Orcas ahead!

 This fall has been beyond spectacular.  It's Novemeber 1 and my bike commute to work has not been uncomfortable even once.  We've had a string of 60's and sunny with leaves hanging on to the trees in brilliant shades of red and yellow.  It seems that November usually comes in dark, with bare trees, cold winds and dreary rain.  I know that scenario is not too far down the road, so it's time to get a few last memories from summer out of the brain and into this blog before I start to seriously hibernate.

In July, Jon and I sent our boys to summer camp and then headed to Seattle for a child-free vacation with our friends from San Diego.  We dropped the kids off on a Sunday that was so muggy and still I began sweating before even getting out of bed, and by the time we had lugged the boys' bags from house to car and from car to cabin, we were drenched and grumpy.  We drove home with the air on, showered and then carefully made our way to the airport trying to stay as sweat-free as possible.  Once we landed in Seattle, it was glorious sweatshirt weather.  The whole trip was a hootenany, exploring the San Juan Islands, Victoria, Mount Baker, and Vancouver.  A highlight (beyond the hearty chuckles with Kerri and Jeff) was our kayak trip with the Orcas.  We signed up with an outfitter and were immediately informed that there was NO GUARANTEE of Orca sitings.  They would do what they could, but the Orcas did not show on demand.  Our guide was a gruff outdoorsman who thought he has me sized up within 10 minutes of his introduction.  I admit, I got ahead of him on the demo and proved myself to be both brash and incompetent, which caused him to mutter, "Teachers, they are the hardest students", a sentiment with which I heartily agree.  But once we got out on the water, old Jonners warmed him up with lots of questions and before long we had him in our pocket, laughing along with us, not at us.  Ok me.  Not at me. 

And the Orcas!  I think we were on the water for about 5 minutes before we heard the sound of whales exhaling through their blowholes.  Exhaling through their blowholes, and we were hearing it, close by!  The guide gathered us into a kelp bed near shore and we were delighted to see a whole pod of 20-30 Orcas slip by the bows of our kayaks.  It was unnerving and beautiful and majestic.  The sounds of the slaps of tail fins and heavy exhalations coupled with the graceful curving backs sliding in and out of the water kept us spellbound for 30 minutes.  Once the pod swam off into the distance we started paddling again, but it was only minutes before a second group came by.  We retreated to another kelp bed for our second parade.  Once it passed, we paddled further down shore.  Soon we heard another hearty exhale and our guide muttering, "You have GOT to be kidding!"  He was getting frustrated by too many Orca sitings!  He had places to take us, but protocol called for us to huddle up in some kelp whenver whales happened by, and they just kept happening.  We assured him that we were fine sitting and watching.  Really.  Eventually he got us to a lighthouse, and in near shore to spot starfish and other sea creatures.  At one point a seal popped up just feet from the kayaks and stared us all down with an incredible set of eyes.  I took one look into those brown windows to the soul and knew something I had always suspected.  There is life out there as smart as we dumb old humans.  And they know it, too.

We made it back to shore with only one more kelp detour to wait out a fourth Orca pod.  All of us, including our once skeptical guide, declared the outing a raging success.  I would totally go back for more, with my boys- I think they would love it.

The rest of the trip was just as delightful as our Orca paddle.  We did much walking around cute little towns, stopping into bars for refreshments and Tour Du France viewings.  Jon and Jeff got in a few epic bike rides (in their words) while Kerri and I laughed our way through 20 years of memories.  It is great to have such great travel partner-friends.  The only problem we seem to have is choosing our next adventure.  Biking in Italy?  Back to Costa Rica?  What about touring around Ireland?  Whatever the decision, I know I can look forward to mellow days of laughter and games, coupled with a few exciting adventures off the beaten track- a great combination, especially when shared with excellent friends.