Orcas in the Salish Sea

Whale Watching

By far one of the most breath taking and once in a life time experiences for me this year was whale watching.  Whale watching - hold up!  Orcas are not whales at all.  The original translation was whale killer then it was switched to killer whale.  They are the largest form of the dolphin species.

I asked my dad if he would like to go as a late birthday/Father's Day trip.  He of course said yes.  My mom decided since he was going, she would go to.  This is how things work in my family...my mom usually is the one who says no to traveling (and most other things) so either I have to trick her into going on a trip or make her think she is going to be left behind.  It's manipulative but it works.  And let's face it, it's for a good purpose.

I set up the trip, made hotel reservations, checked with a friend of mine about places to go as his mom lives up there and planned out when we needed to leave to catch the ferry.  (Besides seeing the orcas you can check out the lavender farm, San Juan winery, Mona the camel, rent a scootcar, which my dad is convinced he needs one of these....Lime Kiln State park where you can whale watch in the afternoon with binoculars and Roche Harbor).

Waiting for the ferry in Anacortes

The ferry ride from Anacortes to Friday Harbor is about an hour.  We arrived in Friday Harbor checked into our hotel and then headed to Cattle Point.

Mom and Dad at Cattle Point

The Whale Museum

That afternoon we went to the Whale Museum.  Which had information on all types of whales and tracks the different pods.  There are three resident pods J, K and L.  Each whale has their own unique fin and coloring which helps identify them.  Females and juvenile orcas has a curved dorsal fin.  For the males the dorsal fin will lose it's curve with maturity and can be as big as 6 feet tall.

Orcas in the Salish Sea

Dorsal Fin

We headed out for an evening cruise.  It took approximately an hour to get to the whales in the Canadian waters of the Salish Sea.  We were able to see 6 whales from the J & L pods, including the male orca, Onxy.  These pods are resident orcas.  Resident orcas feed up to 200 lbs of fish per day.  Transient orcas feed on marine mammals.  

Being playful

The pictures just don't do it justice and my camera was not fast enough to catch them.  You have to be there.  In fact at one point I looked over and saw my mom grinning from ear to ear as she watched the orcas through her binoculars.  That alone was worth it....to see them enjoying something truly "magical". (At times the orcas were so close we didn't even need binoculars).  I did take some videos but they are not uploading correctly.

On our trip back to Friday Harbor we saw some harbor seals.  A bit of trivia - if you see a seal with ear flaps they are actually not harbor seals they are sea lions. I also saw three bald eagles...two were juveniles, which do not have the white capped head.  

Harbor Seals sunning on the rocks

A juvenile and an adult bald eagle

On the Salish Sea 

Both of my parents agreed with me that it was a once in a lifetime adventure.  So what are you waiting for???  Get your trip booked!

Murder Mystery

Riding on the rails

One of the experiences I have listed is to ride on a train.  Other than a train around a zoo or a park I have not been on a train in the US.  (I have been on trains in Asia and Europe).  


In the gorge, the Mt Hood Railway offers a murder mystery dinner train.  Entertainment, a meal and riding from Hood River to Park Dale would be a scenic ride.  So I recruited a few friends....ok I didn't really have to recruit.

The Recruits - Siobhan + lil' peanut, Kelli and Mary

Back up

Here to see Herman!

Before heading out to the gorge we stopped by the Sturgeon Interpretative Center at Bonneville to see Herman the Sturgeon.  Herman is about 10 feet long, around 500 lbs and close to 80 years old.  All of the sturgeon and trout in the pond were "HUGE"!  We saw Herman but it was hard to get a good picture but as I have learned you can't always capture what you experience.  Well maybe if you are a professional photographer.

Sturgeon

Next we headed to Hood River.....

Scenic Mt Hood Railroad

The train started in Hood River and we took a scenic ride to Park Dale.  There were views of the river, Mt Hood and fruit trees.  We had a nice dinner and cocktails to celebrate the occassion.  Siobhan had shirley temples to join in on the fun.

Cheers!

We stopped in Park Dale and got off the train.  Of course there were different art vendors selling their wares.  At this time the Fatale family got onto the train.

The view of Mt Hood

Who Dunnit?

The actors came through accusing and giving information.  Other passengers on the train also came through introducing themselves.  Some really got into their character and some were just plain drunk.  I had my first confession with the priest.  Although, I have been informed that this does not count.

Our Characters

I thought it was funny that the name tag that I randomly chose was Bea Styng and my handle is Sunnybee.   Some things are just meant to be.

There were two cars and so the actors roamed from car to car and towards the end of the trip, it was announced who the murderer was.  It was double homicide.

Ok looking back on my experience I have created a grading system:

• Views A+
• Atmosphere B-
• Food B+
• Entertainment C+
• Quality Time with Friends A+++

The train ride was a little long and the murder mystery was kind of hokey, but we had fun. The most important thing was spending time with my girl friends.  

Progress Report

Progress Report

Happy 4th of July!  With the celebration of our country I thought I might do some celebrating of some of the things I have accomplished in the past 8 months.

My planning skills have served me quite well.  As you can see below how I have completed items, set up completion dates or I am in progress.  I was pretty worried how I would do everything but it's coming together and been one hell of a ride.  I didn't factor in a budget of how I was going to pay for everything but it has worked out ok so far.  I think it is a lot like life, everything works out in the end.


If you feel like pledging towards a fund for me do it in the form of donating your monies for breast cancer here http://www.active.com/donate/GirflriendsForCure12/sonyabedient

1. Create and write a blog of my 39 experiences before I'm 40 In Progress
2. Sky dive July 7
3. See a psychic or have my cards read or both Done
4. Run a marathon  Done
5. Run a half marathon in sub two  October 14
6. Organize my office  - no really - organize my office In Progress - not going well - will be completed by Aug 1
7. Travel somewhere I have not been Done
8. See Herman the sturgeon  Done
9. Do a full spa day retreat  On my list to set up in 4 months
10. Ride on a train to anywhere Done
11. Raise $1000 for breast cancer October 14 - If you are interested in donating, please do! http://www.active.com/donate/GirflriendsForCure12/sonyabedient
12. Improve my vocabulary and ability to speak Japanese On my list to set up in 4 months
13. Hike to tunnel falls On my list to set up in 2 months
14. Stay overnight in the aquarium Sept 8
15. Learn to knit or crochet a blanket and give it to a shelter  In Progress - I may donate blankets too
16. Take an art class - Glass blowing Done
17. Attend a timbers game Done
18. Be an extra in a film or tv show In Progress - no call backs :(  if you can pull strings for me, please help me out!
19. Brew my own beer Done
20. Attend an opera performance Done
21. Go whale watching in the San Juan Islands Done
22. Go crabbing Done may attempt again
23. Snowmobiling Feed the homeless On my list to set up in 2 months
24. Do a scavenger hunt On my list to set up in 4 months
25. Buy a bouquet of flowers every month In Progress
26. Go to Portland Japanese Garden (it's been a long time) July 8
27. Go to Lan Su Garden Done
28. Go to the Oregon Garden Done
29. Spend from sun up to sun down not talking to anyone Done
30. Purge - get rid of my wedding dress and items in that large bin I haven't looked in In Progress
31. Have one evening or day per week where I take time for myself In Progress & need to say "no" more often
32. Wear more dresses/skirts In Progress & doing this quite well
33. Have Afternoon Tea  July 14
34. See Crater Lake  Sept 2
35. Go wine tasting in Applegate Valley Sept 1
36. Go to the house of Vortex Aug 31
37. See the sea caves  Aug 31
38. Stay the night in a treehouse  Sept 14-16
39. Ride one of the top three tallest roller coasters Attempted 

What are some experiences you want to have within the next year?