A Whale of a Day!

My co-hort and I began planning to go whale watching as soon as we decided to go to Maine.

It's been on my bucket list for a very long time, and we decided there was no time like the present.

I was prepared because I had researched that the weather can be 20 degrees cooler on the water, so I took both a heavy sweatshirt and a light, wind-proof jacket. Vicki forgot hers, so she had to help out the Maine economy.

In a nutshell:

Sweatshirt:

$9.95 + tax

Jacket

$29.95 + tax

Standing for 4.5 hours in a driving rain and seeing absolutely NO marine animals:

Priceless!

I received a very early morning (4:15 a.m.) phone call from Mardell's grand-daughter

informing me that she was in the emergency room with Mardell.

It seems that she was having extreme back pain and some difficulty with her heart rate.

Being the wise woman that she is, she woke Marissa up and asked her to take her to the hospital. Ultimately it turned out to be a inflamed gall bladder that was giving her fits.

Naturally I was up for the day, so I stood at the window watching the rain pelt down and wondered if the whale watching tour would go forth and not really caring whether it did or not.

After we got up and going, I called the tour company to check on the status of the tour.

It was chillier than usual, but they were going forward with it. "In fact, the conditions are even better for seeing whales." So we drove back to Portland and eventually found a parking garage. This pic is for you Sister Two!

By the time the tour left, I had learned that Mardell

was going to be okay and what was going on so I could relax and enjoy the trip.

We boarded the tour vessel and headed out.

It was lightly raining and they delayed the tour

by half an hour because the weather was steadily improving.

It was chilly and damp until we reached the Portland Head Light lighthouse.

We passed Fort Gorgeous, which was a civil war fort.

At this point it was cold, but really not that bad.

Ten minutes later, we passed the lighthouse.

At this point, it became a driving rain with a nasty wind.

The ship rolled back and forth on the 7 to 8 foot waves, spraying water from each side.

Soon we were both completely soaked to the skin and having trouble standing because of the rocking and the wind.

Vicki declared this was a hundred times worse than the worst recess duty.

I'd have to agree. We could see our breath. Our hands and feet were numb.

They were turning purple and my teeth wouldn't stop chattering.

By the time we turned around to go back, we no longer cared if we ever saw a whale or not.

I have never been so happy to see a parking garage!

We turned the car heat on full blast and peeled off our wet layers.

I am pretty modest, but I was ready to strip my wet clothes off right there in the parking garage. However, I restrained myself and waited to change until we left town and reached the first service center. Have I mentioned how much I love the service centers out here?

We hit the road and headed back to New York.

We were in Massachusetts at sunset.

We made it as far as Amsterdam and found us a nice little Super 8.

Tomorrow will find us lunching with Vicki's daughter and son-in-law

and then we're off to learn more about the Erie Canal and visit Niagara Falls.

We may even spend the night in Canada!