The pink and orange sun peeked over the mountainous terrain of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, as we rode into the Pacific Ocean on a small fishermen boat. It was 6:00 in the morning, and with the ocean breeze, freezing outside.

My grandfather, Poppy, has traveled all over the North and South America on fishing trips. He normally takes with him his sons and grandsons, but this time it was different. My Uncle had become sick the night before and Poppy needed someone to go with him. I was shocked when he asked my mom and me to go, because it is normally a guys’ trip. Of course I said yes; I couldn’t wait for my first real fishing trip.

You really couldn’t pick a prettier place than the coast of Mexico at sunrise. It was early and there is just something so magical about seeing the sun rise over mountain tops and reflect on the water with two people you love the most, your grandfather and your mother.

We rode on a small fishermen boat down the coast line until we could not see any more houses, just pure, untouched beach and put our rods in the clear ocean water. Because it was my first time fishing, I had no idea what to expect. They said it was a pretty slow day, but I wouldn’t know the difference; I was just enjoying the view and the company of my family.

Before I knew it something was pulling on a line, so they let me reel it in. I was way harder than I had expected. The biggest fish I had ever caught before was the size of fish we were using for bait. The type of fish you hold closer to the camera to give it the appearance of being larger than it actually was.

I began to reel in and the fish put up a huge fight. Every time it got close to the boat, it swam away. I kept looking back at the guides hoping for help telling them that I couldn’t reel anymore, but they wouldn’t help me; they let me do it all by myself. After a 15 minute fight with the fish, I pulled up a 18-pound Dorado. The fish was beautiful and tasted even better than it looked.

0I was really excited when I caught the biggest fish of the day; but what made me more excited was the pride on my grandfathers’ face when he saw the fish. I could see the pride on his face all day, from when we told the story to our family members at home to when we ate it for dinner that night. It gave him something to smile about.  At the end of the day nothing is better than bringing joy to someone just by spending time with them.