“Carla Nicola”

“We sold it,” my dad explained without making eye contact with me. The thought of not being able to spent time on our boat anymore made me cringe. A part of me was missing because I created memories from tubing in the ice cold water, to catching my first fish on that boat. So when my dad decided to get a new boat, I felt as if old times were being brought back.

“Carla Nicola” reads the back of the shiny, white boat. It is anchored to a wooden dock each time I arrive. The waves rock the boat back and forth while the sun beams down on the boat making it appear very shiny. I can smell the zesty aroma of Mexican food from the restaurant down the street.  There is a platform on the boat that leads to a seating area and the bottom is covered in light grey rug. It leads up to where my dad drives. In the marina, I hear the sounds of motors purring. The whole boat is covered in plastic removable windows, boarded in navy blue. I am always anxious to detach the ropes from the boat and remove the windows to leave for a ride. The comfort of my dad’s boat is the reason why this is my favorite place to be. Memories are created each time I spend a day with my family on the boat, but one memory I will never forget is when my family from Canada came with us for a boat ride.

Once we detach the ropes and begin driving, my brown hair blows through the salty air. I feel as if I don’t have a worry in the world. The deep blue ocean and the white, bubbly foam put me in a peaceful mood. This day happened to be one of the days when the ocean was flat, like a sheet of glass and there were no clouds in the sky. The sky was blue like my favorite nail polish. We were on our way to have dinner in Newport, Road Island.
“What are you going to eat Nikki!?” shouts my little cousin Aliah over the roaring motors.

I think of all the mouthwatering choices from all the different restaurants in Road Island. I love seafood, so I think I’ll just go with that.

“Maybe some lobster!” I yell back. “What were you thinking?”

“I want whatever you get!” she replies and smiles.

Aliah always seems to be following what I do. I don’t have a younger sister, but when I’m with her, I feel like she is my sister. I adore that she wants to be like me.

My cousins Amanda, Aliah, Kadin, and my sister, Carla make our way to the top of the boat so we could look out at the turquoise and green flat waters. Sometimes if we were far enough from the shore, I could see millions of people on the sandy beaches, and off in the distance I could see hotels. We came close to some of the enormous houses as we approached the Newport suspension bride. The bridge is a light green color and has gigantic cement blocks shaped as “A’s”. Cars, trucks, and buses pass above us on the bridge. They look much smaller than from close up because of their distance from us.

“Let’s take a picture!” I shout.

Everyone’s hair looks like mops as it blows in their faces.

“Slow down the boat!!” I yell to my dad.

He begins to drive slower and the wind starts to die down. I see birds flying overhead. Their wings spread out flapping in the air as they dance across the sky.

“Aliah come next to me.” Amanda explains. “Kadin, next to Aliah and Nicola you go next to Kadin. Carla you go to the other end.”

My uncle holds up his camera and counts down. “Three…two…one… Everyone smile!”

Although all of our hair was in our faces and none of us were even ready for the photo, I can look back at the picture and remember the day I spent with my family. When I see the picture, I notice I am laughing at my sister for sticking out her tongue and everyone else is turned towards me trying to figure out what I’m laughing about. All of our arms wrapped around each other, showing that we have a bond that will never be broken.

My cousins from Canada are some of my favorite people to spend time with on my boat because they help me recreate memories that I once had on my old boat. Although everything may not be the same since my parents are no longer married, I feel like everything is when I’m with them.