Me and Mr. Sharkie!

Aug 10 2010

What an adventure!

The older kids and I went boating today with Blair's sister, Whitney, and her husband, Tom. The mission? An adventure! And, boy, oh, boy, we certainly accomplished it. We took off out in the Atlantic on their boat. First, we found some humpback whales that were feeding. They would surface for a while and rest before taking a big dive to feed some more near the bottom of the ocean. It was truly magnificent to see these enormous whales within ten feet of the boat; some even closer! There they were in their habitat, just peaceful and powerful.We saw a mom and her calf, as well as three whales diving in tandem. It was really grounding to realize how tiny you are in comparison.

There was this one time when we were gazing at a whale in front of the boat. While we were looking at that whale, another one came up from a dive and almost ran into the bow of the boat. It freaked us out. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure if my heart rate has slowed down yet! It's one thing to see a picture or a video of a huge humpback whale, but when one almost runs into your boat, you suddenly get a much deeper appreciation for their magnitude.

Then I asked Tom if we could try fishing. I have NEVER fished in my life, and I certainly wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by. He showed me how to put a line out, so there we were, both fishing off the back of his boat. I felt so professional! In less than two minutes, Tom caught something--it was a shark! While he was bringing it in, my line suddenly started pulling. So, there I was battling something quite powerful on the other end of my line while Tom was dealing with his own catch. No one could help me! So, I just tightened my grip and held on for dear life! After he pulled up his shark, removed the hook, and set it free, he helped me bring in my catch.

It was another shark! Wow, less than five minutes of deep sea fishing and I caught myself a shark. Holding that creature in my hands was quite an experience. But, alas, we had to part and I tossed him back into his world.

Thank you, Tom. Thank you, Whitney.

And a big, fat, thank you to you, dear Mr. Sharkie.

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