Sunday, December 13, 2009

Avast You Bloody Landlubbers~!




Call me Ismael.

I am still walking like a drunken sailor on land for the first time in months, my pony tail tipped in tar, and my parrot squawking in protest. 


We set sail on a three and a half hour tour (are we all singing the theme from Gilligan's Island now?) aboard the Hornblower. It was a rainy day and the seas were rough. Our mission: Find the Great Gray Whale. Hunt her down to the far reaches of Mission Bay...and snap a ton of pictures. 

Our captain was Captain Bill, a jovial man who only needed whiskers to look like St. Nick, who called himself a bus driver (but looked nothing like Ralph Cramden) and told us we were the whalers and to keep a sharp eye out for flukes and puffs of water and shout out "Thar She Blows!" when we spotted our whale. 

We stayed on the top deck in the rain. Hardy sailor types don't notice the inclement weather. And the snack bar sold me a bloody good Bloody Mary so I was all warm and toasty. Finally, my black beanie was soaked, my tennis shoes were getting water logged and my muffin was getting wet, we decided to duck downstairs for a little shelter. The steps were wet and Mr. Gadget Man shouts out to me to be careful. Well, yeah, of course I will and turn around to say something sarcastic.



Aacckkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my god. Eighteen inches from nose was a nasty loud seagull squawking "Mine, Mine, Mine." I almost threw my muffin at it. Do you have any idea how big those stupid birds are? And then Captain Bill informs us if we feed the birds we would be in BIG trouble with the Feds and get arrested and all. Feed the birds. Hah! What if they pester and steal from us? 




The rain stops and we return to our stations in the crow's nest or the forecastle or whatever. We motor past sea lions lounging on barges and buoys. Great swaths of kelp float by. A Coast Guard boat goes by towing someone they rescued. 


But not a single whale...not even a dolphin. 





We did sail past the carrier Ronald Reagan currently in the San Diego port for fixin' up. Did you know it is 1000 feet long? And that the tallest building in downtown San Diego right across from the carrier is only 500 feet? So, if you stand the Ronald Reagan up on its hiney, it would be twice as tall as the tallest building? It would be like a warped scene from Titanic. 


Since sailors on leave like to party, we went off to Coronado Island and visited the Hotel Del Coronado. Such a beautiful building. A giant Christmas tree in the lobby. We ate downstairs, watched the ice skaters skate on a rink they made for the holidays, bought some yummy desserts. (Was there any doubt?) It is slightly drizzling, the beach is about 20 feet away and the ocean is probably about 100 feet or so away, but there it is...people wearing ice skates zipping past palm trees and the ocean. 


 


All in all, a good way to help celebrate my baby brother's soon to be 40th birthday. Yes, the baby of the family turns 40 on the 17th. Being the know-it-all big sister, I will have to razz him a little. Being the obnoxious little brother, he will have to remind me that I will ALWAYS be 12 years older. 


Too bad I forgot to make him walk the plank.


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25 comments:

Tattoos and Teething Rings said...

Ahoy! Even though the weather was kinda crap, still sounds like a great day. We see dolphins and whales often here, just standing on the shore. I'm sure it's even better from the water, too bad you missed it!

will said...

Whoa, hold on there. Rain in San Diego? Are you sure? Do people in San Diego even know what rain is? I lived in La Jolla for several years and I don't recall anything more wet than a light morning misty fog.

And were is the harpoon gun on that cruze ship? Landlubbers indeed!

Karen Carter said...

Could you have picked a more blustery day? wow but it sure sounds lie fun all the same! I miss the Hotel Del...one of my all time favs. Glad you made it back and didnt have to be stuck with skipper and ginger for the rest of your life. Welcome home Giligan

ethelmaepotter! said...

Oh, you nailed it...as soon as I read "three hour tour," Gilligan's peppey little ditty popped into my head!
LOVE the hotel. Disney's Grand Floridian is modeled after it, and I adore going inside it, especially at Christmas time.

Anonymous said...

Those sea lioms are huge.

Sandi said...

Up here in San Francisco we took my dad on a whale watching tour a few years ago. Saw one plume of water shoot up and that was pretty much it. Thank goodness for Bonine!

@eloh said...

When you said your "muffin" was getting wet, I thought... well, I was going to tell you to unbutton. Of course this would lead to a real nightmare if one of those big birds tried to bite.
This is how life goes for me. I learn a new word.. muffin and muffin top... and I start seeing pooches of chubby everywhere.

adrienzgirl said...

Isn't it great how the younger ones always remind us no matter what we will ALWAYS be older?

My sister is real good at pointing that out. I have contemplated have her swim with the fishes.

Aunt Juicebox said...

I hate sea gulls too. They're freaky. Once when we were on the beach in winter, I had some food ,I can't remember what, but I had to toss it because they wouldn't leave me alone. Once it hit the ground they were like a hoard of locusts. Yeah, definitely freaky.
Sounds like you had a good time despite the rain though.

Ann said...

I like your blog and I am going to follow it...

Harlem's A Hatin said...

That trip sounds like sooo much fun!!! Damn, you're lucky!

Working Mommy said...

Do you live in SD?? I was just there on a business trip...alas, it was raining the entire time - tear! Too bad you didn't get to see any whales!!

At least you have a new follower, though (hint: ME!)

~WM

Anonymous said...

Darn it, I missed all the fun! Tell baby bro I said happy birthday.

Mizwrite said...

Great play-by-play! I've never done that "3-hour tour" but sounds fun! I'm adding that to my list ... :)

Sultan said...

What a great excursion!

Debbie said...

That does sound like a great time!

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Man I'm jealous. It looks all warm and toasty and we have a big snowstorm predicted. Calgon take me away on a three hour tour away from winter storm watches and the Ponderosa!

Have a Merry Christmas and God bless ya'll!!!

namaste said...

i hope you had a wonderful and MERRY CHRISTMAS kat!

;-)

English Rider said...

The Whales intrigue me too. I always want to schedule whale watching early in the year when, I am told, they sidle up the coast on their way north. I made reservations one February and drove two hours to be in Monterey at 8am on a Sunday morning. They refused to take the boat out as the weather was bad. They said it would be like being in a washing machine out there. What do I know? I'm English. It hadn't occurred to me that rain made a difference:)

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