Movin' West - Day 24

Thursday, September 25, 2008 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON!!!

Whale watch day started out cloudy and cool, with a brisk wind. Before we left for the boat, it was raining pretty hard, and we were debating whether or not we would go. Fortunately, the rain stopped and we went. What a fantastic experience! The weather got better as we sailed out to the whale-spotting area, and the sun came out when we got there. The rain held off until we were on our way back to the docks. We took a ton of pictures, but for the sake of brevity, we only posted the best of the lot (we took over 90 pictures - mostly of just water!). Let me apologize ahead of time if the pictures are not professional quality, but....we ARE NOT professionals!

Kathy was concerned about the boat ride and the weather when we left the motor home. However, when we saw the boat, those fears were allayed. This boat was pretty huge, 101 feet long and 24 feet wide, and she weighs a petite 99.2 tons! Plenty of room to be comfortable, inside and out. We set sail exactly at noon, after being briefed by the captain, Mike, about safety procedures, and what to expect on the cruise. The rest of the crew consisted of Mark, the engineer; Bart, the naturalist, and Brooke, the Galley Goddess! Mark was responsible for maintaining everything mechanical on the boat. Bart was responsible for keeping us informed about the geography and the animals we would be seeing on our cruise. Brooke was responsible for keeping us fed and watered (at a price - think Fenway Park!!), and, also, for keeping the "heads" clean! All in all, a very good, congenial crew. nfortunately, we did not take any pictures of the crew, or the boat. Not enough time for either. If anyone gets a chance to visit this area, PLEASE, PLEASE put the whale watch on your agenda because it is well worth the cost of the cruise. These guys, Island Adventures, guarantee that your will see whales on their cruise, and they come through on that promise!

OK, tomorrow we head down to Olympic National Park. We will probably be there for at least 3 days, maybe more. Stay tuned for that.

Here's your link to today's web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbenoitiii/TheTripWhaleWatchTourDay24?authkey=rVqaCeSjggc#