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Shortly after Avalon's birthday last summer, I bought a Groupon deal for half-price for whale watching, and bought six, thinking it could be a birthday present and she could take a friend. And of course, I almost forgot about them. They expired at the end of January, and earlier in the month, there was stormy weather and after that, a huge swell. Sunday was sold out already when I called to make reservations, so we decided they could take a day off for something educational. ;) Instead of a friend, we took John's grandmother along, as she's never seen them off this coast.
We left out of Dana Wharf Sportfishing on the F/V Dana Pride - GGma was a little surprised we went so far south as she was expecting for us to go out of Long Beach. Well, we only saw small whales. Common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins, and sea lions of course. And tons of shearwaters, seabirds that don't usually come very close to the coast. But that was fine. The kids had never been out on a boat like this before or seen wild dolphins, so it was all good. It was a nice day for it, especially for January. John's grandma had a nice time too.
And I forgot the stupid card for the big camera, so I put it away and there's only crap phone photos. Which I couldn't remember where the stupid lens was so my fat finger is in the way half the time. >:p
Sea lions on the buoy outside Dana Point Harbor.
Seven dolphins and my %*(&*% finger... These are common dolphins (Delphinus delphis); they're often found in huge pods of hundreds of animals. They're smaller than the more familiar bottlenoses, and almost look delicate in comparison. Plus they have that pretty black and tan hourglass coloration on their sides. I do have some pics from farther away, but they're like "see all those splashes? Those are dolphins! Exciting, huh?"
These are from the bow of the boat. Another reason my finger is there is there is no strap on my phone and I was holding in a death grip so I didn't lose it overboard. Then you wouldn't have these lovely blurry pictures. ;p
Motored around looking for gray whales, but then turned and went the other direction, so the dolphins were now following the boat. The skipper mentioned being able to get nice pictures of dolphins from the front, but the phone has about a half second shutter delay, so what's initially showing on the screen is not what actually shows up on the picture you took.
Obligatory kid shot. Avalon was eating saltines because she said her stomach hurt, but I think she really just wanted to eat all the saltines herself.
We did come across a small family group of bottlenose dolphins, who followed the boat for a short time, but were generally not as acrobatic or speedy as the commons; they did jump a few times and one did us the favor of jumping and turning so he landed on his back. :D If you look in the wake here and see a pair of darker dots? Those are their dorsal fins. (Argh! Still kicking myself.) Both pods of dolphins had mothers with babies with them. The commons were so tiny! Maybe 2 feet long.
Gareth with Dana Point behind him; named for Richard Henry Dana, who wrote Two Years Before the Mast. To the left on land is where the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is, where a lot of Republican candidates for president seem to come to campaign in Orange County. The skipper pointed out that, the vacant lots you can see there? $14 million, just for the dirt. Not too long after this we turned around and headed back to the harbor. Probably a good thing, as John's grandma had put on all her layers and was getting a little chilly. She treated us to the dollar menu at Wendy's on the way home (which actually was just right).
Everyone had fun, and they gave us cards for half off another trip later, since the grays were hiding today. A couple of weeks ago they were seen in record numbers, and apparently a number have already been seen heading back north, which is extremely early for them. I would like to do this again soonish.
If you want to see all of them, they're here.
We left out of Dana Wharf Sportfishing on the F/V Dana Pride - GGma was a little surprised we went so far south as she was expecting for us to go out of Long Beach. Well, we only saw small whales. Common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins, and sea lions of course. And tons of shearwaters, seabirds that don't usually come very close to the coast. But that was fine. The kids had never been out on a boat like this before or seen wild dolphins, so it was all good. It was a nice day for it, especially for January. John's grandma had a nice time too.
And I forgot the stupid card for the big camera, so I put it away and there's only crap phone photos. Which I couldn't remember where the stupid lens was so my fat finger is in the way half the time. >:p
Sea lions on the buoy outside Dana Point Harbor.
Seven dolphins and my %*(&*% finger... These are common dolphins (Delphinus delphis); they're often found in huge pods of hundreds of animals. They're smaller than the more familiar bottlenoses, and almost look delicate in comparison. Plus they have that pretty black and tan hourglass coloration on their sides. I do have some pics from farther away, but they're like "see all those splashes? Those are dolphins! Exciting, huh?"
These are from the bow of the boat. Another reason my finger is there is there is no strap on my phone and I was holding in a death grip so I didn't lose it overboard. Then you wouldn't have these lovely blurry pictures. ;p
Motored around looking for gray whales, but then turned and went the other direction, so the dolphins were now following the boat. The skipper mentioned being able to get nice pictures of dolphins from the front, but the phone has about a half second shutter delay, so what's initially showing on the screen is not what actually shows up on the picture you took.
Obligatory kid shot. Avalon was eating saltines because she said her stomach hurt, but I think she really just wanted to eat all the saltines herself.
We did come across a small family group of bottlenose dolphins, who followed the boat for a short time, but were generally not as acrobatic or speedy as the commons; they did jump a few times and one did us the favor of jumping and turning so he landed on his back. :D If you look in the wake here and see a pair of darker dots? Those are their dorsal fins. (Argh! Still kicking myself.) Both pods of dolphins had mothers with babies with them. The commons were so tiny! Maybe 2 feet long.
Gareth with Dana Point behind him; named for Richard Henry Dana, who wrote Two Years Before the Mast. To the left on land is where the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is, where a lot of Republican candidates for president seem to come to campaign in Orange County. The skipper pointed out that, the vacant lots you can see there? $14 million, just for the dirt. Not too long after this we turned around and headed back to the harbor. Probably a good thing, as John's grandma had put on all her layers and was getting a little chilly. She treated us to the dollar menu at Wendy's on the way home (which actually was just right).
Everyone had fun, and they gave us cards for half off another trip later, since the grays were hiding today. A couple of weeks ago they were seen in record numbers, and apparently a number have already been seen heading back north, which is extremely early for them. I would like to do this again soonish.
If you want to see all of them, they're here.