Our second day in California we went on a whale watching trip out of Long Beach. We found an internet deal where if you buy four adult tickets, you get one adult ticket free. Strange to think that our family has five "adults" and two children. Stranger to think that there might actually come a day when we all start acting like adults.
We passed by the Queen Mary, aka the Grey Ghost. This former luxury liner was painted naval grey in WWII and transported tens of thousands of troops. It is permanently berthed at Long Beach. You can take a tour (the ghost tour sounded fun/scary/weird) Part of it is a hotel where you can book a cabin and stay the night.
On the trip out, all of the kids stood at the bow of the ship along the rail and whooped and hollered every time we'd hit a wave. Even though we saw three types of dolphins, sea lions, seals, and the biggest animal (including the dinosaurs) to EVER live on the earth, the blue whale, they had the most fun riding at the front of the catamaran. They only stopped riding up front when the pitiful retching of a few very sick passengers drove them up to the top of the boat. None of us got seasick, but since my head was toying with the idea, I thought it best to just sit up top and breathe the nice fresh air. Hence I have no pictures of the antics going on up front with the kids. Oh well, I also didn't notice the sick people, which might have been enough to drive me over the edge. Good thing the kids inherited Curt's iron stomach and balance.Look! I did it. I put a video on Vimeo and then on my blog! Unfortunately, I accidently uploaded the unedited version, so you will get to see a lot of blue water. My new point and shoot doesn't have a view finder which is a disadvantage in bright light, so I'm not always sure of what I am getting. Oh well, better luck next time.
Dolphins from Sydna Graf on Vimeo.
Sit on a buoy, sunbath, swim, eat, repeat. Sea lions have the life!
Erin and Krysta managed to crack a half-hearted smile for this picture of downtown Long Beach. After I told them we would not be eating lunch if I didn't get a few more happy faces, they produced the next picture.
That's better. Nothing like the threat of no food to bring everyone into compliance. Now at least we can pretend we loved taking pictures. I should have recorded the sigh that emanated forth after I was done with this picture. You'd have thought I had asked them to pose for 20 minutes instead of 20 seconds.
Then it was off to the beach. However, this time it was colder. A hint that it's not swimming weather is when the locals are making fires and wearing sweat shirts. Who'd have thought that we should have brought warmer clothes to California in June?! But that didn't stop the kids, including Curt, from having fun in the ocean. Maybe we'll have to go to Leigh Beach to have a warm beach experience.
I was on the same vibe as Angie when I took this feet in the sand picture. Though the St. Thomas sand looks a lot softer and cleaner.
Next up Universal Studios!
Erin and Krysta managed to crack a half-hearted smile for this picture of downtown Long Beach. After I told them we would not be eating lunch if I didn't get a few more happy faces, they produced the next picture.
That's better. Nothing like the threat of no food to bring everyone into compliance. Now at least we can pretend we loved taking pictures. I should have recorded the sigh that emanated forth after I was done with this picture. You'd have thought I had asked them to pose for 20 minutes instead of 20 seconds.
Then it was off to the beach. However, this time it was colder. A hint that it's not swimming weather is when the locals are making fires and wearing sweat shirts. Who'd have thought that we should have brought warmer clothes to California in June?! But that didn't stop the kids, including Curt, from having fun in the ocean. Maybe we'll have to go to Leigh Beach to have a warm beach experience.
I was on the same vibe as Angie when I took this feet in the sand picture. Though the St. Thomas sand looks a lot softer and cleaner.
Next up Universal Studios!
5 comments:
Oh I loved this post and i loved your video! Its tough being the family/scenic photographer documenting vacations. Water and fish, (or dolphins in this case) make much better subjects! Someday the kids will thank us for all the pictures we have to document their fun! Or maybe not, but we will be glad we have it! It sure is fun for the rest of us, so thanks for the post!!
I need a vacation. I tried really hard to pretend I was on vacation while visiting the Leigh Hill Beach but it just didn't work. That Whale Watching is a fun idea. We need to get more details from you and try that out.
It is definitely not uncommon for it to be 90+ degrees inland and just 60-something degrees at some of the beaches on the same day. Crazy, huh? Just depends on the beach and the day! Still makes for some fun pictures, though :-)
Also, I'm way impressed by your video uploading skills! And your bribing-the-kids-to-get-good-pictures skills haha. The whole days looks like a lot of fun, though, so they should be smiling!
PS-Next time you're in Southern California let me know! I got 50% off our whale watching tour this spring, and we get great discounts for other SoCal things as well. I'd love to pass the great deals along!
Looks like fun! Hahaha I loved the pictures of the kids before and after the bribery. Your posts always make me laugh. Whale watching sounds fun too and I loved your video!
Sydna you are awesome. I haven't tried to put one of my video clips on the blog, well ever. Kuddos to you for actually doing it. I love the beach and playing in it...it doesn't matter the temp. The tour sounds so fun and to see actually wild dolphins and the blue whale is priceless. What a fun trip.
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