My First Whale Watch!

To be fair I have seen whales before.  But it was in Alaska from a cruise ship.  So, while still pretty awesome, it wasn't as up close and personal as a whale watch on a lil' boat. 

To be MORE fair, we didn't get that close to the whales anyway . . . but we did spy whales!  Other than the birds (seagulls, bald eagles and cormorants to name a few,) we got to see our fill of the cutest widdle Harbor Porpoises.  I just wanted to snatch one up and bring 'em home.  You ask, did I get one good picture?  Nay, I say . . . nay.  I have this problem when I get super excited about wildlife.  Brain turns off and my excitement turns into squeaks or squeals and I point and jump.  Never mind that I had Toby strapped to my back, I still jumped.

The whales we were watching for were Minke whales and Fin whales.  Now, I wasn't fully aware of the SIZE of the Fin whales until the boat captain said they were second only to Blue whales.  I remember pictures of them being looooong and pointy.  They are also pretty damn big.  The only picture I really got of one was way off in the distance, but I saw a good half a dozen spout sprays and fin backs.  Also, I caught a GORGEOUS view of a Fin whale belly and tail as it was feeding.  Not on camera though . . . only in ma bwains.  The Minke's were very far off but I could still see them spraying and cresting.

Okay, so we departed Eastport, Maine and headed into the Bay of Fundy.  We took a few minutes to admire Old Sow but thankfully she wasn't active.  We did get to see a few little piglets though!  (Here is the link:  Largest tidal whirlpool in the Western Hemisphere!)

As we headed out, we were skirting a storm.  The clouds were PHENOMENAL.  Now, I'm not saying this to exaggerate.  Dude, just look at the pics below.  Some were downright heavenly which was quite appropriate. We were one of at least 4 boats in the area - two were from St. Andrews New Brunswick.  Back off Kanuks!  Those are OUR WHALES!  YARRRRRRR.  Ahem.  It was pretty comical because the captains were all communicating on their radios about locations and sightings.  Sort of like at Yosemite where you drive for miles and miles and suddenly there are 80 cars all piled up on the side of the road to look at a lone moose way far off in the distance.

Nitty gritty was the boys did awesome on the boat, no one got sea sick (yay me!) and it wasn't as cold as I thought it would be.  Everyone else seemed chilly but I thought it was delightful.  I'm fairly certain I was the most excited out of everyone, but it was my first whale watch and I was pumped. 

Also, it was Matt's birthday (also my Momma's!!)  He normally hems and haws about not wanting to do anything but I'm pretty sure the sparkle in my eye at the mention of a whale watch was enough to convince him otherwise.

Now . . . PIK-CHAHS!

All aboard!

Ready to go!

Leaving Eastport, Maine

The cutest hunchback a gal could ever have . . .

Looking for sharks n' stuff (P.S. we didn't see any.)

Don't take my picture anymore but I'll still pose all cute for you Mom.

Unca Addie

Campobello Island

Hello Harbor Seals

Ethan thought they were pretty cool.  I think Toby was skeptical.

They were pretty skeptical of us as well.

Daddy's gotcha!

One of the many inhabited islands in the Bay.

The only picture of a Fin whale that I was able to capture on camera.  And you probably can't even see it.

On the way back into port - keeping warm with Daddy.