Week 24! Making our House a Home!

 

Week 24 - November 21 - 27

 

Well! At 24 weeks we had hit the week leading up to Thanskgiving and it was "go time" in terms of getting things together within our home. Daniel and I had set the goal of having the living level of the house truly company ready (picture frames on walls, curtains, the whole deal) by Thanksgiving (when we would be hosting seven adults and one pint size kiddo). So, throughout the week we worked on picking which photos would go in which frame (and actually taking all of our frames apart and updating what we had), hanging curtains, pictures, finding places to put the things that "didn't belong" on the living level, etc.

 

Highlights from the week? Daniel's cousin Tom visited us! He was testifying in a trial in DC (as a witness for something at work) and managed to have enough time to come see us for dinner on Friday night. Unfortunately our dishwasher had just imploded and shut down (sound strange for a brand new place? it was - but all under warranty and Whirlpool was sending someone out Monday morning) so we ordered from the Royal Taj, an amazing Indian restaurant in the area. We spent the evening playing Cards Against Humanity and catching up - he counts as our first official out of town visitor!

 

Saturday was also a lot of fun. Bonnie (a friend we made in college through Richard and Sam) and her husband Tommy drove up to our area to run some errands and then let us spend the afternoon showing them around and doing a couples Christmas photo shoot. While Daniel was running I took them to the Amish market we have in town (which is mmmmm amazing!) and they were quickly fans! They patiently waited while I finally got my hands on some legit sirloin (a good, reasonably price, meat market has been hard to find in this area) and picked up a beef bone for Chance. Tommy enjoyed trying some chocolate covered bacon and we all caved and bought some of the baked goods they offer (they seriously have the best strawberry rhubarb pie I have had in my life!) After that we all went and enjoyed lunch at Savage Mill - a beautiful repurposed building in the area and then came back to our place for the photo shoot. We had each decided to help the other couple get their Christmas card photos and had a lot of fun taking pictures and looking them over before we broke into the strawberry rhubarb pie and they headed home.

Two of the Christmas picture out takes...somehow in those one everyone seems to be smirking

Chance do you want a little sister?

 

I have to admit - I had a slight meltdown moment when we started taking pictures and I looked at how mine were coming out and thought - oh my gosh - I am already that big!!! I don't feel THAT big!!!! And I have over three more months?!!?! It was a near meltdown...that I quickly got over. I know I sound obsessed - but seriously, getting this big is quite the experience and emotional/mental workout at times!

 

So along with trying to finish polishing up the house, Ali and Brad called and needed asylum. Their apartment mold issue had grown to an epic catastrophe and they needed to stay with us for a few days while they found a new place. So...in the days before Thanksgiving I was scrambling to finish all of our projects (because there were pictures frames and prints EVERYWHERE...not guest friendly or a good setting for their rambunctious dog) and I was trying to make sure the guest room was ready enough, that I had all the groceries to pull off a Thanksgiving feast, etc. We had some busy days, but I pulled it all together! By the time I went to bed on Wednesday our house guests were tucked in and sleeping, pies had been made, the turkey was thawed in the fridge and ready for its big day, and our house was "together!"

Ahhh. Lots of frames and lots of work!

Consider this the overly dramatic "before" picture for our dining room

After! (Thanksgiving dinner)

Before shot of the living room

After! Yeah, we still need to someday graduate from the TV tray end tables...one step at a time!

 

In terms of my pregnancy and Baby Hals? She is getting ever stronger! I have reached the point where I can feel her move in two completely different places at once - which is really a bizarre feeling. Like...I'll feel part of her on my far right side about level with my belly button while feeling kicks down in the lower left side - she's getting big! Starting this week I started getting achier - especially in the evenings. Some evenings I have had pretty sharp pain around my sternum radiating through my ribs (I imagine that is the stuff loosening and rib cage widening) and other evenings I have had pretty intense round ligament pain that stretches down through my hips into my legs (always one side or the other). The round ligament stuff hits without warning - like one night I had just finished making dinner and squatted down to pull something from the fridge and had very sudden sharp pain. It's been intense enough at times that I cannot move and have trouble talking - fun! And there's not specific cause either - each time it is something different that sets it off. Moving slower around the kitchen or walking Chance a little slower helps some, but the true "attacks" are really unpredictable and thus, unpreventable it seems. Oh well!

 

Any other cravings? I can devour a plate of caprese! And have been on a pretty regular basis. To me it is genuinely a guilt free snack. Freshly sliced tomatoes drizzled with white balsamic and olive oil, fresh basil, and mozarella. OMG. Baby Hals is a huge fan.

Mmmmmmmm! Okay in my defense I did split this plate with Daniel. But mmmmmm!

 

So...I kinda felt like I got my cape back this week - or rather, Baby Hals felt a little guilty and let me snuggle the edge of it. And I still feel pretty great with the exception of the evening aches and the round ligament attacks.

 

24.5 weeks!

 

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23 Weeks - The Baby Stole My Cape

23 weeks - November 14 - 20
So I have not officially had a "grocery store pregnant moment" yet (in which someone makes a comment to me regarding my pregnancy or tries to cop a feel), but I think the potential of that moment is become much more of a reality than it was just a few weeks ago. Not sure what happened between week 20 and 23, but I am definitely bigger. When Daniel got home from the Maldives the expression on his face when I took off my coat confirmed it. They say you "pop" - which is just a gross term to me, but I do think I reached the point where I am "showing" in a far more significant way!

Left picture - 20 weeks; Right picture 23 weeks - definitely a change!

My happy 23 weeks Thursday was an especially happy one. Daniel called and asked me to meet him for lunch and we enjoyed an amazingly delicious Italian meal (Italian food seems to be Baby Hals' favorite!), I managed to get a great buy one get one deal online for maternity shirts, then ventured into Starbucks in perfect time to coincide with their buy one get one holiday latte, got a letter from the health insurance company saying I was approved for the hospital where I am supposed to have Baby Hals - and at 100%!!!, had a great time at prenatal yoga and very much enjoyed chatting with other pregnant women, found out we had a showing for the house, and Daniel finally got to feel the baby kick! Talk about a kick ass day!

And the look on Daniel's face when he finally, distinctively felt her? It was the grin that has always melted my heart - so so worth the wait! :)

It has also gotten cold enough that we often tuck Chance in on the couch...which he likes so much he then tries to walk around the house with the blanket still on. Haha. Aww, Chance!

Other highlights of the week include the fact that every time I buckle myself into the car and look down to adjust the belt to make sure it's across my hips and under my belly I cannot help but burst out laughing! ...Where did all of that belly come from?!

What I like least about pregnancy so far is the fact that I cannot help but to feel like the baby took my cape. ...Let me explain. I know some people say that growing another human makes them feel all super woman and amazing. ...And while I am very grateful to physically feel as good as I do so far, in terms of my "withitness" or "togetherness" I feel like I am a mess. For me...before pregnancy I was the super woman who could get an tremendous amount done and juggle an amazing expanse of things, but since becoming pregnant I feel like the baby has stolen my cape and is chilling in it, all smirky and content while I am reduced to being merely average in the abilities department. Maybe that's ridiculous, but it really is how I feel. Instead of getting 20 things done in a day I feel like I can get 10. 15 at great sacrifice. And some days more like 5-8. Sigh. Now the whiny thing? Most people just do 5-10 things and are content, for me it's really a huge adjustment, but I'm trying to embrace it!

Smirky, super cape stealing Little Miss Hals becoming increasingly awesome as she bakes and zaps all of her mommy's super powers...

I've also found that I feel best overall when I'm active. Much of the time when I start moving things are kinda achey, but in working out on the elliptical or going for a walk with Chance, in the end it puts me closer to normal and I feel way better. However it continually feels like a very fine line between being active enough that my body feels best and not overdoing it. ...This might reinforce the "baby stole my cape" sentiments.

As for cravings? baby loves choc chip cookies and really anything chocolate! Seriously! It's kinda all I can think about this week - although I am using all ounces of will power to limit it to a small serving after dinner each day, but OMG I want chocolate! Oh, and Italian food. Baby Hals super likes Italian food. Yum! I am much happier trying to control portions than trying to forcibly make myself to eat (thank you second trimester!)

So to recap? We have a kicky baby that Daniel now has actually felt, the baby belly is on the rise (or expanse), and I am doing my best to stay active enough to feel great, but not so active that I overdo it and end up feeling miserable. 23 weeks and still feeling pretty great!

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22 Weeks! Road Tripping through SC and Heading Home

Week 22 -- November 7 - 13

So reality check - at 22 weeks my baby maker has stretched to size of an oblong soccer ball and contains a footlong banana who weighs about a pound. So...Baby Hals and her kingdom are starting to take up quite a bit of room. And the things that are usually in my tummy are starting to have considerably less room. The most random and consistently awkward moment of my day? When I have to tied my sneakers. ...Folding over to do so squishes my belly which compresses my lungs which makes me feel all crazy out of breath...to put on my sneakers. Hahahaha. I laugh at myself every time. So ridiculous!

 

I spent the first portion of my 22nd week in South Carolina visiting with family and friends. Thursday morning I drove to Furman and enjoyed a quick walk around campus to soak in the fall foliage, caught up with former Ed professors (and was honestly super relieved that my year of transition didn't seem like a crazy professional decision to them...or if they thought it was they didn't say it), and then headed to Spartanburg to pick up my mom for window shopping. More specifically baby window shopping! The day before Daniel's mom and I had gone to a store in downtown Columbia that got me day dreaming about all wood nursery furniture. This time my mom and I really just wanted to look through Babys R Us to check out some different options. I had looked at things online, but had yet to really check them out in a store. We had a lot of fun - my mom was amazed at how much some of the things have changed in the past twenty-five years. I also finally got to convince my parents of the yumminess of Outback and we had a great meal catching up.

There's a spot at Furman by lakeside housing full of trees that all turn yellow and it is one of my favorite places ever! :)

I couldn't help it! Baby Hals in the tummy visiting Furman's beautiful fall

The row of trees by the South housing fields and university center parking lot - another favorite fall stretch!

So pretty!

Fall at Furman

 

Highlights from the rest of the weekend included getting to see Stephanie dance at the Chapin High School football game (she's part of the dance team) - she really has that charismatic "it factor" on the field and it was fun to finally get to see her in action! Michael also asked me if I would go with him to see 12 Years a Slave with him for extra credit for his APUS history course and along with seeing a fantastic, gripping film, I really enjoyed the insightful conversations we had afterward. He's always been the biggest history fan in the family and it has been fun to get to chat with him as journeys through the AP history curriculum.

Me and Stephanie at the football game - isn't she gorgeous?

 

I did have a moment as I was getting ready for the football game...it was pretty chilly so we were layering up and I pulled out my leather jacket and realized not only was the first button tight (let alone the other buttons) but my belly was kinda sticking out of the jacket. What?! When did that happen? Again, couldn't help but laugh! This jacket is usually so big on me around the waist!

 

Daniel had told me to get a massage while he was in the Maldives, so I finally indulged on Sunday and really enjoyed it! The next day Chance and I had our big nine and a half hour haul back from Columbia, SC to Columbia, MD and had a nice, simple, non eventful drive. At 9.5 hours it was a grueling one, but it went really well. I had downloaded another book through audible and really enjoyed finishing The Book Thief and starting Sycamore Row. By the time I got home, I had successfully conquered my 1300 mile road trip, picked up dinner at a pizza/Greek place down the street and found they actually do make tasty gyros, unpacked, and squeezed in an hour or so of down time before heading to the airport at midnight to pick up Daniel! The downside to driving 9.5 hours? For several days I felt like I had been majorly beaten up and my lower back was really bothering me - I had a moment where I thought oh no! The lower back pain can't be starting up this intensely now! I have a ways to go! But luckily after a few days it went away - I think it was all from the drive.

 

Tuesday night I fell asleep smiling - Daniel was back and as I settled in to sleep the baby started kicking quite hard - and when I would nudge the baby back, Baby Hals responded with another kick! It went on for a good ten or fifteen minutes and I fell asleep with the biggest grin you can imagine on my face.

 

Wednesday I had my monthly checkup and Baby Hals was doing just great! My baby maker was measuring to size, blood pressure was great, all was good! I had a bit of a moment when I stepped on the scale - I seem to have had a growth spurt between 19-23 weeks and had gained more than a pound a week, but the doctor looked up my overall gain and said things were really just fine. I'll take it! But yikes! I'm not gonna lie, I came home and tried on my pre-pregnancy jeans and when those still fit over my hips (okay, they don't button - but hello - soccer ball in my belly) I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I've said it already, but I'll say it again - you know you're supposed to gradually gain weight and get bigger, but it's still tricky to accept as you steadily become bigger than you've ever been! (Especially if you had just spent the previous years losing 20+ pounds and keeping it off). But the bump? Doing my absolute best to embrace it! :)

 

view from the backside of our townhome - this is essentially our backyard - isn't it a nice view?

 

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Week 21 - Falling for Fall! And counting down instead of up?

Week 21 - October 31 - November 6, 2013

I woke up on Thursday morning at 4 something am to take Daniel to the airport so he could fly across the world to dive in the Maldives with his dad. Daniel actually blogged about his adventures - so if you look at the blog around Halloween and the first week of November you can read his journals. Probably better not to ask me how I really feel about the trip or the fact that it was planned after Daniel and his dad knew I was pregnant or the fact that Daniel was going to one of the whale shark capitals of the world after we had spent part of our savings on our "Grand Finale Baby Bucket List Trip" to the Galapagos for our chance to dive with whale sharks (which we didn't see) ...although the Galapagos were AMAZING and one of the most amazing weeks of our lives. But I dutifully helped him pack the night before, packed a survival pack of all of the snacks he might need to survive forty hours of flight travel and a ziploc full of all of the things he asks me for when we travel (chapstick, hand sanitizer, lotion, tissues, gum, etc). So I dropped Daniel off at the airport and went home and crawled back into bed...it wasn't even 6 am yet.

 

When I woke up for the second time I read through my "yay, you're 21 weeks" emails from the various sites that send me an update (I'm the nerd that has signed up for three or four different websites, skims them all and synthesizes the highlights). Yep. And I had a sudden realization. The first line of one of the emails read "Congratulations! You're 21 weeks along in your pregnancy and have 19 weeks to go!" Gulp. And yay! ...Despite all of my talk of being halfway, I have been so focused on counting up the number of weeks, I hadn't realized I would get to a point in my pregnancy where I started counting down. Woah. You don't say - I'm 11 weeks and have at least 29 to go...because that's just daunting. But...I have more weeks conquered than I have left...that's an entirely different perspective!

 

I have also been increasingly hungry the past week or two. Granted...I have been active and busy and am not just sitting around, but oh my goodness - extra hungry! I have had afternoons/evenings where I did the check list when I felt uncharacteristically hungry for an additional time. Was I hungry because I was bored and just wanted to eat. Definitely not. Given that I just finished eating I'm going to wait an extra ten to fifteen minutes. Still hungry? Yep. More food it is.

 

I finally caved and hopped on the maternity clothes wagon. For everything. With Daniel out of town, my evenings were wide open, so...to the mall! I bought maternity pants months ago (seriously they are just so much comfier - don't fight it!) but I just wasn't ready for the shirts. ...Not like I couldn't mentally handle the idea...more like when I tried them on they just looked baggy and meh. There were certainly some shirts in my closet that were laughable, but many of my shirts still worked. But...the bump (and the baby inside) have been growing and I was running into three problems - a) I lived in Florida for seven years...thus, my winter wardrobe was only deep enough to go to SC for a week at Christmas or to spend a week or so in Europe after Christmas, so I knew I would need more sweaters; b) of the sweaters that I have many of them not long enough to cover my baby belly c) the temperatures are dropping here! (super exciting!) but problematic if I don't have clothes to wear that are warm enough! So...to the maternity store I went.

 

I have several issues with maternity clothes. First of all - most stores don't have any. Second, many of the stores that do have a sucky selection. I mean...target and kohls supposedly have a great selection but it's a joke. Third, there is this ridiculous mark up that comes along with most maternity clothes - particularly the ones in motherhood maternity. However as much as I find the store frustrating (extra expensive, not many sales/discounts, and often out of the sizes I want)...they do have clothes designed to fit! And while earlier in my pregnancy I had tried on some shirts and laughed because...it just was not remotely time yet. At 21 weeks it was a different story. ...And I left a few hundred dollars poorer, but finally equipped with long sleeve shirts and sweaters that would get me started on properly acclimating to Maryland.

 

My Halloween was a strange one. I had dropped Daniel off at the airport early that morning and had a weird day. I showered and headed out for prenatal yoga around 5:45 before trick or treating got started (and left a cute Halloween table with a bowl of candy on my porch) and by the time I returned it was dark, raining, the bowl was empty, and Halloween was over. It was just weird and surreal. Yoga that night was especially fun because there were several other new girls that I got to chat with. I have really enjoyed going to these classes - it's a nice work out and there's something exciting and very communal about being in a room full of pregnant women. At one point while we were doing a pretty crazy pose I couldn't help but think of how laughable we must all look and how cool it was to see so many people bearing bumps in the midst of the various poses. It's more pricey than I would like...but I really look forward to it and I already feel like the classes have helped me made think to double check my posture at various points in the day and have given me some new stretches to try when things are tight. I usually feel great the night after class and the next day.

 

The first night that Daniel was gone was also the first night that I was able to feel our little acrobat on the outside - as I sat and typed him an email she was somersaulting around so much that when I put my hand on my belly I could see it moving - so exciting! (But of course she had to wait until he was gone!)

 

The rest of week 21 had two other major things. First - it was PEAK FALL in Maryland! And I decided I was going to fully embrace it and get myself and Chance outside as much as I could to enjoy the beautiful colors and soak it all in! (And we did!) On Friday I found a park that ended up being a wonderful discovery...although when I first pulled up it was completely different than I expected. I followed all the directions provided by my phone and found myself on a road that dead ended with a concrete road block that blocked a road into a beautiful fall forest. There were no signs that said Gorman Park...just classic park signs like...don't keep the fish you catch, don't litter, etc. So it was not quite as formal a park as I expected - but that made it all the more magical! I suddenly found myself and Chance alone in a beautiful forest full of fall leaves and a beautiful stream with absolutely no one nearby. Once I got a sense for the park I was able to let Chance run around off leash and got to watch him run up and down the banks, hop through the bushes, and gleefully skip through the leaves while I soaked in all of the magic of fall. Sooo beautiful!

some of the views along the way

as far as my car could go...

off to wander into an enchantingly beautiful forest

happy Chance

 

On Sunday I decided to again take advantage of the beautiful fall leaves in the area and decided to head to a park. This one was also a beautiful find, but was much more crowded. To hike to the falls we took the more challenging path and hiked up and down around boulders and stones and huge logs. It was gorgeous and Chance was an ecstatic billy goat. He jumped up and down all the rocks and logs with ease while his pregnant mommy very cautiously hiked the downhill steps/slopes. I have always been a little extra cautious when hiking downward (especially down uneven rocks where it's easy to turn your ankle), but in this case I was especially nervous because I know as my ligaments loosen it's even easier to roll my ankles or twist my knees. To make things even trickier, I had an enthusiastic pup on a leash trying to pull me down the mountain! Yikes! But, we made it to the falls without incident and once there I found a nice solid rock out to sit on while he would hop all around and out towards the falls. All the adults in the area were laughing at him as he hopped from rock to rock out into the stream and back over and over again. So cute!

Chance the billy goat

 

 

And then on Tuesday I hopped in the car and headed for SC to visit the family (Hals and Monahan), catch up with some friends, and to try to make the best of the week without Daniel. The drive was gorgeous - particularly through Maryland, DC, and Virginia where the leaves were really at peak. I also had taken a free month of audible and spent the drive enjoying a book called "The Book Thief" along the way. In the end the trip was a long one (9.5 hours), but nicely uneventful and my civic got 42 miles to the gallon! Win!

 

So week 21? Full of hiking and acrobatics and maternity shopping...and the adjusted perspective that there's not just a count up in Baby Hals' progression, but a count down to when I get to meet her! :)

 

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Daniel's Post - Diving Day Three - Whale Sharks??!?!

November 6 – Third Day of Diving (Whale Sharks)

The trend of the first diving being awesome continues today. Kudarah Thila is the name and fish is the game. This was an underwater pinnacle with a small amount of current and a large amount of fish…Blue Corner (from Palau) number of fish…

The two negatives were the visibility was still not awesome, but it is good enough to not be too much of a bother. The other bad side was that because this is one of the more famous sites, there were about 5-6 boats by the time we were done. We were the first ones in but we felt like we were under siege the whole time. Oh well.

Now that the dive is over, we are promised Whale sharks…we are going to go to the south barrier where they always hang out. We will see how lucky we are…

The dive briefing is called at 9:30 a.m. – the only drawing on the dive board is that of a whale shark…they seem pretty confident. The plan is to go catch it on a boat and then jump in the water in front of it so it swims past. They said not to get in front of it and to avoid the tail. This was all find and good, but we had to actually see one first.

As we get in the dive boat and head out, we see two things; 6 boats headed in the same direction and rain…neither of which are exciting sights. As we cruise along the shoreline, it starts pouring rain. That sucks because if we saw one, the lighting wouldn’t be very good because the sun wasn’t out. We press onward. As we pass ships going in the opposite direction, they indicate to us that they have seen a bunch of whale sharks…our hope grows. We press onward…the rain stops. We press on. Soon we run out of shoreline and turn around. By now we have been boating for almost an hour with no sight. There are maybe 10 other boats going back and forth around us…they said the thing to look for was snorkelers…we saw plenty but they were all on the boats…After what must have been 1.25 hours, we decide to call it and go for our dive. I joke that Beth is haunting the boat causing us not to see one…

The dive is basically along the same coastline that we have been putting in the boat. At first, we see a huge ray…probably 6 feet long…just chilling in the sand. Dad was hanging around looking at that when I see that the lens cap is still on my camera. It is frustrating because I told him to just leave it off and that it will get lost. I hand it to him and he puts it in his pocket. Shortly after, I hear BANG BANG BANG. I start to look around. The banging is much harder than normal and that leads me to believe there is a whale shark! Because we were the last ones to look at the ray, there weren’t very many people around,so I start swimming in the direction of the last person I saw. I see one of the dive masters and he is making the shark symbol and pointing into the blue. My heart starts to beat faster… I look back and Dad is still fiddling with the lens cap and I make the executive decision to leave him. Now, I would like to think that my legs are stronger than any one on the boats…I mean,running 35 miles a week has to count for something…so I put those bad boys into overdrive. I shoot off as fast as I can into the blue…all I see is the fins of some of the other divers. I blow past them and still just follow fins. I check my depth…100 feet…it isn’t wise to go all out that deep, but I go anyway. Soon, I see a whale shark fin appear between all the divers…my heart beats faster… I get close enough to see the whole thing, spots and all! I start recording on my camera and I manage to snap a picture. The shark is a ways beneath me, surrounded by divers. I check and I am still at 100 feet, so I decide not to chase after it – shortly after, it takes a nose dive and is gone into the blue. I manage to snap one still picture. We head back to the reef. I only saw the whale shark for 10-15 seconds, but I at least saw the whole thing! Dad missed it completely. Once back on the reef, I catch my breath and start cruising to a shallower depth. I spend the rest of the diving looking into the blue, but we don’t see anything…

Once we get back to the boat, some of the other divers share their story. As soon as the master diver starts banging on his tank, Jeff looks over and sees the whale shark – he b-lines it over. He said he was swimming with it for a good 2-3 minutes, close enough to touch it! Jim caught a video of it – it was the classic encounter that I was hoping for. I am excited to see it, but I am pretty jealous they got to get as close as they did. He did mention that he went down to 135 feet…on nitrox…That is about 36 feet deeper than the safest depth with nitrox, but he wasn’t down there very long. He made he was back up for a long safety stop.

To make matters worse, I went to download the pictures and video off of my camera and the memory card starts to crap out! I manage to grab the one still picture I took, but the memory card soon craps out and demands to be reformatted! OH NOOOO! All my pictures are lost for the trip – I didn’t take that many so I didn’t bother downloading them yet. Dad says “oh yeah, I think that’s the memory card I’ve had trouble with before.” NOOOO Why didn’t you give me a working memory card??? Why didn’t you throw that one away…they are so cheap…it’s not worth it??? Oh well, it’s not like I got anything good anyway…After lunch, we are going to head back out and see if we can see another whale shark.

***********Beth's Interjection in the story...***************

Daniel sent me only this part of the story first. I happened to wake up around 4 am (EST) to use the restroom and read the message above. This was my response:

Hey babe,

Ahhhhhhhhhh. So full of cliff hangers and frustration!!! I woke up to pee amd then got hooked on your angst! Sounds amazing and frustrating at the same time! ...maybe I am cursing you after all. Hmmm if I'm the "bigger person" and wave my whale shark wand I wonder if you'll have more luck. ...you know the WSs and I are one in the same at the moment size wise...

(Before you roll your eyes at me, yes I know I am not remotely pregnant whale size yet...but when you are currently bigger than you have ever been in your life...bigger feels HUGE)

*I will also say that after only a moment's hesitation I literally, physically waved my hand as if I had a "whale shark wand" and went back to sleep...which would have coincided more or less with the moment Daniel is dropping into the water for his next dive...

*********Daniel's Post Continued**********

The next dive briefing is at 2 p.m. – I spent most of the time being envious of the other people’s encounter with the whale shark. The next dive is not a whale shark dive but it is on the same side of the island. The plan is that we will look for sharks on the way out, but we aren’t very hopeful. As we near the dive site, we start to hear some yelling, “whale shark! whale shark!” I literally fly to my equipment, throw it on as I am jumping out of the boat and start looking around. I don’t see anything, so I poke my head up to see where everyone is looking…as they look up it almost appears that they are looking up at me…almost like some sort of horror show effect. I look back under the water and I see a huge gapping mouth headed right towards me! I start taking pictures/movies. I swim as fast as I can for as long as I can…I can keep up with it! I don’t even look back to see if the boat is following me…I don’t care. I dive down, take pictures really close to the eyes, and almost forget that I need to surface for air again. It was a very similar experience to the Mola Mola from the Galapagos!

I finally give up, out of breath and panting. I see that the boat is picking up a string of people who couldn’t make it as far as I did…I smile. Once I get back on the boat, I hear everyone saying “hurry, hurry, we’re going again!” I couldn’t believe it. This time the whale shark is easy to find because it has a long string of snorkelers. We head up current and get ready to jump again. This time, I don’t go first to let the other people have a shot. As I jump in, the water is full of bubbles from all the other people jumping off the boat. Through the bubbles, the whale shark emerges – it was almost scary! I manage to swim with this one for another 10-15 minutes. This time there are divers that are keeping up with him…one of the divers even gets “run over” by the whale shark; he laid flat on the bottom of the ocean and let the whale shark swim directly over him. By this point, the water is relatively shallow – maybe 25 feet. As I keep following him, the water gets deeper and deeper. I give up after he reaches ~30 feet…I can keep up with him, but having to dive that deep while swimming that fast becomes too much…I couldn’t believe the experience…it was amazing! This one was about 25 feet long…it was impressive. I wish that Beth could have been here to see it too…under normal circumstances, she would have had no problem keeping up…being pregnant, I am not sure how easy it would have been…

The third dive was a bust – horrible visibility. It was a deep dive (~80-85 feet), which was a bit much after the last deep dive (I reached 100 feet). It wasn’t very good anyway. The ride back to the boat was almost 45 minutes and it was pretty exhausting. I wasn’t sure if I was going to do the night dive, but I’ve gained some energy back up again. Speaking of which, the bell has just tolled…

The night dive ended up being … interesting. There was a strong current, so it ended up being a pretty quick drift dive. There were only 6 of us, so the amount of extra light was smaller…meaning it was harder to see the full picture of your surroundings. Also, people kept trying to stop to take pictures of something, which meant I had to fight the current to wait for them. All of that wouldn’t have been too terrible but I forgot my dive watch! I didn’t realize until I started going down and the boat was already pulling away. My dive watch has my depth gauge…I had absolutely no idea how deep I was! Night dives are already unnerving, but this didn’t help.

Also, on a side note, one of the things that are different about this Aggressor trip compared to other dive boats is the lack of remoteness. There are 1199 islands in the Maldives and almost all of them are populated…many of them with resorts. That means that when we travel to a dive site, there is always a chance that other divers will be there. There are always lights on the horizon wherever we go. We see lots of boats, planes, and fisherman. None of that is very distracting, but it’s just different than normal. One of the plus sides is that we have 3G coverage everywhere (I still have Brian’s wireless password, so I have been checking emails throughout the trip), but I don’t like having that connection…half the people on the boat have their noses stuck in their phones the whole trip…making phone calls. I like getting away from that aspect of technology and this time I’m not as far as normal. That said, here I go about to check my email…

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Daniel's Post - Second Day of Diving

November 5 - Second Day of Diving

The first dive of the day is at Guraidyoo Corner. It is a channel/reef that is on the ocean side of the lagoon. Most of the island chains in the Maldives are grouped in lagoon areas – when we first looked at the map we thought they were big islands. This dive site was on the outside boarder.

They said that we may have to do an alternate site depending on how strong the current it, but luckily we were able to do this dive; apparently it is one of the more famous sites. The ocean is pretty rough outside the protection of the reef and we are all pretty anxious to get in the water to avoid the bumpy ride. Once in the water we quickly descend and are immediately surrounded by fish!

This dive is by far the best one of the trip so far. The visibility has greatly improved from yesterday, but it still isn’t terribly great – I would consider it “moderate.” It was good enough for us to watch thousands of fish swim around us. We saw Napoleon Wrasse, Honeycomb Eels, white tip sharks, and lots of fish. When we first went down, I didn’t think we were very deep, but when I looked at my watch, I saw it we were 90 feet down! There was so much life and the water was clear enough that I didn’t even notice how deep we were.

I did seem to feel a little weird part-way through the dive. I tried to power through it and it was ok, but my gums are already sore from my regulator and that didn’t help. Once we got back to the boat, the waves were really bad and I’m embarrassed to say that my breakfast didn’t make it…doesn’t happen often.

Second breakfast for me consisted of four pieces of French toast. I was feeling better enough to eat, but I still felt a little uneasy after breakfast, so I went to lie down. I went outside, but all the shaded places were taken so I ended up going back into the room. I remembered thinking I wasn’t tired but I woke up 2.5 hours later for lunch…I felt so much better!

Lunch was good and consisted of Red Snapper and beef burritos. I tried not to eat too much in case my stomach started acting up again. So far it’s been good. After the first dive, the boat was making the 3.5 hour trek to another lagoon of island. There was potential for rough waters (which would have been bad for me) but we were lucky and the water was as smooth as you could ask for! As we approached the next chain of islands, we got some really great pictures of very scenic islands – I was taking mental notes of where Beth and I could come for that classic water hotel spot…so far I have seen a bunch of those but only one or two that fit the bill for truly unique.

After some lounging again, our next dive started at 2:15. This was another wreck dive off the coast of an island resort. The wreck was between 60-90 feet and was surrounded by lots of little fish, several lion fish, and a boat-load of scuba divers (literally!). Apparently we decided to do this site at the same time as another dive boat, so the wreck was a little crowded. We spent about 30 minutes on the wreck and I was getting a little bored, but we spend the next 25 minutes floating along the reef – these are definitely my favorite type of dives on this trip – there was a slight current so that if I just floated it took me at the perfect speed for observing. It got to the point where I didn’t have to kick at all – I would just manage my depth by breathing in and out. It was so peaceful and relaxing – Dad even had to check that I didn’t fall asleep! Unfortunately, the visibility is still moderate which my biggest complaint is at the moment. At least the sun came out, so we are very close to perfect conditions…just need better visibility…

The last dive started at 5, which was pretty close to the end of the second one. This one was a sunset dive that is supposed to end in a night dive. It was supposed to be a drift dive alongside a reef – there was current, but it was going in the wrong direction…so we ended up fighting it the whole time. Plus, there just wasn’t much to see – it was kind of a bust dive. :-/ Tomorrow we are supposed to have good chances to see Whale sharks – I hope the visibility improves!

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Daniel's Post - Bandos Island, Boarding the Boat, and Day 1 of Diving!

November 3 - Bandos Island and the Boat

I manage to sleep in until around 7:30.  Dad is really confused because he set his alarm for 6 a.m. so he could catch the sunrise, but the alarm never went off.  He was also really confused because he couldn’t find the portrait frame lens hood.  We ended up concluding that he left the hood at home and that the daylight savings time caused his phone to revert an hour which made him miss the sunset.  He felt better, but it was a weird set of problems for me to wake up too…

First order of business is breakfast – dinner last night felt really good, but we were pretty hungry again.  It was a buffet again and they had lots of tasty fruits, eggs, pastries, hot food, etc.  They even had some curried dishes, which I felt was a bit much for breakfast.  After we finish, we head back to the room.  Shortly after we get to the room, it starts to rain.  Rain rain rain – it doesn’t stop…

We are supposed to have our luggage ready to be picked up at 11:15 – it is still pouring rain.  The guy comes in a golf cart and takes our stuff, but it gets all wet.  We wait until 12 – still raining.  After eating a full breakfast and having nothing to do but sit in the bed, I found it very difficult to stay awake – I napped a bunch of times.  It was nice.

At noon, we took the umbrellas in our room and walked to the reception area.  It was still raining, but not as hard.  One of the nice things about the rain was that it was relatively cool outside, which was nice since we had to sit in the outdoor reception area from 12 until 3.  Dad was going stir crazy, but I was really enjoying the relaxing.

At 3, the boat took a bunch of us back to the airport.  We were with one other couple who was going on the Aggressor.  Some of the other people were diving, but on a different boat.  The Aggressor couple said that they have done every single Aggressor ship with the Maldives being the final one!  We get to the airport around 3:30 and have to wait for pick up at 4.  Dad checked on his Allen wrenches, but they weren’t even in the system.  Luckily he already asked the couple from our hotel and they had some he can borrow.

They used the dive boat as the shuttle to take us to the “mother ship” but it was extremely crowded with everyone’s luggage.  It took a while to get it all loaded and we almost didn’t fit.  They shuttled us to the boat, took our shoes, and let us free on the boat!

We got the standard introduction speech, got our bunk assignments and started to unpack.  Dad and I got room #2 which was at the front of the boat.  This boat is a little different than most Aggressor boats in that there is only below-deck rooming – there are no rooms above.  The rooms are the standard boat rooms; small and compact.  After unpacking, we head up for dinner only to discover that it isn’t served until 7:30 – it is 6:30 now.  We kill some of the time with registration and beer. 

During registration, we are told that we only have Open Water certification which means that we are limited to 60 feet.  They say we can take the course for the Advanced Open Water and it involves some training dives.  Needless to say, we weren’t very happy to hear that.  So far, it hasn’t been a big deal.

Dinner was pretty good – salad, soup, and beef nuggets and veggies.  Dinner ended around 9:30, at which point everyone was starting to fade fast – especially the lady from Toronto who just landed earlier today.  We don’t have any problems sleeping tonight…

November 4 - First Day of Diving

Wake up is at 5:45 a.m.  I only woke up once last night and that was because it got very hot.  Luckily there was a fan and turning that on made a huge difference.  We had a light breakfast and then the dive briefing was at 6:15 – it was time for our first dive!

We did two dives in the morning and they were both very similar wall dives.  Unfortunately the visibility was very poor on both.  It was raining really hard on our way out to the first dive which made it surprisingly cold out.  The water was actually not as warm as I thought it would be and I later found out it was only 75* - that’s pretty cold!  

Despite those setbacks, as soon as I jumped in the water, I was reminded why I live diving and there are a couple of reasons.  One is that it is so quiet – all I hear is my breathing and occasional beeping from a dive computer.  Another is that part of diving is focusing on a lack of movement – the faster you move the faster you burn up your air.  As a result, I end up slowing down my movements.  In a similar fashion, I focus a lot of my breathing, trying to make it as slow and calm as possible.  The result is a euphoric state of existence, sort of like a medication state, where I just swim by all the life and observe.  All of that adds up to a very relaxing experience!

Both dives had a small amount of current, so I found myself just floating by without even kicking – I would just breathe in and out to go up and down – sort of like a hot air balloon underwater!  The second dive was a little warmer than the first, which was nice, but because the sun is not out, it isn’t very warm.  The dives themselves were just so-so; I feel that being so close to the very busy Male area hurts the wildlife chances – I want to move away to a more remote area!  We just had lunch and are on the move, so hopefully that is what the plan is.

After lunch, the water was pretty choppy so I lay down on the bed.  I wasn’t tired, but I did fall asleep again.  I like naps.  For this dive, we moved away from Male city – we were far enough that we could just barely see it in the distance.  I was hopeful that being this remote would result in better diving, but the visibility was still pretty poor.  This dive was a wreck dive from about 60-90 feet where we finished up on the shallow reef.  The current was strong which is partly why the visibility was bad, but it made it tricky to find the wreck.  I’m glad we were following a dive guide because we were just descending into nothing – I would have thought we were going the wrong direction – but all of a sudden, I see the outline of the ship.  We stick around down there – I miss the Napoleon Wrasse that most people see.  Then we head back to the reef and zig zag around with the current.  I did a poor job cleaning my mask before hand, so it was fogging a lot – that stunk, but I learned my lesson!  The dive is finished around 4:45 and the next briefing is at 6 – I guess that means we will get a night dive!

Before the briefing, I noticed that there were several wifi hotspots!  I was really confused but then noticed that we were driving around other islands with hotels – I was picking up their Internet!  Unfortunately, we were too far away for me to make a strong connection – oh well!

The night dive briefing starts at 6 and the dive crowd is significantly smaller than the dives earlier today…it was getting a little chilly outside.  We will be diving another reef off of a resort island.  At 6 it wasn’t fully dark out, but by the time that we arrived at the dive site, it was completely dark.  The dive itself wasn’t terribly eventful, but doing a night dive was pretty fun.  A few of the guys with big cameras look like space ships floating around because they have multiple colored lights on at all times.  The water wasn’t too cold, but it was pretty chilly by the time we got out – we took the boat back, ate dinner, and then processed pictures.

As I was starting to process pictures, one of the guys on the boat brought out his 3G to USB adapter and was broadcasting a wifi that he let people on..so, I will get to send Beth an update!  Yay technology!