#47-50. Go to a Bachelor Party, etc.

When in Texas..... #48 = illegally drinking a beer in a gas station parking lot.Our friend Ulf isn't a conventional guy, so it was no big surprise to me when both Josh & I were invited to his bachelor party. To be fair, Ulf is from Minnie but now lives in Texas and is marrying a great gal who has yet to meet a lot of his buddies. They're having a very small wedding and it just seemed appropriate to have as many friends as could make it to Port Aransas, Texas in on the festivities. So co-ed bachelor party (#47), here I come!Port A is about 50 miles north of South Padre. It's less of a spring break destination, but still a resort-y seaside town with lots of ridiculous t-shirt shops, cute divey bars and lots of fishing. We flew in Friday and hung out with the crew that afternoon, sipping drinks by the pool, eating piles of shrimp boil with our bare hands and, later, hanging out by a bonfire. Someone had the brilliant idea of going deep sea fishing the next morning at 7am. I've wanted to go fishing in the ocean MY ENTIRE LIFE (#49) and have never been, so I hit the hay around 11:30. I don't know when Josh went to bed, but I do know that when he did, he reeked of really fancy Scotch! I'm gonna catch me a marlin!I was shocked at how many people were up (groggy, but awake) and ready to go just after 7am.  Thirteen of us headed to Dolphin Dock, Inc. to embark on our glorious four hours of fishing Port A's serene bay. The boys packed a few cases of beer for the occasion, which I thought was excessive, but hey this was my first bachelor party, so what did I know. It's never too early for a beer when you're at a bachelor party! Lisa (another lady crashing the brofest), Red & the Bachelor... full of optimism and breakfast!As this was a public fishing trip, we piled onto the boat along with about 20 strangers. The weather was perfect, the views were stunning, the salty sea air invigorating. We headed out into the bay, along the breaker water. And then we just kept going.The sea was angry that morning, my friends. Within the first half an hour, all but four of us were tossing breakfast tacos overboard. I was one of the lucky ones; our friend Bendo was just one of the morning's casualties: Wow, this sure is fun! Only 3 more hours 'til we're back on land.With the majority of our group out of commission, I baited my hook and tried to catch us dinner. This was the first time I've ever put anything on a hook that wasn't a night crawler (#49).  I wasn't freaked out at all! I got the [dead] shrimp on the hook! I may have over-reacted just a wee bit.We fished for nearly four hours. I caught one small creature that required careful hook removal as it sported fins with barbs designed to cut predators and inject them with an infectious bacteria. Someone else caught a similar fish. We tossed both back. Our friend Red was the only person to reel in a keeper. We cooked up those two 3 oz. filets for an appetizer that night. The best .01 oz of fish I've ever tasted!If you're considering a deep sea fishing excursion, watch this video first. Eight out of 13 fishermen/women agree: Dramamine is a great idea!