Whale watching

We receive a magazine from the Aquarium of the Pacific recently and found out about their Whale Watching boats.  Half off for members!!!  So we jumped on the opportunity a couple of weekends ago.  And come Saturday morning (Jan 20th), Bobby tells me the forecast of gail force winds (which means 39-54mph - did you know that???) and waves up to 8-10ft high. GULP!!!  Let's just say it was my best decision ever to buy some Dramamine before taking that boat ride.

But first, a quick look at the Vincent Thomas Bridge.  I just love taking photos of bridges :-)

The bridge was closed the other day on our first trip to the Aquarium.  So instead of a quick 15 min drive, it took me almost 40 min to get to the Aquarium!  Anyhow, back to the bridge - this is the 4th longest suspension bridge in California and is the only suspension bridge in the world supported entirely on piles.
It actually goes up quite high.  I did mention I like taking photos of bridges, right?

Did you notice that massive cruise liner earlier? Like, MASSIVE!

Okay, here is our dinky little boat compared to that :-P

Here comes Mommy!... styling her new shirt.  Sorry honey/Bobby that I didn't keep the pink one that you had bought for me for Christmas. I exchanged it for a better deal??!?

We are on the boat and ready to go!

We head out from the harbor by the Aquarium in Long Beach.  And you can see a lighthouse to the right and the Queen Mary in the distant to the left.  Too cool!

I am just finding out now the name of this lighthouse.  The "Lions Lighthouse for Sight" is 10-stories tall and sits on Long Beach's Rainbow Bay.  It is a permanent reminder of Lions Clubs International's dedication to ending blinding in the world. Neat!
On the way out, we also see the Grand Romance Riverboat.  This boat looks like it might need some TLC :-\

There were also some awesome looking "pirate" ships as Graham and Charlie calls them :-)

Not exactly sure what this is.  It would make a great Time-Out spot for the boys! HA HA!

We get a slightly closer look at the Queen Mary as well.  She is massive! Wait, I already used that word for the cruise ship. Hmmm... the Queen Mary looks longer but the cruise ship is taller and wider??!

The sea is still nice and calm:

A look at a small portion of the Long Beach Port, which is the 2nd busiest container port in the United States. WOW!!!

We are bundling up now with the hooded jacket.  The reason why it is still so calm is the "breakwater", which is basically a long stretch of a rock wall.  You can sort of see the dark line across the horizon:

Time for a snack!

We stop by the rocks to check out some sea lions.  Wait... no, not seals. Sea lions.  Although I can't confirm - can you see their ears from here???

Here's an interesting structure by the entrance/exit of the breakwater.  I am guessing a lighthouse but couldn't find a name.  There is a "robot light" or automated lighthouse in Long Beach called Long Beach Light but it doesn't quite look like this one though:

Once we are pass the breakwater, it gets choppy.  Oh no, Charlie is not enjoying it so much now!

Graham, on the other hand, is loving the rocking motion and almost falls asleep!

The sea was definitely choppy that day!  There were woooo's and woooaah's as the boat goes up and splashed down on the waves.  I use my big camera to spot "our" lighthouse - the one that we live close to.  There it is!  I bit tricky to zoom while the boat is rocking!

The view along the coast line is stunning"

I think at this point we have already been out for over an hour and still no whale sighting!  We head downstairs/inside to get some snacks.  Graham loves the nacho Doritos and somehow Charlie now likes the Cool Ranch Doritos.  I think I am still feeling okay at this point although the bag of potato chips did help:

Take a look at the horizon and how much the boat is tilting.  A few people did get sick and I did end up sharing one of my Dramamine tablet to another lady on the boat:

The boat stops once but nope, false alarm.  We keep going a bit more and then, we stop again.  The crew has spotted dolphins!

Supposedly the dolphins like the "ride the waves" along the side of the boat.  Very cool!

The boys got to the front and were able to see the dolphins up close.  Bobby (B) is standing behind Graham (G).  I can't even spot Charlie at this point.  I did catch a glimpse of the man standing to the left of Graham, using his arm to support the boys so they didn't tip over or fall.  Such a sweet stranger!

By now, our Whale Watching time was over so it was time to head in.  Oh, here is the dome that houses the Spruce Goose - the largest wooden airplane ever constructed and flown only once!  Definitely a must see one day:

We get off the boat and the boys want to visit the Aquarium.  Good thing we are now members so we walk in for free through the express lane. Woo hoo..!!! :-D

So glad Graham and Charlie love the aquarium.  And they were both brave enough this time to touch the jelly fish. Yay!  Then, it's off to see the sharks:

We tried to get to the other touch tank of starfish and sea anemone but it was just too busy.  Instead we go bother the giant spider crabs instead.  Still can't believe how massive these crabs are.  Hmm... "massive" seems to be the word of this posting :-)

Looks like this will be the only whale we are seeing today!  It's the one hanging on the ceiling of the aquarium - fake one obviously but replica of how large one might be.  We did get a rain-check for another Whale Watching experience so better luck next time!

We have dinner and on the way out, we have a pretty view of the Lions Lighthouse for Sight.  It is pretty with the different colored lights lit on its base:

The boys are messing around as usual!

There is also a Ferris wheel.  So glad the boys didn't insist on going on it.  I was getting quite tired by now!

Yup!  Another successful trip!!! :-)