Gray whales Baja bound

The girls and I spent yesterday at the desert and today whale watching.  This is the first time that I have been whale watching since I worked as a volunteer on a Birch aquarium affiliated whale watching boat.  It has been about ten years, way too long.  

Within the first 5 minutes we spotted our first gray whale.  What impeccable timing.  Every year gray whales migrate 10,000 miles from Canada to Mexico, and then back to Canada.  It is the longest known mammal migration.  

They mate on the way south and the following year, thirteen and a half months later, they will give birth in Mexico.  

Goodbye FIVE, Ruby is almost SIX!

Three whales made this mark with their tales 'playing' for moment as the men courted a female.  

We saw five whales on our two hour tour.  We booked with Dana Wharf.  Captain Tom's love of gray whales spilled out of the microphone.  He has been doing whale watching tours since the 70's.  He respects the legal space of gray whales, but is able to predict their path to give guests the best views possible.  I have been on probably twenty gray whale trips, and I still learned a lot on this tour.