Rise and Shine Day 2

We were up at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise over the ocean.  Once again, it was a little foggy and cool but we were having so much fun playing it didn't matter.  There is something spectacular about being the only ones on the beach.  It was like we had a private showing of nature.   A flock of sea gull's loud cries was the only noise you could hear above the roar of the surf as they flew through the air on the morning breeze.  A family of sandpipers danced at the water's edge scavenging the sand for their morning breakfast. Back and forth they waltzed perfectly synchronized around the waves.  As the sun rose into the sky it sent bursts of light just off shore highlighting only small portions of the surf at a time. 

Soon it was time to pack our bags and head into Monterey for our morning whale watching excursion.  Yaya was all systems go until she saw the boat wasn't quite the cruise ship she'd imagined in her head.

Once we set out I wasn't too sure I'd made the right decision in bringing her on this portion of the trip.  She was panicked when the swells grew bigger and bigger appearing as if they might engulf our tiny little boat.  "I want to go back!  I want to go back!" she cried.  Easier said than done when you are only 3 of 25 customers.  She and I headed to the back of the boat where the waves couldn't be felt as strongly.  She sat in my lap and we sang songs, prayed and counted together in order to help her calm down.  It didn't take long before Bird rushed back to take my place so I could photograph the first pod of Gray whales.   Shockingly enough, my first shot of the day appears to have been my best shot.  I quickly learned it's not easy to snap a picture of a whale or dolphin while you're on a ship that's bobbing up, down and side to side faster than they are.  I have a new appreciation for wildlife photographers. 

Anyway, I love how the water washes off the end of the whale's tale in the first shot as he prepares to dive.  The next photo is of a Risso dolphin.  I think I heard the marine biologist on board say the scratches on its skin are from the giant squid they eat and possibly from other dolphins in the pod too.  The bottom shot is my biggest disappointment.  Oh how I wish I could have captured all three of these whales with their flukes raised in a final salute before diving.  What a shot it would have been. 

In case you're worried about our little Yaya, I turned around 5 minutes after leaving her with Bird and she was laying across his lap sound asleep.  She says his slow counting put her to sleep but have a feeling it might have had something to do with the gentle rocking of the boat and the tiny dose of Dramamine we gave her before boarding to prevent her from getting sea sick.  She got to see plenty of whales and dolphins.  She even swears she heard the whales talking to her saying, "Awoogah!"  (Thank you Dora the Explorer and Diego.)  The only "awoogah" sound coming from the back of the boat was from fellow whale watchers who were tossing their cookies over and over again.  We like her version of the story better anyway. 

By the end of our three hour trip the tally of whale and dolphin sightings came to 11 Gray whales and about 75 Risso dolphins.  If you are interested in which company we used their name is Monterey Bay Whale Watching.  They were wonderful and a wealth of knowledge!

Here are a few shots I took as we returned to shore.  The last photo has another pod of Rizzo dolphins in front of the sail boat.  There were several mothers and babies in this pod.

Once we were back at the wharf we met up with some old friends of ours from the military.  We hadn't seen them in 9 years.  Both of our families have grown a bit since then.  It was wonderful seeing them again and meeting their youngest boy.  What a wonderful family!  I love how we picked up right where we left off.  We were blessed with wonderful friends who became our family in the military.  I wrote about how we met Eric and Arian HERE if you would like check out an old post.  They shared their season passes to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with us and we had a blast together.  Yaya instantly fell in love with their boys and wanted to hold their hands and hug them non-stop.  She needs a sibling SO BAD!

It was another wonderful day we won't soon forget.  We can't wait to get together with our friends again very soon.