Liam’s Birthday Plus Covid Tests

Location: Rodney Bay, St Lucia

Today started with a wonderful morning wake-up at 6:30 since we had to leave early for our COVID tests. It was a very special day since it was Liam’s 20th birthday!!! For breakfast, we had lemon poppyseed muffins with a delicious lemon glaze, courtesy of Sam, Brahm, and mostly Addisen, which was a great way to start off the morning. We then loaded up the dinghies and set out to go get our COVID tests. This process took a while which we all spent reading or playing card games. After our COVID tests, which felt amazing (sarcasm), we went to a surf shop and spent some time browsing. Nobody ended up buying anything besides a bucket hat ( Addisen bought it, and it is the cutest bucket hat to have ever existed). We headed over to a pizzeria (that for some reason doesn’t sell pizza on Mondays) where we were able to order burgers, pasta, milkshakes, etc. A highlight of this meal was when Keaton suggested to Liam to mention that it was his birthday today. Before Liam had any time to react, Keaton had already told the restaurant, which ended up gifting Liam a free strawberry sorbet! After lunch, we made our way back to Ocean Star for Oceanography and Leadership. Oceanography was very informative as usual, and our Leadership class consisted of Chris’s presentation, which led to some very productive conversations. We then took our EFR Exams that I hope went well. Then, we had downtime, which people used to either shower or free dive. We then had dinner, which was baked ziti and some cookie brownies, which were delicious! (Thanks for the tasty dessert Keaton!). Then we sang Liam a happy birthday which he then followed it up with a majestic dance. This is usually where our day ends, but wait, there’s more. All of a sudden green lights start to glow underwater, which captivates everyone’s attention! It was almost like these critters knew how special today was for our boi Liam. Now our day is done, and I don’t have any more excuses for why I haven’t finished my rough draft yet. I gotta go before I get too lazy and go to sleep, but in my defense, I have 5-6 watch tonight. Anyway, complaints aside, we are setting off for Dominica tomorrow afternoon, which we are all looking forward to! It has been an honor and a privilege being your skipper, and now I bid thee farewell.

(Hello to everyone from home that’s reading this! Tell Maya I’m getting my room back when I come home).

Picture 1: Liam with his cake, made by Keaton, and spectators
Picture 2: Liam being his best self on his b-day
Picture 3: Celia and Noah having a gander at our new friend
Picture 4: Henry receiving his haircut from Celia because apparently Addisen’s haircut wasn’t good enough
Picture 5: Some folks enjoying some free time
Picture 6: Having a great lunch with my milkshake in the background
Picture 7: My mistake I forgot to take pictures inside the COVID center, so here you go