The Sea Was Angry That Day, My Friends

Our visit to Maui landed smack dab in the middle of the whale season, and we're told this is one of the best whale seasons in decades. Knowing this, a whale watching boat ride was at the top of our list of things we wanted to do while we were here. Originally we planned to go separately - my mom & I on one trip, and Warren, Rob & Tiff on another. But when we were booking it the guy told us that people bring kids on board all the time so we were extra excited knowing we'd all be going together.

We had it planned to a tee. Warren would carry Rhys on his back in the Baby Hawk carrier. I would be on video camera duty, and Warren would have the zoom lens, ready to capture the money shot of a breach whale. We made sure to have all our equipment charged up to the max the night before. We were set.

Once we finally got Rhys into the Baby Hawk (it's a bit of an art form to put that thing on, and we're not very practiced at it) he fell asleep:

As we boarded, a crew member snapped a souvenir photo of our little group. This photo captured our excitement for the adventure ahead:

Once the boat left shore, things began to sour. First, the captain announced over the loud speaker that anyone with children had to remain seated, holding the child. What?! We didn't know what the rules were for the baby carrier so Warren stood up to ask a crew member. As soon as he stood up and realised how unsteady he was walking, he knew the answer before he asked. It was totally unsafe to walk around the boat with a baby, even if he's attached securely to you. So our plan was to find a safe seat on the upper, open-air deck and take turns holding Rhys while the other stood up to look for whales and take photos. 45 seconds up there and I began to feel 'off'. So back down to the lower 'inside' deck we went. And there is where it hit me full force. SEA SICKNESS. And we'd only been on the water for 5 minutes. This was a 2 hour whale watching tour. Warren said the colour left my face and looked drunk. A crew member approached me and asked me if I was feeling alright. 'Not really' I replied. 'I didn't think so' she said. So she suggested I go to the back of the boat, stare at the land mass and she brought me some ginger ale:

My sickness got to the point where I could barely look up. I was sitting at a table with my face in my arms, focusing on breathing deeply. I couldn't have cared less about seeing a stupid whale, at that point. I just wanted to be back on land. So, Warren sat across from me, holding Rhys, watching me deteriorate and listening to the tour guide describe the beautiful mom and calve who where swimming around the bow of the boat, not being able to snap a single photo (or watch it at all for that matter).

We looked around and my mom was dry heaving out the window, and Rob was sitting with the his head between his knees. The only one enjoying the trip was Tiffany, who is very intelligent and took Gravol before we left!

SO, whale watching was a complete BUST. We laughed about it afterwards. Warren thought the entire situation was pure comedy and he kept saying 'this will be great for your blog!'. I suppose there is that.

Later on we found a secluded beach and went for a quick walk (that is where we took the family portrait).


And another Gramma Patsy outtake...Rhys spitting up and her looking a little grossed out at the whole thing:

We're all hoping today pans out a bit better!