Last Saturday, the Typhoon hit the water for a trip that turned out to be MUCH more enjoyable than expected. C had always wanted to go whale watching and to get up-close-and-personal with the whales. So she took the initiative to find whale watching trips out of DePoe Bay, where ocean access is just minutes from the dock, and where the whales hang out just feet from the cliffs along the shore.
Our tour was on a Zodiak captained by a Marine Biologist Doctoral candidate from OSU who has studied the Gray Whales of the Oregon Coast for almost ten years. She’s written books on the topic, done extensive cetacean research, and taught the kids a BUNCH about Gray Whales.
It didn’t take long for our guide to figure out that – scattered amongst our family members – was an amazingly wide range of detailed knowledge about oceanography, whales, whaling and fur trading history, physics, local customs, DePoe Bay history, and fisheries. We might have looked like city slickers, but we changed that perception right away! I think our guide had as much fun with us as we had with her and her dog, Kita.
Way back when C suggested a whale watching trip, the kids and I were rather ho-hum about it. We envisioned a large boat like the Monterey Bay trip. While I knew how short a trip it is into the Ocean at DePoe Bay, I didn’t know about Zodiak tours.
Once we got there, and got comfy in the four chairs on the Zodiak, everyone got rather excited. Then, five minutes later, we were bow to nose with a gray whale barely even out of the harbor. Being that close, at water level, for an extended period of time, made all the difference for the kids. They enjoyed the experience thoroughly. So did C. Me? Yeah. I had a lot of fun too.
What I enjoyed most was watching my family spend two solid hours brimming with excitement and amazement. They were unabashed in their awe. The “cool factor” was off the charts. C scored a major victory with this particular trip; it was fun to watch her own personal triumph.
Another item checked off on C’s post-cancer bucket list. Nice!
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