I’ve always wanted to watch the boat parade that takes place
on the downtown harbor so we finally committed this year. We made plans with
the Conklins and since Todd is part owner of a boat he offered to take us! I
mean what could be more fun than watching the parade on a boat…?!
We loaded and boarded the boat around 3:30p. It was chilly but sunny
– perfect afternoon. The girls climbed to the top and Josh and I chilled at the
back enjoying the view. It was beautiful and relaxing! THEN we hit the channel and I was quickly
reminded that this was a FISHING BOAT and we were about to cruise 45 minutes to
downtown in the OCEAN! As the wind picked up and the water got super choppy
Emmy screamed to get down and as many of us as possible huddled in the cabin.
Holy Shit I was not prepared for this. The little green spill sticks that were
inserted in the 4 hot chocolates Erin bought for the kids surprisingly lasted 12 minutes before there was hot chocolate everywhere. I coached Emmy where to look
so she wouldn’t get sick all while shocked I didn’t actually go into labor.
Phew! We made it to the harbor. I had these visions of a
calm gentle bay but wasn’t really thinking about the huge boats that would be
cruising by, including the dDle ship, creating massive wake. We finally reached
a destination and put down the anchor only to start rocking so far side to side
I was sure 2 year old Rowan was going overboard. Fortunately, as the sun went
down the water calmed and we had an awesome time watching the parade. It was so
much FUN!
Around 7p we headed out. Erin sat in the back of the boat
with all 3 of her girls. They looked so cute and cozy until we started cruising
again. I don’t know how she did it. I kept asking Todd if she was okay his
response was she’s fine. I still looked back every 45 seconds to make sure everyone was still on board. I learned on the way out it was actually better to
stand so I could take the rocking waves with my legs and not sit. I also learned
that boats don’t have head lights like cars do so we were just cruising in the
middle of the ocean, in the pitch black being tossed around with 5 kids under
the age of 8 on board. It wasn’t until a screeching sound started and the engine light went off and we had to
stop did I start getting a little NERVOUS! After the 5th time we had
to stop because of engine overheating warnings, and watching these brave kiddos who didn’t have as many tears as expected, I
could actually see our destination and figured the coast guard could get to us
pretty quickly if the damn thing went off again.
After 6 hours on a fishing boat in 50 degree weather with no
bathroom, I’ve never been so happy to be on land. Such a fun, amazing adventure
with our friends that we will NEVER forget! And Erin and I agreed next year
we’d stick to Mission Bay ;)
Hanging at the harbor
Here we go!
A seal followed us for a while it was super cool. Look how relaxed the girls are up top!
Such a perfect day for a boat ride :)
There were no pictures taken while we were in the ocean but it was pretty cool to see downtown from the water. If this is how choppy the bay was - imagine the ocean!
We posted up right next to the Middway
The token boy :)
Some of the boats were decked out. Ryan waved to every one that passed and the girls screamed jingle bells at the top of their lungs. I think I ate 5 candy canes while everyone else drank beers.
So pretty
The adventure back home... :)
No comments:
Post a Comment