Catching Idle Butterflies

And the earth moved, and moved, and never stopped

Twice when Dave and I went to Texas to visit his family, we stayed several days in Port Aransas, near Corpus Christi and off the Gulf of Mexico. There we sampled the delectable and very fresh seafood, toured the WWII aircraft carrier USS Lexington, and the highpoint of our time taking a day deep sea fishing. We went both times in February which made for rough seas: 6-12 foot swells, 40-50 degree temperatures, and rainy. All that was a warm welcome since we left below zero temperatures at home.

Both fishing trips I managed not to loose my stomach contents. The first time, as long as I could watch the waves and therefore anticipate the up or down movements, I did fine. Dave did, as well, but he was having so much fun fishing, he didn’t have time to get sick!

Going to the bathroom, though, now that was a challenge! Try pulling down your pants while the boat is tossing you around in a 3'x3' room, then with your pants constricting your feet and knee movement aiming your tush at the little toilet!

The second time, I hadn’t slept well the day before and really needed some. With four hours to spend on this boat before we reached our destination, I figured I would try to sleep. But how, when I needed to watch the waves?

I came up with what I thought was a unique, if not new-agey solution. I sat on one of the wide benches and leaned my back up against the wall. Then I convinced my mind that the wall was perfectly still, and only everything around me, including the ocean was moving. I became “one with the boat.” It worked, and I got four hours of great sleep. The trip back, I contented myself with watching the waves.

What I had forgotten from the last trip was the sense of movement does not stop when you reach solid ground! No, your body is so used to moving with the waves, it still wants to hours later. We arrived at a restaurant to meet with Dave’s folks after the fishing trip. I sat down and ordered my iced tea. Less than three minutes later, nausea returned. I was getting seasick on dry ground! I had to stand up and move around lest I get sick. I bet it took me until the next day before my equilibrium returned.

So why do I tell this story?

Spending nearly 48 hours on a 17' fishing boat and cruising over 90 miles on even a calm river can mess with a person’s equilibrium. My head right now feels like one of those bobble-head dolls.

I’d love to stay and catch up on the rest of you, but sitting still is making me uncomfortable. I need to move around before my stomach tells me it’s on a Tilt-a-Whirl and can’t take it any more!

I’ll be writing more about my river adventure tomorrow when I’m more stable. I will say, however, Murphy left me alone on Friday, because he had greater plans in store!

Also, thanks bunches to jspinelli for this:

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You’re a sweet!