Whale Watch

For her birthday, Leanne asked to go whale watching. 

So Friday, while she was still out of school for Presidents Day Week (!), 

 
and Leia had parental permission to skip school, 

we headed for Island Packers in Ventura Harbor.

As always, there’s no guarantee we’d see whale(s), 

and for the first 2+ hours it looked like we were going to get skunked. 

We saw a seal almost before we cleared the harbor,

 There’s a seal on the buoy, honest

along with lots of brown pelicans hanging out on the jetty.

It didn’t take the captain long to locate the local dolphin hangout.

They came racing toward the boat,

jumping and diving,

swimming alongside

just under the water

and playing in the boat’s wake

so close we could almost touch them. 

There were easily several hundred dolphins in the immediate area. 

It was amazing 

and the girls were beyond thrilled.

Then we cruised up to Carpinteria

and the outskirts of Santa Barbara 

without seeing much of anything but crab pot markers

and a Mylar balloon that the crew snagged on our way by.

Then finally, with only about 30 minutes left on our cruise,

the star appeared

and put on quite a show. 

Judging by his size, the crew thought this humpback whale was probably a teenager.

He stayed close enough to the boat

that we got good photos with our iPhones,

including details like the barnacles on his (her?) back. 

And, like a seasoned performer, he saved the best for last. A series of about 20 loud tail thumps, one after another. It.was.awesome! 

Or as Leanne put it, “best birthday present ever!”