Whale Watching in San Diego

     As you will soon discover by checking out the dates on the upcoming pictures, I'm a little behind in my tales for 2016.  But since I'm not making a nickel on this, I guess I can work at whatever pace pleases me.  This pace seems to please me.
     MaryAnne stayed with us till the New Year, and most days were spent visiting with Liam and Joanne, while Ben slept.  As long as we could keep Ben's belly full, he kept that happy feeling, even though he was working on only a few hours sleep.  After he's done that for a few years, he'll get better at it.  Believe me!  Liam just lets every day pass by without a care in the world.

 He doesn't act like his father at all, but seems to take after his grandfather.  He always seems to have a smile on his face, till it's time to eat, and then life takes on a whole new purpose.  But MAE and Grammie continued to spoil him every second they were able, and he certainly seemed to be enjoying all the attention.

 MAE brought along some fancy bibs and burping cloths, which everyone seemed to enjoy.  Although I think Ben put his foot down when he saw the Cowboys burping cloth come out!  There's only so much a Dad  can tolerate!
 Debbie and I enjoyed listening to them banter back and forth, as we struggled to stay impartial in all the disagreements.
      Near the end of MaryAnne's visit, we decided to venture out and take in a whale watching expedition off the coast just a short distance.  It was a little brisk that day, and we had little difficulty maintaining control of our portion of the deck.  As we exited San Diego Harbor, the wind came across the bow, and most passengers scattered for cover to await the first sighting.  Don't they both look wonderful.  And not a hair out of place!

      Debbie and I had taken Ben and Joanne out last year on our visit, and we never seemed to get close enough to any of the whales to where we could actually say we saw one.  Federal law prevents the whale boats from approaching any closer than 100 yards, but if the whale swims toward us, then that's a whole new game.  This day we were joined by 2 other whale watching excursions, and we spread out in search of the elusive Gray Whale.  These Gray Whales were on their annual migration south to the warm waters of Baja/Mexico where they will have their newborns.  The migrations started off the coast of Alaska, about 11,000 miles to the north.  They've had a treacherous journey thus far, dodging fishing lines and ropes securing lobster pots.  They often get tangled in these lines which unfortunately can result in their death unless man intervenes.  And, of course, there are response teams located all along the California coast to respond should they have to.  But as you can imagine, trying to locate a migrating whale after it's been reported can be a little like looking for a needle in a moving haystack!.  But, these professional teams are very successful if the whale is located.

     It wasn't too long before the first whale was sighted, and we were in a great location to get a pretty good look at her.  Everyone on board is scouring the water looking for that great exhale that can be seen a quite some distance.  Then we gently maneuver in anticipation of where she'll come up again. If we get too close, she can stay submerged for up to 15 minutes, and her next surface will be miles away,

      And that is what whale watching off the coast of San Diego looks like.  The sightings are quick, and the entire chase lasts only a few minutes before the whale tires of the interference and swims off.  But they are magnificent creatures, and now that they are no longer hunted, they seem to be flourishing.  Here's hoping that El Nino provides some nice warm water with an abundant amount of food for these guys.
     Here's what we looked like after 3 hours of riding the waves.  But we stuck it out in spite of the cool temperature and rolling ocean.  We were

 escorted back into the harbor by a couple of sailboats who seemed to be enjoying the wind and waves,

The Navy put on a nice show all afternoon with repeated flyovers by their helicopters, and I often wondered if the tour boats and the Navy were working in cahoots with each other spotting the whales.
     After settling in softly to our berth at the pier, Debbie took the opportunity to claim all these boats as hers.  And if she get lucky and hits the Powerball this Wednesday, which currently is $1.38 BILLION, with a "B", she can buy anything she wants.

                                                      I myself, will take this one!