Our anniversary fell over Veteran’s Day long weekend (as it always does) so we planned a weekend of whale/dolphin watching in Dana Point and some time in Long Beach, including the Aquarium of the Pacific. The night before we were about to head out, Elias woke up with a tummy ache and then threw up. It turned into a long night of mattress cleaning, laundry, sheets, etc.

He woke up the next day seemingly totally normal and was pretty famished so we let him have some breakfast. We asked him if he still wanted to go and he said yes. So off we went… Everything was booked after all.

Stopped in San Clemente @ a coffee shop…

Where he then started to not feel well again… Nearly seconds after this photo was taken, he hurled ALL over the little nook — pillows, table, cushions and all. We paused for a second to make sure that really did happen and then jumped into parental and apologetic patron mode. The owners/workers were accommodating beyond belief — they helped us clean up his puke with so much grace and courtesy — left a huge tip afterwards but not nearly enough for their kindness. And even the patrons were so empathetic, commenting, “Poor guy” and “Been there”. It took quite a long time to “wash up” E and his clothing in the public restroom. What do you know — the ONE time we didn’t pack extra clothing on a trip. We hand washed his garments and left it on the front dash to dry.

But then after regurgitation #2, he magically felt good again… Smiles as he boarded the ship for the whale watch.

The rocking and billowing waves didn’t seem to upset his stomach.

Amazing display of dolphins! They told us before we departed that the previous tour saw several humpbacks.

Guess they ventured back to deeper waters for our tour.

It was just around sunset as we disembarked. Those colors in the sky — can’t even mix them up if we tried. :) We were cautious about E eating anything so we let him have a few crackers on the ship. However, he was starving again and we *mistakenly* let him have a corn dog after the watch. Afterwards, we decided to stop in Irvine for some TW food on the way to Long Beach and E got progressively worse… Sensing a cycle here?

Mommy and Daddy grabbed a super quick dinner while E was just queasy. We had started carrying a plastic bag everywhere we went and towards the end of this meal, Daddy was milliseconds in time to grab it out where E had another episode. :( Yes, in the resto. Yes, with tables and people eating. But he couldn’t help it, right? At least the bag caught all of it!

We got to the hotel in Long Beach and after no food and a good night’s rest, E felt fairly well again. As hungry as he was, we decided it was better for him not to have breakfast but to stick to liquids. E was sad to miss out on hotel waffles but he knew if he ate anything, we’d have to pay for it later. We asked him again if he’d be okay to go the aquarium and he again was up for it. Trooper!

Mommy wants to eat all of these jellies, haha!

Seeing smiles was a sigh of relief!

The aquarium wasn’t as big or as extensive as like Shedd, Georgia or Monterrey but def worth at least one visit.

Took a walk by the water afterwards. E was feeling closer to normal at this point.

Did a drive through downtown Long Beach and stopped for some drinks and a snack. We let E have a smoothie.

We then stopped at Uncle Fung Borneo Eatery where we had ordered from before and Y had thought it was legit SE Asian food… We ordered to-go and then drove back to SD. E was still on a close to BRAT diet for that evening and the next day but since he had stopped throwing up and was feeling fine, he slowly started eating solid foods and was okay to go back to school.

As we reflected on this particular weekend, we thought (perhaps overly, ha!) how it was sort of a metaphor to marriage and the last thirteen years. There are good, beautiful days and there are hard, rough days… But we just roll with it (‘cuz it pretty much is a roller coaster ride, ha!) and carry on. Pictures sometimes just show an exterior facade but under the surface, there may be more than meets the eye. But ultimately, it all comes down to the heart… Are our hearts aligned with the Lord’s and when it is, we, in turn, grow closer to each other and as a family. But enough philosophical ramblings already…

So, Happy 13th to us! The weekend of celebration was not what we expected but we are grateful for another year… Cheers to the (God willing!) many more to come.