Thoughts on the flood

So Ish and I received a one year Bible for Christmas and so we've decided that we are going to try and read through the entire Bible in a year. It seems easy enough but it's actually really hard b/c I've personally already have struggled with being too tired to read one day and so it's very easy to get behind. With that said, I was reading the passage in Genesis about Noah and the flood. I have heard this story over and over as a kid and have read it many times but last night as I was reading something occured to me. I found it interesting that God decided to flood the earth because of the sin and wickedness of the world. It's just strange to think of how much sin there really was from when He created the world until Noah's day. Was it as bad as it is today? It's just bizarre to think that it had to be really bad for God to get so angry and destroy all that he had created. Gen 6:5-7 says that God regretted that He had made man on the earth and had grief in his heart. I never knew that God regretted creating man. Imagine how he must feel toward man today.
On a sidenote, Ish and I were watching the history chanel about a month ago and this woman was in this desert that had fossils of whales. Also the sand was formed like it had been under the water and she mentioned that as well. Anway, after reading the story of the flood it occured to me that the desert she was at and all the fossils she found was probably from the flood. Because God flood the whole earth the Bible said it took like 7 months for the water to go down. Imagine all the sea creatures that were in the flood that were probably spread all over the place and when the waters went down, some of them died b/c they weren't in the ocean. Anyway, that's my thought and not sure if it's correct but it definitely got me thinking. It also got me excited to keep reading more of God's word. I'm definitely looking forward to learning more things from scripture that I've read many times growing up. It's amazing what God will teach you.
well just thought I'd share my thoughts and would love to know your thoughts on this if you got any!