Whale Watching off Balboa Island

One of the most memorable days of our trip was the morning that we decided to go on a whale watching cruise. We had looked up all of the stats and there had been a lot of sighting of whales and dolphins the day before, so it seemed like a fun chance. We were all very excited to head out on the boat.

 For the first while things went great. We even road down in the boat for a while to get out of the wind, since it seemed that the weather was changing to become a bit stormy on that day.

 These kids were having a great time and the first thing we saw was a large school on common dolphins. It was beautiful. They way they would just appear and jump out of the dark water. There were all sizes and they seemed to love swimming right along the side of the boat. We had convinced the kids to go up one more level so that there was a higher rail between them and the water since things got pretty bumpy and rough.

 After watching the dolphins for a long time is when things started to take a turn. The boat was headed farther out to sea in search of some whales and it ended up being a lot of searching. A few more people tried to go back below deck, but soon realized that it was too warm and nauseating, so most headed upstairs to endure the wind. Before long with no whales to watch, even those in the wind started to feel a bit sick, and when most of us were above, we suddenly saw Stacy come running up the stairs to garbage can to throw up. Before long out came a very sick Wyatt who had fallen asleep and then woke up long enough to throw up on the table. Caleb cleaned that up and we all decided it was better to stay upstairs for everyone. Luckily, Aubrey had a bottle of peppermint in her bag and we kept passing it around to smell and rub a little on. That may have been the only thing that kept everyone else from throwing up. It was a rough hour or so back with many other passengers also getting sick. 

By the time we took a short walk to the car, most everyone felt better, but some of the sick feelings hung on for a few people all day. And in the end there were no whales to be seen. It was an adventure that none of us will soon forget.