ALOHA 3-12-10 FRIDAY (a day later)

It is Saturday. But, I am blogging Friday, because I could not last night. It was a wonderful day, but oh, so long…and hard. If you have ever been whale hunting…you understand!

We left the motel in our fun convertible…heading for the Lahaina Harbor.

While we waited at the dock to board our boat, another boat came in from an early morning fishing catch. I know that some of these are Mahimahi, the rest are just fish.

We chose to sail with the Pacific Whale Foundation. This group is dedicated to the preservation of all marine life in the Pacific.

After we boarded we listened to the safety speech, and then the captain shared quite a bit of information with us about the whales. Very interesting!

And, I was very happy to be on this boat, with the wind in my hair, and the cool breeze upon my face, and the sun on my shoulders…yes, all was right with the world. UNTIL…I saw this sign plastered on the boat…

This is what we are hunting- Mama humpback whale and her baby humpback whale.

Here is our first sighting. Can you tell that there are 3 whales here? In the middle is Mama….and in front is Baby. Behind them both is an escort whale. HE is not there to escort the Mama and Baby and keep them safe or anything like that. Nooooo–he is there for one reason and one reason only. Procreation is his game. Shame on him for coming between a Mama and her newborn, who doesn’t even know how to breathe properly yet!

Here is our second sighting…

The only thing that got shot on this hunt…other than the whales…was this shot Joy managed to take. I was telling those whales to “hang loose”. I explained to them that I had only allotted these few hours to go whale hunting. I explained to them that as much as I loved being out in their element…I had places to go, things to see, and shops to conquer! This time was just for them.

And, before long…this…THIS happened! Look at this marvelous animal! Look at how she shot toward the heavens! Absolutely unbelievable! Before we could blink an eye..she was gone. Back to her home beneath the boat. Perhaps she was playing…perhaps she was showing her baby how to breach like her. Or, perhaps she heard me when I said that if she did not show herself I would have to put up with Joy crying all the way back to Alabama! I tried with all my might to get her picture…but, all I managed to capture was the spray that was left when she went back to her mothering duties. So, this is not a picture I made. But, it looked exactly like this. EXACTLY!

We saw the Mama and Baby several more times. But, not another breach like above. We did manage to see her roll through the water…and leave us with a quick flick of her fluke! Fantastic!

At one point, the captain stopped dead in the water, and cut the motors. All was quiet. Then she dropped the microphones down into the waters. And, we heard the songs of the whales. We heard them talking to one another. It was amazing! Each family group has its own song. They can always find their families. How God cares for all His creatures!

And, our adventure in the deep blue sea ended. What fun! And, awe inspiring! Such creatures, of such strength and intelligence! I love these words from Psalms. I have used them with the kids at school in the past.

“Oh, Lord, how many are your works! In wisdom you have made them all. The Earth is full of Your possessions. There is the great and wide sea, which is teeming with creatures-too many to count; living things both great and small. There the ships sail about; there is the Leviathan which You made to play there.” Psalm 104:24-26

The Leviathan is, of course, the whale!