(July 16th)

We planned to go on a whale watching trip to Friday Harbor with some friends. We also were really smart and thought it would be better to make it a day trip and save some money. Really not sure if it was worth it.

Our day started at about 5:20 am. We got up and ready to go, packed lunches, diaper bags, and other things needed. The Larsens met us at 6 am. We made the 2 hour drive north, and got ferry tickets from Anacortes to Friday Harbor. The ferry left at 9 am, so we had some time to let the kids play. We took some pictures, but I no longer have those. My card got wiped clean before I could save the pictures from our trip. Sometimes, I hate digital.

We took the hour long ferry ride, and tried to give the kids some breakfast. Kevin passed out, because he took Dramamine the night before to help with sea sickness. Instead, it caused him to pass out every chance he got. We got off the ferry, and 10 minutes later, we were on our whale watching boat. Ella was not allowed outside of the covered area, which was not good for me. It was a really foggy day, in fact, we were worried we wouldn’t be able to see the whales. This meant there was nothing to focus on, because you couldn’t see any land.

So while I was stuck in the covered area with nothing to focus on, I got sick. I laid Ella on the bench, and asked one of the ladies if they had barf bags, or if right over the side is preferred. I made Kevin switch me spots (he was out in the open air), and the ladies gave me ginger chews. I’m proud to say, I made it through the entire boat ride without losing my breakfast.

We started to head out south, but then heard the whales were spotted in Canadian waters, so we turned north. We had a wildlife watcher on the boat, so any pictures I post will be taken from her website. Her name is Monica Wieland, and it was actually nice to sit by her. They spotted way more animals than I ever would have.

Because we were on the boat, once the whales were spotted, we trailed along side them. By law, the boats had to stay 200 meters away from the whales. We saw lots of whales. We followed one group of 5, but saw 3 or 4 different groups as we trailed beside them. If you go to her website, she knows the names of all the whales we saw.

The fog actually cleared for a bit for us. Jameson loved the whales! Ella woke up for them, too. She talked her baby babble and pointed at them also. When I told Jameson we were going to see whales, he said, “But Mom. What kind of whales? Orca whales, or shark whales, or a different whale?” I didn’t know. Dang kids shows. Telling him a we were seeing a whale wasn’t good enough, he had to know what kind of whale, and I don’t know kinds of whales.

As soon as he saw them he shouted, “Mom, it’s an orca whale!” He couldn’t get enough. We were even able to see a few tail slaps as a few played in the water, and a few breaches.

Again, check out her website for other whale and wildlife photos. She has more pictures of these same whales on a better day.

Soon the boat started to turn, and we realized the whales were chasing us. We had followed the whales right back to the islands, and returned to the dock around 1:30pm. As we were getting off the boat, and I was getting Ella strapped to my back, the sickness hit again. Luckily, I made it off the boat and lost it over the side of the dock while holding onto another boat. Poor Ella was strapped to my back during all this, and Kevin had no clue. My friend turned around in time to see me lose it, and yelled at Kevin to go help me. Luckily, I was the last one off the boat, so at least it wasn’t in front of everyone. I had a half opened ginger chew in my hand that I just couldn’t get in my mouth fast enough. My recommendation? Never ever stand in the covered area on the boat. Stay out in the open air.

I did feel better afterward, and we went and got the kids ice cream. We played around and watch the boats until it was time to board the ferry. Once again, Kevin fell asleep on the ferry. He tried hard to stay awake, but it just wasn’t happening. We got back to our cars around 5 and headed home. We called some other friends to meet us at Olive Garden for dinner. We had a group of 17 with 8 adults and 9 kids under 5. Our waitresses loved us. Actually, they said they couldn’t believe how good the kids were.

We got home around 9:30 that night, and we all went to bed. We were exhausted. I’m still not sure if it was worth it. It was fun to see the whales, and to see Jameson get so excited. His dad made the mistake of asking him if we should bring one home, jokingly of course. The next day Jameson was so concerned. He said, “Mom, we forgot to bring our orca whale home.” Great. Hopefully, we’ve filled the void for now by finding a small plastic one he can bring with him at the store. I just don’t think a whale would fit in our house.