Green Around the Gills

Meet my new best friend.


Nausea Control (In Chewable Form)

Technically, motion sickness medicine is really an old friend (green-tinted memories of a sailing regatta on an angry Lake Erie come to mind), but last night as my stomach tumbled around like laundry in a dryer and my knuckles clutched the rail in a death grip, I didn't waste much time apologizing about our lapsed friendship.

I'm not too enthused about sharing the fact that Brother #3 and I attended another Maine Audubon event (and were yet again the only representatives for the 18 to 40 year old demographic), but this time we got to go on a two hour evening cruise! I love being out on the water (summers in Cape Cod will do that to you), but I'm partial to protected coves, small harbors, and calm bays.

The Odyssey, About Ready to Board

I realized I was in trouble when we motored right out of Casco Bay in approximately 10 minutes. There was no denying it - we were going to be out in the open ocean, in the heart of the incessant and building swells, for the majority of the [now bleak looking] trip. Because I very decidedly did NOT have my sea legs (and couldn't stomach trying to focus the binoculars), I missed half of the birds we were supposed to be looking at...but even rooted to my seat with my eyes anchored to the receding coastline, I managed to spot a harbor seal and a pair of dolphins. They aren't pictured here because I was feeling a little too queasy to reach down and get my camera.

However, since I spent an awful lot of time with my eyes trained on the horizon, I got to fully appreciate the sky's show. We lucked out with a spectacular sunset that shone through in the clouds on the way out to Stratton Island and an almost full moon that sparkled across the darkening sea on the back way in. I put Brother #3, who found my green around the gills expression to be endlessly entertaining, on camera duty. I know the ocean looks as peaceful as a puddle in my pictures...but I promise you, it wasn't! It wasn't!

Setting Sun, Peeking Through

Sunset, Swirling Clouds

An Almost Full Moon

Brightening Moon, Darkening Water & Sky

When my picnic dinner (a 1.25 lb Whole Foods salad topped with the works) stopped somersaulting around in my belly and the sun slipped out of view, I actually enjoyed surging back towards Portland through the blackening waves. The bouncing boat was no longer sickening, it was soothing. Paired with the engine's hypnotic drone, the winking stars overhead, the gentle salty mist, and the blinking lighthouses in the distance, I almost fell asleep. It was 8:45 pm, after all.