We (Trav, Kai & I) headed for Long Beach for a whale watching tour. For a family that is always late, this made us NERVOUS! If you miss your boat you miss your chance. We hurried ourselves out the door, got a little turned around on the drive down & and then wa-la we arrived. We felt complete relief that were actually there early. *Gold Star* We showed up with gloves, a blanket, enough snacks to feed the whole boat of passengers--twice. Every freckle on my body was eager with anticipation.I didn't want to put out time effort and money only to turn out disappointed. I was pretty nervous. Let me re-phrase that... I was going on a boat with a 2 year old for 2 1/2 hours. I was wondering if we were crazy.

It was the first 9am boat for the season, so we were nervous that the whales might still be sleeping :) and that we would be at a loss. But, only 5 minutes out of the harbor and the amazement started. Grey Whale 12 o'clock! We watched the big guy surface a few times and after a couple of minutes it "fluked". I could have stayed there all day but the boat voted and everyone wanted to keep going. These people were gamblers--Vegas style!

*One small comment on this picture. The brownish cloud layer was the smog. The Santa Anna winds pushed it out far to see. It was thick. It make me happy that we own a Prius and my husband bikes to work but I might be buying a gas mask soon.

That's when "IT" happened. I saw out of the corner of my left eye something leaping, jumping and swimming. As fast as it's little flippers could carry him. A "common" dolphin was racing to the boat and it was a picture of unbridled joy. It was a moment that froze in time for me. Every fiber of me cried out to God in gratitude. It is how I should be running after God. It is a scene I won't forget anytime soon.  But before I knew it every one on the boat was saying, "dolphins!" It was like popcorn popping--everyone was announcing dolphins.  Out boat was in the exact middle of a grouping of 150 or more dolphins. They were as far as I could see. EVERYWHERE!! It was such an AWESOME experience. They were playing at the front of the boat, doing acrobatics off the side and ska-dattling everywhere. 

After 10 minutes of bliss, the captain saw another grouping. So we went and !!again!! played with another 100 or so dolphins and this time there were some Californian sea lions. Everyone was brimming with excitement, it was like our little boat had been electrified. So when the captain said we had to head back we were completely satisfied.

The fun wasn't over yet on the way back into the dock. The captain spotted a Momma and baby grey whale. He estimated that the baby was only 2 weeks old. Man-what a sight to see. I kinda got a little baby fever. From a whale?!#*  Hmmmm....odd. 

I am gr8phul to have been able to see such beautiful and captivating creatures in the wild. There was such a truth seeing these animals in the natural habitat. I loved that the were still wild and free and the end of the day. It was Trav's first time seeing them and the smile on his face spoke volumes. And I am gr8phul for all the aquatic activity, they kept Kai somewhat entertained. And the rest of the time he was learning to get his sea legs. :)

Being back on a boat reminded me how much I love being out there. When I lived in Honduras I lived on a 64 foot schooner for a month. It was my version of Disneyland. It was good to be back on the water today and be so profoundly blessed. Now Kai has been saying all day, "I saw dolphins and whales, it go jumped in the air." On the way home from the backseat we heard him talking to himself and he said, "That was AWESOME!"

So now it is SUPER late and I don't want to go to bed and have the day be over. It was a gr8 day! But I need to close my eyes.

I don't want to be groggy and grumpy for inauguration day.