It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

It started off as a great day. We were all packed up and ready for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Picton to catch the ferry to take us from the South Island back to the North Island.

About an hour into the trip Natalie needed to stop to use the restroom. She has to stop a LOT. So Jeff started looking. He settled on a boutique chocolate factory. Yes! I love it when my bathroom breaks come with free chocolate. The whole place smelled like heaven and mint. I could have moved in.

We made it to the ferry line and listened to Harry Potter while we waited to drive onto the boat (they were running late). Natalie and I were medicated for motion sickness, so I wasn't too worried. Last time she watched a movie and played on the playground (can you hear the foreboding music).

We got some comfy seats near a window and settled in. Our captain quickly informed us that there were 5 meter seas today, which he later upgraded to 7 meter seas (that's 21 feet people)! The playground was closed, so we looked out the window and cruised on.

The first hour was OK, as we were in protected waters, but the next 3 hours were nothing short of horrific. The boat (which is really big), would ride up a wave and slam back down on the other side, then tilt from side to side. A local Maori kids sports team aboard would cheer for each wave (so I knew it was coming). People started tossing their cookies left and right. The motion sickness bags were in high demand. Chairs were sliding, breaking glass was heard in the kitchen, doctors on board were summoned over the loud speaker. The sports kids started singing and chanting in Maori, a nice distraction as they sounded like a peaceful choir, when they weren't cheering for the waves. I made a couple of runs to the bathroom, but mercifully both Natalie and I managed to not puke. Natalie fell asleep half way through and I kept my eyes shut and was in and out of sleep (thank you medication) followed by prayer. We felt like puking the whole time, though. Jeff, who was not medicated, was fine - crazy.

We made it safely to Wellington where I practically kissed the ground. Thank goodness we fly out of Auckland and don't have to make the Cook Straight crossing again. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.