Whale!

Listen to this reflection by playing the video below or continue down the page to read the full text version.

This week I have been in Florida for our annual trip to Siesta Key with our good friends Joe and Jackie. When I first arrived and went out onto their lanai, I broke down. The lanai was one of Amy’s favorite places in the world. We would often listen to music, relax, talk, and laugh with Joe and Jackie while sitting there together. She will be ever-present here, but her witty jibes and barbs are missed.

I started by getting in some good walks and clearing my head. Oddly enough, my thoughts wandered from the sunshine of Florida back to our honeymoon in Maine.

After getting married, Amy and I were too strapped for money to take a real honeymoon. Amy started a new job right before the wedding and flew to Memphis for training just four days afterward. We pledged we would only postpone our honeymoon, not cancel it.

Two years later we decided to travel up the coast of Maine for our belated honeymoon. Amy, because she loved whales and wanted to go whale watching, and me because I loved the beauty of the Maine coastline.

We flew into Boston, rented a car, and drove up the coast. We had planned stops in Portland, Kennebunkport, Freeport, East Boothbay Harbor, and then concluding our trip in Acadia National Park. Our goal was to relax and slow down after a very hectic first two years of marriage.

In our dating years, we would often read out loud to each other. We would find a nice comfortable place in the sun and take turns reading whatever novel struck us. For our honeymoon, we decided to continue with J.R. Tolkien’s “Return of the King”. We shared a sense of peace and contentment as we read to each other about the journey of Frodo and Sam and their friendship. Our reading would be done either basking in the sun and enjoying the cool sea breeze or to pass the time while traveling between destinations.

Late one afternoon, we lost ourselves in Kennebunkport reading and watching the local fishing and lobster vessels coming in and out of the harbor. That night we decided to treat ourselves to dinner at the Yacht Club in Kennebunkport. Not being members, they made us wait until well after their usual crowds had left before seating us. Fortunately, they had a blue blazer to loan me so I could enter the premises! By the time we were seated, the place was mostly empty, except for the wait staff who gave us some extra attention, knowing it was our honeymoon. We both had the lobster. It wasn’t served in the traditional style. The meat was deshelled and laid out on the plate in the original shape in a white wine cream sauce. Complemented with white wine, we both agreed, it was the best meal either of us had ever eaten.

The next day we traveled to East Boothbay Harbor. At the time, this sleepy little artsy town was off the beaten tourist path. We decided to take a sunset cruise on a sailing yacht. There were only about a dozen people on board, and we were encouraged to bring our own wine and cheese for the adventure. We listened to the wind catching in the sails and watched one of the most golden sunsets we had ever witnessed. Amy, of course, extracted the captain’s life story from him during the voyage. He and his family made their money during the summer tourist season and then would sail around the world during the offseason.

We stayed at two different bed and breakfasts outside Acadia National Park. The most memorable moment of the trip occurred here on our whale-watching excursion. Whale watching was one of Amy’s lifelong goals. When we were signing up for the cruise, Amy was somewhat disappointed that we would not be taking a rubber dingy out for the excursion. She got a very odd look from the clerk when she asked if they had anything smaller than the diesel boat he described. That should have been our first clue that all was not as it seemed.

As many of you know, I am deathly afraid of large bodies of water, so the diesel boat was more to my liking, especially, since they take you about 30 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean. The next morning, we boarded the boat with about 50 other people, including the local chapter of the Audubon Society. These six or seven elderly ladies had to be helped aboard, which delayed our departure. Amy was about as excited as I’d ever seen her. That is until the boat got out of the harbor. When we turned out to sea, and the boat started to hit the waves in a rhythmic thump, thump, thump, her stomach began to churn.

She sent me into the interior concession area to obtain some Sprite to settle her stomach. Upon entering, the first thing I noticed was the smell. It was a mixture of pancakes, sausage, and vomit. I bought the soda and retreated outside to the deck for some fresh air. As we got further and further out to sea, things continued to decline. When the boat finally got to its whale-watching area and slowed down, it was readily apparent that we were little more than a big bobber; up and down, up and down, up and down.

Amy was adamant that she needed to get off the deck and into the cabin. I strongly advised her against entering the odoriferous cabin, but at that point, I don’t think it mattered. The entire boat of passengers was heaving up whatever breakfast they had consumed, and there was no safe haven. We noticed that families with small children were handing their kids to the elderly Audubon Society ladies. They seemed to be the only ones on board exempt from the sea sickness spreading throughout the ship. It was the longest three hours of our lives. When we finally heard the shout of “Whale!” Amy was too far gone to care. I held her up to look just as the whale’s fin disappeared below the waterline.

As we pulled into the harbor and prepared to dock, a crew of six, three on each side, came out and started scrubbing the sides of the boat from aft to stern to cleanse the vomit crusted on its sides. By then, everyone onboard was starting to recover. We felt a level of guilt as we gazed down at the eager faces waiting for the next cruise. The excursion company wisely kept us separated from them as we disembarked.

After recovering from our journey, we decided to roast hot dogs and make s’mores that night over a campfire. As our stomachs settled, we were able to laugh at ourselves and our fellow passengers, but we vowed never again to go whale watching that far from shore!