Originally posted by geffric
Laura tell us more about your cruise... see any whales??? How was the weather?
Okay
geffric, with the oh-so-chocolatey name, since you asked--yes we saw whales! Several from the cruise ship itself and we also went on an excursion in a small boat to see marine life. We encountered two
humpback whales, a mother and a calf (about 3 years old). The calf jumped around in the water quite a lot, playing and putting on a show for us. Mommy whale just spouted water and dove, she didn't jump. (Probably a good thing; she might have submerged our boat with the splash!) We saw the baby first, and I thought it was huge until mom showed up! Humpbacks are smart, they spend the winter in Hawaii and the summer in Alaska. They know the good vacation spots!
I was a little worried about the excursion, though, because we were so close to the whales. When I went to Hawaii last year I read that it's against the law to get within 100 yards of a humpback and we were a heck of a lot closer than that in Alaska on our little boat. Seemed wrong to me somehow. But I got some good video, and the whales didn't collide with the boat or anything. Still, it bothered me because I don't want to be a part of hurting animals, especially an endangered species!
Other animals we saw: bald eagles, seals, dolphins, sharks, ravens, Arctic terns, jellyfish, loons... Alaska's full of critters!
And it was 85 degrees, shorts-and-sandals weather, not a drop of rain in any of our 3 Alaska ports, sunny blue skies. It was HOT! Only when we got to our Canada port (Prince Rupert) last Thursday did the weather turn the more typical cold, windy and slightly rainy. Even Seattle had great weather! We were all stunned. We had great views of Mt. Rainier the whole time, we went up the Space Needle and we could see for miles. We were very lucky with the weather.
We noticed a real break through right after our Disney trip! I tried to file a claim for it as "therapy" but the insurance isn't buying it 
Now, they're not very clear...I'm pretty much the only one who can understand him....but it's a BIG start 
You KNOW I'm there!!! 
