Day 49 of 365
What an incredible day. We went on a whale watching trip with Island Packers out of Ventura, CA and it was wonderful. They took our tour group out towards the Channel Islands. We had half a tour group that had to be taken to Santa Cruz island to be dropped off and so the boat flew through the water at 20 knots, which is about 23 miles per hour, which doesn't seem like it would be fast in a car but out on a choppy ocean its amazing. We sat near the bow and face into the biting wind I felt the ship and fall beneath my feet. I just allowed my knees to bend and straighten with each wave as if I were surfing. It was incredible.
The trip to Santa Cruz took a little over an hour but as we drew closer and closer the island resembled a land that time had forgotten. It had beautiful green hills and sharp cliffs, stretching out for 96 square miles. It was amazing. After half the group disembarked, those of us remaining on board for whale watching prepared to head off on the remainder of our adventure. We went down the coastline and then headed out towards Anacapa Island, where the lighthouse for the Channel Islands is housed. It is also home to hundreds of thousands of Sea lions which we were greeted by a cacophony of what resembled dog barking. The majority were on the beach staying warm while many came out close to the boat to see who these visitors were. It was so entertaining seeing them come close and "wave" to us with their flippers.
But soon we were on our way again. On two separate occasions the boat had to stop and head in a different direction to clean up a surprising ocean find. Mylar balloons were drifting in the water. It's hard to imagine that they would make it that far out into the ocean but unfortunately it happens. The worst part is that if we hadn't stopped to pull these out of the water a sea animal may have mistaken them for a jelly fish, eaten it and then it would have ended up causing the animals death.
As we continued our trip back towards land I just simply watched out into the horizon thinking about the majesty and glory of everything surrounding us. It was more beautiful than words and then we happened upon some common dolphins who followed along side our boat. They were jumping and swimming out in front, it was so incredible.
When we returned to dock sadly we had not seen any whales but we experienced a special time together. Two old friends sharing the beauty of nature and making memories for years to come.
love,peace and stay away from things fried in grease...
musicsongbird
The trip to Santa Cruz took a little over an hour but as we drew closer and closer the island resembled a land that time had forgotten. It had beautiful green hills and sharp cliffs, stretching out for 96 square miles. It was amazing. After half the group disembarked, those of us remaining on board for whale watching prepared to head off on the remainder of our adventure. We went down the coastline and then headed out towards Anacapa Island, where the lighthouse for the Channel Islands is housed. It is also home to hundreds of thousands of Sea lions which we were greeted by a cacophony of what resembled dog barking. The majority were on the beach staying warm while many came out close to the boat to see who these visitors were. It was so entertaining seeing them come close and "wave" to us with their flippers.
But soon we were on our way again. On two separate occasions the boat had to stop and head in a different direction to clean up a surprising ocean find. Mylar balloons were drifting in the water. It's hard to imagine that they would make it that far out into the ocean but unfortunately it happens. The worst part is that if we hadn't stopped to pull these out of the water a sea animal may have mistaken them for a jelly fish, eaten it and then it would have ended up causing the animals death.
As we continued our trip back towards land I just simply watched out into the horizon thinking about the majesty and glory of everything surrounding us. It was more beautiful than words and then we happened upon some common dolphins who followed along side our boat. They were jumping and swimming out in front, it was so incredible.
When we returned to dock sadly we had not seen any whales but we experienced a special time together. Two old friends sharing the beauty of nature and making memories for years to come.
love,peace and stay away from things fried in grease...
musicsongbird
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