Seattle Day 3: Watching for Whales

It was an early start today because we had to drive about 30 minutes north to Edmonds to catch our whale watching boat. It was an easy drive and we arrived around 9a for check in. It was only a little ways north but man was it colder here. We stood in line for about 15 minutes waiting to board the Puget Sound Express and the wind was biting cold. We were relieved to get on board and settled into the heated cabin. We sat on the front row right next to the starboard exit door. I wanted to be able to leap up and get outside if a whale was spotted. The boat had a cool radar system on a monitor in front of us that tracked our route and stats.

After the safety talk, we headed out.

I found a wind shelter on the starboard side to lean against the rail and take some pics. Alex opted to stay inside where it was warm.

Not too long after leaving the marina, one of our passengers spotted an orca. We excitedly made our way to the viewing area on the top deck.

This was a transient pod known to our crew. As a transient pod, they eat other mammals like seals, sea lions, etc. The resident orca pods don't eat other mammals. The pod is led by the matriarch which was the first whale sighted swimming alongside her youngest calf.

Two of her calves from previous seasons were bringing up the rear.

The second one. The crew was able to identify these whales based on fin shape and markings.

We spent a long time watching this whale family before we let them move on about their business and we headed off in search of more whales. The area we were looking in was so calm it was almost eerie.

Sure enough, we spotted a minke whale which are small whales with small dorsal fins.

After leaving there, we traveled by an island that was loaded with sea lions. As we got closer to shore, they all started piling into the water.

There had been a fire on the island recently and the top of it was still smoldering.

By now it was time to return to shore. On the way back, we spotted a bald eagle hanging out on a log. You can just make him out by his white head in the center of the pic.

We were lucky to have such great weather out on the boat. It was much warmer at sea than it was on shore. It started raining as soon as we returned. There was another line of people waiting for the afternoon trip. I felt sorry for them that it would be in a downpour.

We made a few shopping stops on the way back to the condo but it was raining pretty hard and we were tired from being up early and all the orca excitement. We continued watching our Netflix show "Clickbait" until dinner.

In walking around the neighborhood, we passed by a small Italian restaurant called Limoncello several times. I was able to get a same day reservation and it was the best meal of the trip. Each day, the chef makes all the pasta from scratch and it's first come, first serve.

The kitchen was open to the restaurant so we were able to watch the chef making all the dishes.

I started with an appetizer of various cuts of ham and salami, parmesan cheese, olives, and really tasty breadsticks. The app was so simple but a bite of each item together was the perfect taste.

For dinner, I had the beef ravioli.

Alex had the halibut.

We were so impressed that Alex told everyone we would come back the next night and we probably would have if our plans hadn't gotten derailed.