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Published: November 29th 2011
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Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back home. There is much to give thanks for today. I have been weighing the pros and cons of being out here over Thanksgiving. I do have to say this wins out. No offense to my family. I love them and I would never have the opportunities that I have had if it were not for my parents. They have provided support and guidance far beyond what I ever could have hoped for, but it is everything else that comes with Thanksgiving. It is not just the relaxing time that it could be. To go home and have to sleep on the couch because everyone else has kids; I feel like I have no privacy. By necessity I am the last to bed and the first to wake up, I end up sleeping much of the afternoon and it feels like a bit of a waste anyway. Maybe it is just time for me to start a family of my own, or maybe do something more like this. My family today was eight strangers, six other guests and the two crew members. I woke up to another cloudy and rainy day, our agenda was to navigate four
hours to Huahine. Ever seen a tropical rain storm? Pretty amazing, especially on a small boat in the open sea. Huge swells that would hit the boat and splash over the top, the sail snapping taunt in the wind, rain pouring down in sheets. It was enough to wear me out. Many of the people on board got sick, I felt a little queasy, took a Dramamine and felt fine the rest of the trip. Wen was running all over the place working the sail in the rain, Stephane stood watch outside the majority of the trip, I elected to take a nap and get rocked to sleep by the tossing waves. Things on the ship had a different idea, glasses shook and clanked together, fruit toppled off of the ledge onto me, the catamaran pitched the entire four hours until we made it through the pass at Huahine where the reef and the atolls keep the larger waves at bay.
The rain was still coming down in sheets when we arrived to the spot where we had our lunch, the plan being to go snorkeling after. Everyone was just relaxing and doing their own thing, many
people took naps after lunch. Nancy said Stephane was sleeping and asked if I wanted to go on the sea kayak over to a little beach to explore. I hesitated for a bit, but decided to go check things out. It was a small deserted stretch of beach, we walked around for a while and decided to paddle to a different motu. Right about then is when the rain started. I let Nancy know that I was going back, and then the rain came very hard, like a bucket of water over our heads. We paddled back to the catamaran and put our kayaks away, I decided to go for a swim. Why not I was already soaked? I threw my shirt off and dove off the platform on the back of the ship. Hinano joined me after a bit, once the rain subsided I just stood there in it, letting it wash the salt water from my skin, my eyes closed face turned up to the sky. It may not have been the same sense of freedom Andy Dufresne felt in The Shawshank Redemption, but that is the feeling that came to mind.
After a warm
Stephane in the Rain
Probably listening to some Kenny Chesney shower I took a nap until dinner, where I sat and enjoyed my Thanksgiving dinner of pork chops, mash potatoes, beans, and a fruit tart. After that I was able to secure a crappy internet connection and attempt to upload to Travelblog.org, the connection did not allow me upload everything. However, in the background I was able to Youtube The Bongo Song by Safri Duo, as I type this Ralph is going crazy dancing and Stephane has his strobe light going. It is closer to three minutes of absolute power.
Overall, not a bad Thanksgiving at all…
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