Off to the beach

Or, to a boat to be more precise. Every year my uncle organizes a deep-sea fishing trip for his employees. He pays for the boat, gas, and hotel. This year, he is taking all his employees and as a bonus for the crappy year we have had, he is also taking me, my daughter, my mom and dad. My boyfriend works for him so he gets to go automatically.

A couple of my aunts will be going as well. They will almost certainly want to hit the beach, but mot me. I'm slathering on 2+ coats of SPF 70 and putting on my floppy straw hat and my linen clothes, and I'm going deep sea fishing.

As much as I hate freshwater fishing, I LOVE deep sea fishing. Mainly because I never have to worry about catching anything and I can just spend my time enjoying being on a boat out in the ocean.

In the unlikely even that I get a bite, I usually hand the rod over to my dad who is always more than happy to reel it in for me and handle the fish, as I am petrified of them.

When I say that I am afraid of fish I mean it. A boat is hopefully the closest I will ever come to interaction with marine life. And aquariums. I like looking at fish as long as I have the reassurance they can't get to me. My dad wanted me to learn deep sea diving with him, my mother and my brother. I did fine in the tank, but on my first excursion into open water I hyperventilated as soon as I saw a little fish.

I went on vacation to Chattanooga as well and they had an underwater excursion show at the IMAX 3D theater. I wanted to watch Harry Potter but I got outvoted and we went to the ocean show. This was a bad idea. I can't tell you all how many times I jumped and yelped through that show.

I used to practically LIVE in the water when I was younger. No one, not even I can understand why I have developed this phobia. There is no traumatic event to point back to. The only thing I can blame is possibly a picture I saw once, with a HUGE whale and this teeny tiny boat next to it... only the boat was a 35ft boat. Hardly teeny tiny.

I think it sunk into me at that point just how big some creatures in the ocean are. It didn't help that soon after that there were a string of shark attacks around the FL/GA/AL coasts. No thanks.