Watching for Whales

Whale watching has been on my to-do list for a long time and I finally got to check it off today. The weather was perfect and we had a free morning. We took the train to Long Wharf and got our tickets, then wandered to the aquarium and checked out their harbor seal exhibit. One seal liked Bruce very much.We boarded our boat and found a seat. We were too slow to get window seats and the kids didn't want to stand outside because it was so windy when the boat was actually moving. It took more than an hour for the boat to get to the marine preserve where the whales are.By the time we got there, Phoebe was sacked. She missed all of this:We followed a pair of humpback whales for almost a half-hour. It's hard to appreciate just how big they are in pictures. This one was about 70 feet long. His light-colored fin just under the water there is about as long as my car.Bruce loved it. He came home with all kinds of "science facts" like "Whales can hold their breaths for up to 40 minutes." Thankfully, the whales we watched didn't hold their breaths for that long. They would surface, skim the water for a few minutes, clear their blowholes,and then dive down for big gulps of krill.
There were no Sea World tricks, but it was really cool to get close to the whales and see them in their natural habitat.
We finished off our day's adventure with a walk and some games on the downtown Greenway, some shopping for veggies and cheese at Haymarket, and a playdate with friends. As much fun as all that was, I'm looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow!