My Whale Watching Adventure
My husband and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary last month. One of the greatest things about moving fairly frequently is that you get to go to new places and see things unique to the area. Washington has a spectacular coastline. The Pacific Ocean and the Puget Sound (an inlet of the Pacific) are full of some great things. I was able to visit Ocean Shores last year. It was nice to see the Pacific again.
Even more exciting than seeing the vast expanse of water is what lives in it. I’m not talking about creepy looking fish or even sharks. I’m talking about whales, dolphins, and seals. The most exciting thing about my wedding anniversary this year was the trip I planned. After many hours of research, I picked a whale watching company that operates out of Anacortes. They had a great deal online (thanks, Groupon!). We drove about 120 miles to Fidalgo Island. It was an interesting drive, because the further north of Seattle you get, the more rural the landscape becomes. It was a nice change of scenery and reminded me of driving down the highway back home.
We spent our Memorial Day on the boat. The ride was smooth for the first hour, and sitting on the bow of the boat, it was also pretty much freezing. It was gray, as Washington days frequently are, and there was a very cold breeze coming in from the ocean as we sailed on through the waters. The captain told us that there had been sightings of whales a few hours before we reached certain areas, but most likely they had started to move south. It was probably at least one and half or two hours before we finally started to see signs of whale pods.
The first real indication is a cluster of sea birds sitting in the water. The reason for this is food. Where food is, there are birds—and whales. We came across a cluster of birds sitting in a long line across the water. There were probably a hundred. The captain slowed down the boat, and we sailed slowly into the bird cluster and they scattered. Sadly, there were no whales to be seen, so after a few minutes the captain decided to continue onward. By then, the sun came out, and it started to warm up.
We ventured out further and could see Victoria, British Columbia, across the water. It was the outline of the land, and it was hazy, but it was still a beautiful sight. There were various island chains around us, many of which the military used during various time periods, and even more of them abandoned because of the severity of the weather on the Pacific. One such island used to house at least 10 or 15 buildings occupied by the Coast Guard, but as our captain told us, they “fell into the ocean.” Only one was visibly left standing.
We were fairly close to the East Sound, which is surrounded by Orcas Island, where we found another cluster of birds. We finally started to spot whales. I can’t say I know for sure what kind they were, but I believe they were orcas. The captain told us that, the day prior, they spotted a humpback and some minke whales. The boat was rolling around harshly by the time we made it to the second cluster of birds. The pod was likely at least 12 in number, perhaps more. But that was the estimate the captain made based upon how many we could see popping up, their dorsal fins peeking just above the water.
The sightings lasted for probably 20 minutes. I’m sure we would’ve stayed longer in hopes that the whales would’ve given us an amazing show by jumping in and out of the water, but the water was so choppy that the boat started to roll almost uncontrollably, and it became a safety hazard. I honestly wondered if this was how the guys on Deadliest Catch feel all day long. It’s sort of unnerving! The captain was forced to start the journey back to the harbor in hopes that we would find much calmer water along the way and perhaps more whales. Unfortunately, we were only able to spot them surfacing and that was about the extent of our sightings.
We finally made our way back into the harbor after an almost six-hour trip. I was happy to be back on dry land. Though I was not entirely excited by the tour itself, it was an experience I will remember. The whales didn’t give us the most exciting show, but I was happy to see them in their natural habitat along with other animals (including a very adorable seal who swam near our boat like he was investigating us). I hope we get the chance to go again in the future and that maybe that the water will be more cooperative.
As I have long said, and I’m sure many of you will share my sentiment, it is so important to take advantage of your surroundings wherever you are. You never know how long you will be there, and frankly, some of the places many of us have lived are really special and unique. The Pacific Northwest is challenging in some ways but also has so much to offer. And if you ever get the chance to live here, I encourage you to take advantage of some of the glorious things nature has to show us!
What are some of the most unique things you’ve been able to experience at a duty station? Sound off in the comments below!
