March 30, 2010

Ending on a (large) High Note

Or "Holy Leviathan!" Or "Thar She Blows!" (or skip this post if you're not into whales)

One of the many things I enjoy about whale watching is the pure unpredictability of the day. Sometimes unusual things happen before I get to the boat, like the day I first notices the plaid Volvo station wagon. I know I have a picture of it somewhere, (here it is, on my cell phone) and now I see it almost every time I head down to the boat.

Some things might be considered unusual in a different setting, but are common place in San Diego Bay. Like seeing an aircraft carrier every time I go whale watching, because the carrier basin is just across the bay, and the Midway Museum is just south of where the boat ties up. I sorta take it for granted that they're there and so seldom take pictures. Same thing with the Navy security boats. But still, even though I see some of these things every week, they're not commonplace every where. If you're interested in seeing some pictures, click here.

Back to unusual things. I volunteer with the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, and we go out looking for Gray Whales, which migrate south and then north past San Diego from late December until late March. (I don't know why I didn't talk about this sooner!) While we're looking for Grays, we might also see several types of dolphins, sea lions, seals and just maybe other types of whales. Last week we saw Fin whales, today we thought we were seeing a Fin, but it turned out to be a Blue Whale! A Blue Whale! The largest animal to ever inhabit the Earth. I did not get any pictures, but Caitlin did and she posts a whale watching blog for the Birch Aquarium. Her picture(s) of the Blue whale should show up later this week. I didn't think I'd ever see a Blue whale. What a way to wrap up my last day of whale watching this season.

1 comment:

  1. That is so. cool.

    I don't generally go whale watching (sea sickness), but I love whales. (I did once find myself swimming with dolphins off Black's Beach and nearly had a heart attack thinking they were sharks.)

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