A Whale Tale

A few weeks ago, on a lazy Saturday afternoon, the four of us hopped in the car not knowing where the day would take us. Three and a half hours later, we were standing on a whale watching ship off the coast of Cape Cod, heading off into the deep blue ocean. What we saw out there was incredible -- miraculous, even. Afterwards, the captain himself declared this trip "insane" and "spectacular," and suggested that what we'd experienced that evening was something none of us could hope to replicate again in our lifetimes.

The humpback whales seemed to have a love affair with our boat: They swam up to us without hesitation, stretching their tails upward in graceful salute, tilting sideward to wave a warm "hello," and spraying us playfully with saltwater until we were soaked. Almost wherever we looked, whole packs of dolphins were leaping and spinning out of the water, gliding up and down from within arm's length all the way out to the horizon. Even the North American white whales were gracious enough to come into view that day -- 10 of them, to be exact -- amazing considering that there are fewer than 350 of them anywhere in the world. The kids were completely enthralled, as were we.

If only I could have fit an HD-quality video camera in my diaper bag that day! A few still images taken with Jon's Blackberry were all we could muster. Here they are.