Eric and I took an entire day to ourselves and went on a whale watching tour. What a fun adventure! We took the Victoria Clipper to Friday Harbor first thing in the morning, about a 4 hour ride, then left from there to scout out where the orca whales were. On the way we passed under Deception Pass. It was a completely different experience going under the bridge this time! A lot less scary - in fact Eric and I were kind of shocked at how peaceful it looked from this point of view!
Isn't the coastline beautiful behind me?
I had to add this picture even though Eric is not happy about it! :) He fell asleep on my shoulder on the way there but when I had to lean forward to get something I was surprised to see that he really wasn't leaning on me at all! He stayed completely asleep all slumped over to the side with his head in mid-air - it was so funny I had to take a picture!!
Now on to the exciting stuff! There are several pods of resident orcas in the Puget Sound and San Juan Islands as well as transient orca whales that come through. The orcas we saw were one of the resident pods (the whale people can identify them by their dorsal fins). It was
thrilling to see them. Truly exhilarating to catch the first glimpse of dorsal fins in the distance and puffs of steam from their blowing. Eric and I were glued to the side with our eyes searching the water constantly for another glimpse. The highlight of the trip was when we got to witness an orca whale jump clear out of the water and splash down - it's called breaching. We got to see it THREE times!! It was so cool! Of course I didn't get a picture of that with my wimpy camera. Mostly I only got shots of the big dorsal fins (they can get up to 6 feet tall!) which is just not as exciting to see in a picture as it was in real life! The best I could do was this. Which I'm still proud of! :)
This whale was rolling on the surface of the water - I think that is actually a pectoral fin.
Friday Harbor After whale watching, we got to spend several hours in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. By then the sun was out and we got to enjoy the beautiful island in the warmth. The harbor was fantastic with a whole fleet of gorgeous yachts and sailboats, one of which was all the way from Texas! We had fun imagining what life would be like to live on an island and sail all over the world!
We had lunch at this fabulous little restaurant - it was so fun, check out the backgrounds of the pictures. It was rustic and old world with weathered brick and wood, brass gas lamps, huge sails and rigging, and even a replica of a sail boat at the entrance. (Actually it was the replica used in the movie White Squall. The owner of the restaurant is a famous animal trainer for Hollywood.) I ordered The Ploughman's Platter of rustic bread, cheese, meats, pickled onions, and relishes served on a wooden platter! So cool!
Finally we headed for home. What a day!!!
I had to capture Eric taking pictures of his beloved city as it came into view! :)
8 comments:
Fun! I'm glad you were able to get away for the day together and that the weather turned out okay. I've never been on the water at Deception Pass, that would be quite a different experience for sure. I'm glad you saw some whales!!!
I am so jealous! My goal in life is to see a whale! That is so awesome! I have to say it is so weird to see you guys wearing warm clothes. It was 109 here today and we were DYING of the heat with our awful swamp cooler. Glad you guys got to have a day away!
How fun! Was it your first time whale watching? We're now planning to make it a yearly or bi-yearly experience I think. Too great to pass up! I'm glad you guys had such a fun day trip and you got tons of great pics! Except for that seal that looked a bit possessed, that one was scary, lol.
How fun! It sounds like you guys are doing so great. Nyah is adorable and getting so big, what a cutie!
What an adventure!! That sounds so cool! The whales look amazing--love the shot of sleepy Eric:) and yum that lunch looks sooo good! You look so pretty Britt! I miss you like crazy! I need sister time!! xoxoxo
That sounds like such a neat, fun experience! I love all the gorgeous colorful pictures of the sailboats. Esp the one with Eric standing to the right with the sailboats behind him to the left. I loved the pictures of the orcas that you found! Such a fun outing! Washington is so gorgeous and green. I loved the shoreline behind you in that one picture. You looked so beautiful in all of these pictures. Eric and you are a beautiful good looking couple! I'm so glad that you got to go on this fun date. Oh, and the restaurant looked so cool too! I loved all the pictures you included.
Wow! What a great day. I have never seen whales out in the natural habitat like that. You and Eric do the funnest things. It seems like every time I call you are out having an adventure. Loved all the pics - makes me miss being with you, but I'm so glad I can see what you are doing. XOXOXOXOXO Mom
Oh, I was just looking at this post again and realized I didn't comment. This day looked amazing! I swear, Eric and you do the coolest stuff. The pictures were so cool, too. I would love to see lots of whales like that. And I would love to have an all day date with my husband!
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