Whale Watching with the Wichards

Remember that one time when we tempted fate and sent the entire Richards clan out on a ferry at the same time? Well, we're at it again on a chartered boat and this time we had to weigh in to get on! I was sure to carry my toddler AND the diaper bag so I didn't have to see the real number and have it yelled across the boat (from the captain on the dock to his first mate out of sight on the other side of the boat - we're talking very little discretion.) Apparently we weren't quite enough to sink the boat, so we all got on.

Some of us were more anxious than others to get the whale watching started. Unfortunately there weren't many to see from the dock.

Teagan and Mat were on the lookout for orcas from the get go. And I was curled up in the back of the boat doing my best not to hurl. (What I thought was seasickness turned out to be a violent flu that swept the family - 19/27 by the time everyone returned home.)

Fortunately, I resisted the urge until we got home and was able to pull it together to spend some quality time on deck, watching for whales. Teagan was sending out good vibes in her most nautical of outfits, complete with a whale on her hoodie's zipper.

As if that weren't enough, we employed some musical tactics as well. Unfortunately, we forgot our harmonicas, so we "blasted" Michael Jackson's "Will You Be There", the theme from Free Willy, on Mat's phone to assure the whales we were friendly. If you play it, they will come.

And come, they did. I'll spare you the dozens of dorsal fin photos we took and only display the best two (only one of which I can take credit for - Manda caught the awesome top one...thanks for letting me steal it!) We were thrilled to see as many as we did, but had we seen the company's brochure prior to boarding, I would have lodged a complaint. It was teaming with breaching whales, blowhole shots and what seemed to be an orca convention. They guarantee a whale sighting or you can go again for free, but we saw a handful swimming together and were able to see them relatively close up, so we count that as success. Buddy thought they may have a mechanical whale planted somewhere just in case, but they all appeared to be real. But so did Willy. (Naturally, we watched Free Willy 1, 2 AND 3 upon our return and I had difficulty picking out Keiko from the robotic whale at times.) We sailed by Richard Donner's cabin (the famous director - think The Goonies - and executive producer of the Free Willy movies) and realized after we got home that we'd been right in the area where the 3rd movie was shot. You may not be excited, but we were.

Some members of the family couldn't muster the patience and stamina it takes to stare out to sea at nothing in the hopes that you catch a glimpse of a tiny dorsal fin or two (ahem, those under 2) and instead resorted to sleep...

...or impersonating the Olsen Twins.

It was a really neat excursion and I was so happy we went. And happy to make it back to the cabin with my insides intact. I slept for the remainder of the day, aside from the time it took to stumble to the bathroom, technicolour yawn (we used more than a few euphemisms for vomiting over the course of the week) and hobble back to bed. I was second in line to get sick after our poor nephew, Ben, who handled it like a champ. You may be able to guess who came after me.

The adults gathered in Mom & Pop's cabin to watch the newest episode of White Collar and I slept on the couch in our cabin with the babies in the bedrooms. All was well until I heard Teagan screaming. Not crying. Screaming. I opened the door and knew what had happened before I saw my baby swimming in her dinner. Sick myself, I didn't know what to do, so I scooped her up and ran next door. One look at us and everyone jumped to their feet to help. I married into an incredibly family, always ready and willing to lend a hand - I was so moved. I was ushered back to bed and even tucked in, if my memory serves me correctly. My sisters-in-law were crawling over themselves to help wash baby, clothes and bedding and Brandon and his mom tended to Teagan, cradling her all night. (I feel compelled to point out that Teagan's shirt says "If you think I'm cute, you should see my Mom". At this very moment I probably had my face in a toilet. A vision, indeed.)

I have a similar picture of my mum holding Teagan last summer when she had laryngitis. Apparently sickness provides better opportunities to bond. Brandon's parents even sat out on an excursion that day to take care of us. They're such good people. Since I was unconscious for most of it, I had to rely on other people to hear how she responded to her first real encounter with a stomach bug, but I'm told she handled herself as gracefully as possible while spewing and didn't complain at all in between. I'm so proud.