Friday last my daughter and I took a little excursion. We went down to the harbor, hopped on a small cruise ship and set out in search of whales. We had our picture made just before embarking. Fortunately, some one else took the picture, as I am a mediocre (at best) photographer, so the picture came out well. Here it is.

I managed some decent shots of the harbor, the Point Loma lighthouses, old and new, a great shot of another cruise ship also watching for whales, and lots of shots of the ocean. It's very big and very blue and black, and it was wonderful being 10 miles out from the harbor on a sunny day.

But I didn't get any shots of whales.

We SAW whales; we saw a whole pod of gray whales, and they breached and blew and slapped their flukes for us. It was incredible. They are called gray whales because under all the barnacles and other colorful parasites they carry on their skin, their skin, is, in fact, gray. But when they come out of the water they seem more golden than gray. They seem miraculous, really. Maybe miracles aren't meant to be photographed.

Though distance may have had something to do with the lack of photo ops. The boats are not allowed any closer than 100 yards and may not intercept the migration path so it wasn't like being on a research vessel and being close enough to touch them, but it was certainly close enough to get an idea of their speed and size. They are as big as whales!

The researcher from the aquarium provided us with lots of information and ways in which to track the movements of whales, but for most of the trip out, I just enjoyed being on a boat again, getting a little wind-burned but not sun-burned- I was well bundled and sun-screened- and watching the various sea-birds trailing us in hopes, I guess, that we would throw food at them.

It was incredible watching for kelp and seaweed beds, and identifying species I have only seen as lab specimens in the past. Birds would settle down on them and float for a bit, and then take off into the skies again, some so close that I could have touched them if my reflexes weren't 57 years old.

Sea lions sunbathed on the buoys and raised their dog-like earless heads languidly as we passed. Blase seals. What a world.

There is nothing more relaxing than being on a boat in good weather and on smooth water and conditions were perfect. We were, as I said, 10 miles out before we spotted the first venting spout of the largest gray whale. Thar she blows! Took me back to me pirate days, it did.

The good news is that the gray whale no longer faces extinction, though it was a close call. Their numbers have come up from an all time dangerous low of 4,000 to about 22,000 at last count, a size estimated as the carrying capacity for gray whales. They are baleen whales, and we were given samples of baleen to examine. There were jars of krill, barnacles, and other sea creatures for perusal as well, which we looked at on our way back to port. While in the presence of whales, nothing can distract you from them.

We stayed with the pod for about three-quarters of an hour and then headed back into San Diego Harbor, passing the Midway as we came into the dock.

Kel and I had thought about going to Sea World this week, and may still do so, but somehow, after seeing them in their natural habitat, I'm not sure I can appreciate whales in captivity. Bet I could get a picture of them, though.