Sea Creatures
I’ve been whale watching 3 times in my life, once in Belize, once in Hawaii, and recently, in New Jersey. Guess which one had the best show? Unbelievably, Jersey wins again.
I went down the coast to the Jersey Shore – right by the Sandy Hook lighthouse, and boarded a boat with about 250 other souls, and we headed out to the ocean. We were going pretty fast, and we made it to the land of the dolphins in about 45 minutes. I have never in my life seen so many dolphins. There was a pod of about 100 of them, leaping and frolicking, having the most wonderful time – both synchronized swimming and solo performances.
While we were admiring them, a little motorized fishing boat pulled up right next to the pod and the cocky, over-confident Muppies (Middle-aged Urban Professionals) aboard started casting their fishing lines into the water right by the dolphins. The Captain of our ship came on the loudspeaker and pointed out that what those ‘fishermen’ were doing was illegal – it is absolutely against the law to fish where the dolphins live. I’ve never seen a group of people turn from a lovely, amicable group to ferocious dolphin-protecting zealots – but it happened! The outrage on our ship was palpable and we all applauded when the captain pointed our ship right at the fishing boat and we started moving forward. She was on the loudspeaker, announcing to them that what they were doing was illegal, and that the Coast Guard had been notified. My fellow ship-mates booed them, took photos of them, and warned they would probably be on the 10 o’clock news.
Not surprisingly, the jerks turned and sped off – probably going to steal candy from babies or push old people down. But it certainly united those of us on the ship! Talk about an ice breaker!
After about 45 minutes, we left dolphin-land to go visit the humpback whales. This particular boat company is accredited in Whale Safety, so there was a lot of education on the do’s and dont’s of whale management – it was fascinating. Sure enough, after a few minutes, we saw the big spray come up from the whale’s blow hole, and then the huge body came up in the water, before dipping its head down and showing off its famous black and white tail. It was thrilling, but then it got even better, as another, and yet another whale joined the first one There were three humpback whales playing in the ocean right in front of us. It was incredible – I loved every minute. Now for a gross factoid (stop reading if you’re squeamish). Our Captain told us that if we were to be sprayed by the whale’s spout, we would be covered in a mucousy slime, and smell like whatever fish the whale had eaten recently. So much for my image of a lovely, freshwater spout coming out of the top of a whale that I’ve had since kindergarten.
And to think, if I’d never left Utah, I’d never have known of the magic of New Jersey and New York or of whale effluvium – much less, the wonder of grandmotherhood! Life is grand, indeed! Speaking of grandmotherhood, little Arthur just turned 18 months old. He is 93% in height, and 53% in weight – exactly where he should be. His Joie de vivre is infectious and irresistible. I can’t wait to see him for more of Grand’s Big Adventures in just a few more days.
