George and I went for a drive today, thinking that we would go to Plum Island and do some birdwatching. As we neared Gloucester, we saw the sign for Whale Watch, and decided on a whim to see if we could catch a boat. We waited at the draw bridge for almost 30 minutes while boats traveled to the sea and thought that the delay would probably nix the idea of a whale watch. But we got there in plenty of time! We had time for a nice pizza lunch, then got on the boat and took a lot of pictures of the beautiful schooners that were there for the Gloucester Schooner races earlier in the day.
The day was clear and beautiful and the trip on the boat was going to be fun whether we saw any whales or not. But we were in for a huge surprise. Not only did three whales cavort near the boat for nearly 30 minutes, we went further out and another whale almost mated with the boat he was so close. The whale swam under the boat, back and forth, which mean that we all ran from one side to the other, and the boat listed in the waves. I swear, for a bunch of land lovers, we didn't even care if the boat tipped over it was so exciting to see this beautiful creature come right up to the boat and play with us. Naturally, my pictures didn't turn out well, so I don't have the full effect of seeing fins and tails and eyes of whales staring at us all. The man who led the tour said he wasn't sure who was watching who. I never expect to see whales that close again in my whole life. What an awesome day we had.
As we pulled back into Gloucester harbor four hours later, they had a raffle for a prize of one free ticket to a future cruise. Guess who won. George!!!
What a great day. We can't believe how wonderful it was to see those beautiful creatures.
Have a great day.
