Nautilus -- Newport Beach

One year ago:

https://newportlanding.com/whale.htm

I have always been a person that gets wrapped up in dates. Especially sad ones. With the 20th anniversary of my sister's death in July, I asked my husband to plan something special, so we would have an adventure to look forward to. 

 I even told him to get us a hotel down in Newport Beach and we will have a bonfire on Huntington Beach with kids. Something I have always wanted to do. A beach bonfire! Then I suggested he find out how much it costs to go whale watching. I am not quite sure when it is a good time to go whale watching, end of July was the time I needed to go.

The entire family together in Newport Beach Fun Zone on our second night.

Keep in mind, I told him this in April...May...June...In the beginning of July, I ask again. if he had the plans all set. NOTHING!

Yes, I took this photo of a pod of dolphins swimming right along side out boat. Isn't it amazing!

The next day, he tried and couldn't find anything rooms close to the beach, AT ALL! And whale watching tickets were way too expensive.

I spent an hour of internet searching a found two rooms for us. The two couple would share one room, and Natalie and her friend would room with the husband and me.

Next, I found a City Pass that gave us a super deal (relatively speaking) on Newport Beach whale watching for eight people. Since we planning on barbecuing on the beach the night before, we could spend a bit more on the boating part of the adventure.

Walking around Balboa Island at sunset.

We were all set. The kids had the time off and were ready to join us. Barbecue on the beach one night. Whale watching the next day. Then, another relaxing day at the beach. But, the unbelievable happened!

Sewage spill in L.A. grows to 2.4 million gallons, prompting bans on swimming in Seal Beach and Long Beach link

All of the beaches in Los Angeles County from Santa Monica southward were closed due to a ginormous sewage spill. The spill did not affect the beaches in Orange County with disgusting grossness. 

Nope. Just every single human being from Los Angeles County came down to our beaches. Summertime in July! With all of there LA County beach quarantined by raw sewage, the masses descended. Shoulder to shoulder, the beaches were too packed for our Barbecue. 

There wasn't even room to lay down a towel. Okay, that is not quite true. If you could find a parking spot with in ten miles of the beach, you could slither into a spot on the sand, somehow. With three different vehicles, we all ended up in separate spots. Not the grand family adventure I had hoped for. 

Ferry ride across to Balboa Peninsula from Balboa Island

Eventually, we just headed to the hotel and had dinner at the Famous Dave's that was just down the block and across the major thoroughfare from our rooms. Back to the rooms, and up early to go out and see the whales.

This was the first time we had gone out on the water on anything other than the Balboa Ferry since we have been in California. Even with the sea sick pill the husband bought, by the end of our journey, the rocking back and forth was a bit too much for my head and stomach.

I honestly did not expect to see much on our trip on the ocean. Amazingly, We not only saw the dolphins pictured above, but sea lions, as well. Three whales. And of two of the whales swan around our boat at the same time. It was like they were playing with us. 

THREE WHALES! On a whale watching trip. Imagine that.

In this photo, you can see the tail of one whale in the foreground, In the background, you can see the other whale blowing water into the air in the upper right and side.

On the way back in, we saw saw more sea lions on the docks. All in all, it was an amazing abundance of marine life in our short trip out on the Pacific Ocean.

from my facebook page

After almost five years, we finally made it out onto the ocean. Our weekend at the beach included a whale watching tour in which we actually saw a giant blue whale, two humpback whales swimming side by side, a pod of dolphins and a few friendly sea lions that came right up to the boat. "Whale watching with the Opatz Squad." (borrowed from Thomas) #family #commondolphin #humpbackwhale #bluewhale

The family right before the whale watching trip began. You can tell because I'm still standing!

These photos were taken by a drone operated by the Nautilus Crew. We arrived very early to pier and thus, were able to be at the front of the line for boarding the boat. This allowed us to get the entire front half of the railing, and the seating area in the front. Tessa and Adam are sitting right behind him. 

You can see me just peering out around the edge of the boat and waving. By this point the sea sickness was pretty strong. Thank goodness I had a place to sit and lean back.  Husband Greg is standing in the red shirt.  Thomas and Zach both in blue and holding on to the railing. Natalie is the very very front person in the boat, and her friend Preston is right behind her.

The whale watching crew sold us the photos taken by the drone. So worth the money, because we could have never gotten any photos like the ones they were able to take. They also included ticket for another whale watching trip . So if we take that trip, it will pay for the price of the photos!

 One of the two whales circling our boat!