Whales and More Whales

 

We didn’t start getting ready to move early on Sunday.  We figured check-out time would be around noon at the park we were at.  We also assumed check-in time would be close to noon at the  park we were going to.  Since our move was about ten miles north, there was absolutely no sense in hurrying.  There were many things good about moving and that included  the water, the beach, the view and proximity to the town.

View from our window

By 12:30 we were in our new site, set up and enjoying that view.  Duchess loves walking in the sand on the beach so that was the first plan of action.  The next thing I did was walk around our new RV park and checked out the view and the marina.

I decided to walk over to the other side of the marina and see if there were actually any whale watching trips open and operating at Pacific Express.  They only go out with a minimum of 15 people scheduled.  I wanted to check out their schedule and  availability.

I checked it out alright and we were on the next outing at 2:30 that afternoon.  Obviously, we had to run.  I wasn’t really prepared since I hadn’t actually planned on checking it out for a day or two.  My GoPro camera wasn’t even charged.  Neither was my Samsung phone but I had two batteries partially charged for my camera so away we went.

I have been on a couple whale watching adventures in the past …. other than the kayak one a couple weeks ago.  One whale watching trip was out of Victoria, Canada and the other from Gloucester, MA.  Those boats were packed and crowded.  This boat was a pleasant surprise.  It was the nicest and most comfortable one of all. The cabin was large plus there was certainly plenty deck space to hang around outside when we arrived close to the whale pods.  The boat headed to the Haro Strait by San Juan Island.  That’s where the whales were and that’s where we were going.  It was a fast boat and we were there in no time.

Saying that those were the only times I had seen whales would not be quite right. When we lived in Port Angeles my dad used to fish in the Strait of Juan de Fuca often.  We kept our eyes open for whales as the transients moved through the area fairly often.  We saw lots of them coming through but we didn’t want to see them then.  They were big and could tip the boat plus the salmon didn’t bite when the whales were around. Of course, that was a different time.

This time we saw them berth, we saw them mating (so the captain said) and we saw them peeking at us. We enjoyed the show they put on.

I didn’t get a lot of good shots.  Either I wasn’t ready when they did their fantastic water moves or I was shooting into the sun.  We did enjoy the trip.

We certainly enjoyed the trip.  Now if the wind goes away, we’ll be able to get the kayaks in the water.  We’ll be here for a few more days.  Since we have no reservations, we’re not sure which direction we’re going to head.  We could go west or we could go south.  There will be more water someplace else.


‘Tis life on the road.

When life gives you lemons, squeeze them in people’s eyes.