnel). So we dropped the kids off with some good friends of ours to stay the night, and set the alarm for 0415 so we can be there at 0530. Of course I was a bit out of sorts when we woke up and was definitely not able to eat much, but I did mange a piece of toast and peaches. And just so you know I did prepare myself with Dramamine an hour before so that it is coursing through my bloodstream in plenty of time for the boat ride.
We arrived just in time and boarded the boat with just a touch of light in the sky. Shaun and I sat at the front of the boat since there was no where else for us to sit and soon discovered that we were going to get quite wet before we even got in the water. The waves were huge that morning and causing us to dip up and down like a roller coaster. We were being splashed on and rained on. 3 miles out we finally made it to the buoy for the boat to anchor to.
I kept asking Shaun "didn't you tell me that morning time was the best time to see sharks because the water is really calm in the morning?". The waves were still causing the boat to lurch up and down, and was starting to feel a bit nauseous by now. Shaun and I got up and looked over the side of the boat, and there they were. Big, huge, multiple wild sharks swimming around. Crazy! Alas, seeing the water rising up at me and dropping so suddenly was the last straw. Heave, ho! I lost it. On the same side that the shark tank was on.
Whoops. Felt a little better though, for like a split second, and then made it to the other side of the boat before I lost it again. This happened repeatedly, for the entire time we were on the boat. I would slowly make my way to the end of the boat, and kept telling myself "if I could just get in the water I'll be fine". At one point I saw Shaun step to the side and did a little heave, ho himself. I thought he drank a whole bunch of water and then spewed it out to make it look like he was throwing up just to make me feel better that I wasn't the only one, but.. I was wrong. He was really sick himself, but luck guy felt better after only one session of throwing up.
Slowly I got myself ready to go by making my way to the tank which was ready for me to get in. As I'm trying to pull my mask on I told Shaun "I don't feel so good" and pretty much collapsed. Shaun and the Captain picked me up and laid me down on a padded bench to rest and recover till we were back on land.
Later on, Shaun told me that I wasn't the only one with a sensitive stomach. Pretty much the whole tour group was out for the count.
 |
| I was so excited! I couldn't wait to see the sharks. Oh, well. |
 |
| Undercover from all the water coming down on us on the trip out to the sharks. Unbeknownst to me Shaun was already feeling a bit sick. Can you tell? |
 |
| Love this guy! |
 |
| This was when I started to get really sick. Blah! I hate throwing up. |
We capped off the day with a movie and seafood dinner.
 |
| Ordered delicious snow crabs, and not so good steak combo. I even got a free birthday dessert that was yummy. |
Thank you, Shaun, for yet another unforgettable birthday.
