Weekend Recap: Deep Sea Fishing

First of all, let me warn y'all that this will be a photo-heavy and text-light post. With that, I'll mostly be showing some photos from the weekend with a few fun trip highlights scattered throughout.

But let me go ahead and spoil the ending...I will never go deep sea fishing again. Read on for exactly why...

Of course it rained or was overcast and drizzly almost the entire time we were there...oh except for the day we were leaving. Great timing, God. :) Just kidding. I was doing a whole lot of praying to him the next day. Stay tuned for that later on...

These pics (above) were from the harbor/yacht club our hotel overlooked. M and I took an evening stroll around the harbor and I, of course was snapping iPhone pics faster than you could say "yacht". Dreary, overcast skies did make for some excellent photos, if I do say so myself. 

This was at the end of our walk along the dock. Gorg!

The next day started quite early...5:15 am, to be exact. We boarded the boat around 6:30 am and I had time to snap a couple of pics while we boarded. 

We were on a pretty big boat...so that, coupled with my dramamine and seabands made me figure I was safe M and I took some early happy shots right before we started out. 

The next 8 hours of my life can be summed up by a few phrases:

Raining, drenched, soaked, cold.

Moving, swaying, waves, motion. 

Puking, falling, bruising, drenched.

Shivering, raining, puking, heaving. 

Heaving, shivering, drenched, cold. 

Praying, heaving, swaying, heaving.

Soaked, dehydration, starvation, weakness.

Contemplating life's purpose while clinging to a nasty boat toilet. 

Suffice it to say, I have no pictures to document this time as I was alternating praying for death to come swiftly and dry heaving. I tried to sleep it off on some of the benches on the boat but had to hold on for dear life since the ocean was so rough. I couldn't go anywhere without being soaked or falling. Standing wasn't an option with the rough seas. I probably puked about 12 times total, but thankfully was only dry heaving the last 8 times or so. My dramamine failed to work and everything I attempted to eat or drink just...well...you know. That, coupled with a chilling rain and biting wind made for one soaked, starved, thirsty and exhausted April. I had many talks with God during this time and pretty much promised that I'd make my first 6 children become pastors if he would calm the sea and help me to not be sick. 

Then, somewhere between the Little River Inlet and the Intracoastal Waterway, and about 2 hours later the skies broke, the rain stopped and the waters calmed. Instantly I felt better. Honestly, it was amazing. I had a few sips of water and they stayed down. 

Heck, I was even able to take a few photos as we came back through the Intracoastal.

The lighthouse from the Intracoastal side.

These are all shots of the old buildings and dock restaurants that make up the Little River fishing village. It's still unincorporated to this day. Very cool!

After not having eaten all day, M and I chanced our stomachs with some pizza on Saturday night. The rest of the weekend was (blissfully) uneventful as we headed out of town. But first, we stopped at Bass Pro Shop (a MUST for M and the Tanger Factory Outlets (a MUST for me). We'd planned on getting gas and heading out of town after we visited both places.

Well, the plans went along swimmingly until my car battery died at the gas station. Yep. Do I have jumper cables? Nope. Do I know how to jump my car? Nope. Do I even know how to pop open the hood? {Shamefully} nope. Thank God that M was with me and helped me. Now, ladies, don't get your feminists pantaloons in a knot...I would have figured out something on my own...but I was at the verge of a slight meltdown (both literally and emotionally) in my hot car until my knight in shining armor, aka M, walked out of the gas station with jumper cables and asked a {not so} nice older gentlemen for a jump. 

We then spent about 30 minutes searching for an auto parts place until we just decided to head home and try to find one in one of the cities we pass through on the way. 

Thank you, Robert at Advanced Auto Parts in Florence, SC for your help in installing my battery...and that corroded thingamajig on my battery. You were nice about it and not a jerk. You were funny and kept us both entertained with your fish stories. Thank you for helping to calm my anxiety for a mere $130. 

Thank you, M for putting up with me (both in my puking state and my normal, weirdness).

Thank you God, for getting me off the boat alive and without the assistance of the Coast Guard rescue chopper. 

And thank you, readers for surviving through my trip re-cap ramblings.

I promise a good post tomorrow. Until then...

 

Linking up with Sami, Molly and Carly! :)