Week 14: A Boat Birthday

Week 14: April 2-8, 2023

There are many people from my hometown who went off to college and have eventually made their way down to live in San Diego. I feel a bit ahead of the curve when it comes to trendy places to move when you're in your 20's. I'm already living in San Diego because I came here for undergrad and never left. It's great for the people who move here, because it means they've got a guaranteed tour guide in a fun city, and great for me because its fun to catch up with old friends and to see how we've grown over the years.

One of my friends from high school is one of these San Diego transplants and it was his birthday this weekend. I was thrilled to be invited to his birthday celebrations, especially because it included being on a boat!

For many of you who do not have the luxury of living in sunny San Diego, I'll let you in on a not-so-secret secret. Renting a boat for two hours in Mission Bay is one of the most affordable, guaranteed fun times you can have when the weather starts to get warmer.

Every Spring and Summer seson since the middle of our college years, my friends and I end up celebrating milestones, birthdays, and absolutely nothing at all by partying on a boat. There are a bunch of boat rental different companies in San Diego to choose from, with different styles of boats and different rules. For example, there are ones with a full bar and bartender and ones where you're allowed to bring your own drinks. There are boats you're allowed to jump off and swim from, and ones you're not. Some have bathrooms on board and some where you've gotta hold it till you get back to land. There are boats that have a designated captain and ones that you drive yourself. All of the different options are fun, but I definitely prefer the captained, bathroom-ed, BYOB variety.

This weekend's boat was the first time I was on a captained, crewed, bathroom-ed, bartended boat. The birthday boy booked it through Alana Yacht Rentals and there were about 25 of us on deck.

The "crew" was made up of one singular lady who gave us the safety spiel and helped us connect to the Bluetooth speakers. The captain was a generically attractive white guy. We probably only thought he was good-looking because he was the captain, you know? The bartender was a jolly character who was wearing a disco ball on a necklace, gifted to him by the party before ours.

This boat had an open floorplan (do boats have floorplans?), with a covered area and seats along the sides, as well as two on board bathrooms (!!!). The middle section under the roof included the speakers, bar and captain's wheel. There was a massive screen that showed a bunch of squiggly line charts, numbers, colorful maps, and the boat's MPH. I asked a bunch of questions about the numbers and colors on the map. The boat was equipped with some type of radar to make sure we didn't hit anything. The captain assured me that we could not exceed 25 MPH in the bay. Yes, even if the coast guard wasn't looking.

If you want to see a 3D tour of the boat itself:

https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=HdAnTCkVpj9

It wasn't warm enough to jump off and swim, but I asked the captain many questions about the logistics of the ladders that get deployed from the deck and whether or not people were allowed to jump off the roof. He said unfortunately, on Alana boats, the roof is for crew and maintenance only. I think he was possibly getting sick of my questions.

It is kind of hard to have a bad time on a boat, especially if you're not prone to getting seasick and you're surrounded by friends, drinks, and sunshine. I joked that nature was healing from the battle against the winter and cold, rainy days. The first boat rental of the year marks the beginning of the happy season in San Diego. As someone who suffers greatly during long periods of cloudy, cold weather, I feel myself recharging with the sun. I could never live in a rainy place. I think it is better for everyone that I live in a generally sunny and warm place. If I didn't, I think I would be insufferable. If you asked the captain, he might say that I am insufferable regardless, but hey, I was curious and he had answers.

I love celebrating my friends' birthdays, and am so glad I can do fun things like this when I can.

I love making cards, especially silly ones.

The birthday gift I gave was a bottle of nice sake and my staple "bird day, silly goose" card, but I should've gotten this pelican we saw through the gift shop window. It would've been one of those "getting someone a gift for yourself" situations, but just look at him. He is perfect. A different kind of silly goose. A silly goose but... ocean-y.

If the gift shop was open, I would have purchased this pelican immediately.

See you next week.