Whale Watch

I’ve been meaning to post this (and others) since our trip. Finally have ‘some’ time.

So Jen and her mother wanted to do a whale watch out of Boothbay. I wasn’t really interested. It wasn’t like we were going to see Moby Dick and I had a lot of work I wanted to get done while they were away.

But as the morning went on and I made a lot of progress with work, I decided an afternoon with Abigail on a big boat wasn’t such a bad idea.

We caught the boat just as the gangway was pulling clear and settled into some seats on the port side. First task of our journey was to apply suntan lotion.

With the lotion slathered on, we were headed out to sea.

Well not quite, the harbor and bay area are rather large.

Then of course there was the lighthouse at the entrance, which meant our exit.

Finally open sea, but now it’s chilly so time for a fleece.

Since it was Jen that really wanted to do the whale watch, she ran off to check out the harbor seals and porpoises. Meanwhile Abigail and I got some serious Daddy/Daughter time, which for me was way better than any whale watch.

Yeah, we look miserable, but we hung out and played the entire time – barely getting up to see the Minke Whales – which really aren’t that interesting.

Though what was interesting was the Ocean Sunfish basking in the sun. There was a brief time that I let her Grandmother hold her, while I went about and checked things out.

I checked out things like the wake created by the boat.

It was a big boat that hauled ass pretty well. I guess they need something that can haul a lot of people then motor them around quickly between sightings before they revolt and throw the captain overboard. After spending some time with the fury at the stern, I made it back to the girls to find Jen completely mesmerized by the sun on the water.

She took this shot and this movie, which I didn’t think would come out too well, but alas captures the sparkle of the sun off the infinite waves pretty well.

So we motor around a bit and chase another Minke Whale or two. It’s about 3 hours into a 4 – 5 hour trip when someone starts to get tired – someone meaning Abigail.

There wasn’t much to do or anywhere to put her (we left the stroller at home and only brought a backpack as a diaper bag, which is probably why the mother and daughter next to us thought we were from Colorado?), so I did a little Daddy dance (bounce up and down on the balls of your feet lightly) until she fell asleep. And sleep she did for the last hour.

We missed the lighthouse going back into the bay,

And most of the bay/harbor area too.

Not until we got back to the dock and the noisy people were getting off did she wake up.

All in all it was a great trip. I’d highly recommend it, but only if you have Abigail to hang out with.

– b