Whale Watching

A couple of weekends ago, Alan and I met Jared, Alisa Ashcroft, Cheryl, and Thad Quist in Newport Beach for a little weekend get-away. On Friday, Feb. 21st we (without Alan) were able to climb aboard this boat in Newport Beach to go whale watching. This is something I had never done before.

(Stock photo - I forgot to take a photo of our boat.)

The tour lasted about 2 hours. Alan was afraid of getting motion sick so he stayed behind, but the rest of us really enjoyed the experience.

The first sign of aquatic life we saw was a bunch of seals (or sea lions - not sure which). They were entertaining. One kept jumping out of the water trying to find a spot on the buoy, but the limited space was already occupied.

I found out that whale watching can actually be a little boring simply because once you spot a whale, they emerge from the water long enough to breathe a couple of times and you can only see about the upper 1/5 of their body.  Then you see a tail fin as he dives back down into the ocean depths for another 5 minutes.  I tried to take some photos of the two whales we saw, but I didn't have a telephoto lens to get a good photo (I was using my iPhone camera). The whales are easily spooked so we couldn't get too close to them.

This is what a grey whale looks like:

This is what we mostly saw only from a distance:

I like the looks of the Orca, or Killer Whale better, but it was still fun to see the grey whales as they do their migration. This is what I read about their migration:

The gray whale is one of the animal kingdom's great migrators. Traveling in groups called pods, some of these giants swim 12,430 miles (20,000 kilometers) round-trip from their summer home in Alaskan waters to the warmer waters off the Mexican coast.

After following the whales for a while, the boat picked up speed and headed out to find dolphins. I have to admit, the dolphins were much more fun to watch than the whales. Dolphins have been my favorite animal since I was a child. I fell in love with "Flipper". I LOVE dolphins! They are fun, playful, and smart. Alan and I were able to swim with a dolphin when we went to Discovery Cove a few years ago in Orlando, Florida, and it was one of the funnest days of my life! I would go there every day if I could.

This shot of a dolphin was taken by Thad. So beautiful with the sunset.

Alisa, Jared, Me, Cheryl, and Thad at the back of the boat.

Sadly, a week after this trip, Jared broke off his engagement with Alisa. We understand his reasons, but it will take a while for us to adjust to the fact that he won't be getting married this spring. We really liked Alisa.  I think that Jared's relationship with her was good for both of them, but that marriage just wasn't right for them. Hopefully they will both soon find someone they can fall in love with, marry, and find the happiness they are seeking.