Jason and I woke up very early--for vacation anyway--on this morning. At 7:30 we got up and ordered our tickets for a whale watching tour in Gloucester. I think I was more excited about whale watching than anything else. We had seen a groupon for Cape Ann prior to leaving for our trip. We were going to buy the groupon but were worried we wouldn't be able to use it because of the possible hurricane. Although the groupon was still an option to purchase, we opted against it--we were worried that unless you scheduled a tour with Cape Ann themselves, you might not be able to use it the same day you purchased the gorupon. We didn't want to risk spending the money for no reason. Therefore, we purchased it directly from Cape Ann's website. I called Cape Ann just to verify that we were good to go (the ticket said we had to purchase in person or by phone if planning to go the same day). They said we were fine and there shouldn't be an issue.
After purchasing the tickets, we also called the North Shore Taxi company to schedule a pick up at our hotel. Gloucester is roughly half an hour away. We used North Shore Taxi the entire time we were here on our honeymoon, so we trusted them. We were surprised to learn it was $50 to Gloucester from Salem, but we had no other choice. Their prices have definitely gone up in the past 5 years.
We showered and made our way down to breakfast before leaving. We decided a big breakfast was needed, as the boat ride is a 4 hour excursion. We would be on the water during lunch time. Below are pictures of breakfast:
Below is my bagel with butter. I also added a corn cake later on as well.
Half an hour later, the cab driver announced our arrival at Cape Ann. He pulled up next to a large line of people. We paid and thanked him as he opened the car door for me to leave. We saw a small trailer behind the large line of people with a sign that read "Tickets" above the entry door. We walked in and pasted by the souvenirs as we made our way to the counter. We were greeted by a white-haired woman in a Cape Ann sweatshirt. She took down our names and asked which "Browns" we were. Jason and I just said there were two of us and she nodded. We asked if she needed our confirmation number from the receipt but she declined. She gave us two tickets and told us to board when ready. We walked outside and got in line for the boat. Only a moment later, the white-haired woman returned. She apologized and said she did need our confirmation number. She asked us to follow her back inside where we gave her the required information. She thanked us and told us we would be good to board now.
We returned to the line to find it had disappeared. Everyone had already boarded. We showed our tickets to an attendant near the port and he told us to have fun. We walked down the dock and made our way onto the boat. At first we went inside the heated cabin, but then we remembered from our Salem ferry experience how much more thrilling it is to feel the wind surround you as you soar over the rocky waters. We walked out to the railing and found a seat on the side of the boat.
We listened to a brief spiel from our tour guide "Laura." She informed us that this boat is specifically used for whale research only. The tours are used to fund the research. They observe and track the whale's migratory patterns. They go to four specific spots to find these whales. They now have knowledge of what the whales eat and are able to find them based on where these fish live. Apparently Gloucester is one of the top 10 places to go whale watching in the world because of the kind of fish that live in these waters. We were also informed that Cape Ann has been unable to leave the dock for the past week due to weather issues. Usually they are able to know if we will see whales based on if they had seen them the prior day. Since they had not been out for a week, they were unable to know where they would be or if they would even know where to look for them. They said they would go to the four regular spots which might give us a chance to see them. Luckily, if we did not see any whales on a trip, they provide vouchers and would allow us to come back at any point (never expires) to try again.
We heard the loud rumbling of our boat's engine and began to slowly move out of the dock. Below are pictures of what we saw:
Notice the cute bird to the left in the picture below. We were also informed there is a local seal that hangs around the shipyard for free food--sadly, he wasn't around on this day.
Below is a picture that shows the boat slicing through the water. I was a little nervous at this point. We were rocking up and down and moving very quickly. I began to wonder if that large breakfast was such a good idea. I can easily see how people become sea sick. I was worried yesterday on the ferry that I might get sea sick. Luckily it was a short ride to Boston so I was fine, but this was a four hour boat tour--I wasn't sure how I'd fare. Turns out, however, our captain was an excellent captain. He was able to get us where we needed to go fast and with as few bumps as possible. By the end of the boat ride, I actually enjoyed the ups and downs and wished for more waves. Turns out I'm now in love with the sea. I hope after this trip Jason and I will get to go on more boat rides. Side note: I kept singing "a three hour tour" while on the boat. It was fun.
About an hour and a half into the boat ride, not a whale was to be seen. By this point our fingers became numb and almost everyone went back inside to the heated cabin, but not us. Jason and I staid outside, waiting and enjoying the ride. We decided to move toward the front of the boat since everyone was gone. We slowly walked toward the bow and found a spot almost directly in front of the bowsprit (the long pole that sticks out at the front of the boat). Suddenly our hearing returned to us. We turned around and realized we were previously sitting directly near the engine, causing that loud rumbling sound. This disappeared once we reached the front of the ship. We also were no longer getting misted by the water. It was lovely. It was much bumpier at the front, which I enjoyed at this point.
Only minutes after going to the front, a whale was spotted. We actually were able to spot it before they announced it. I loved hearing them tell us about whales. It would be quiet and then suddenly you'd here "Whales at 3 o'clock!" It was so much fun!
This first video is just of us as we made our way out to sea. No whales here--just Jason trying to see through the blazing sun:
Below is another video, but this time with whales. It was a grouping of only 3 whales which is apparently very rare. She said this is not a pod of whales, which usually consist of a group of whales that travel together and take care of one another. These, however, were just three separates whales that were just briefly with each other. She said they could travel together for a few hours to a few day. Pretty cool.
The video below is of a whale we saw two or three times. His name is geometry. He is called this because he has white spots in various shapes on him. In this video he rolled onto his side and flapped his fins on the water for us. Apparently it is also very rare to see a whale flap his fins like that. We got lucky. They said he was showing off for us. There was also another whale named Daffodil, but they didn't talk much about her. Geometry was clearly the favorite. He was recently tagged in order to keep track of him. They said tagging doesn't appear to hurt them but they have noticed the skin is different once tagging them, so they don't do that very much anymore.
The video below talks more about Geometry and how to tell if a whale is male or female. Pretty interesting stuff.
The video below shows a whale with a scar on it's back, which is most likely due to being hit by a boat. Sadly, a lot of damage is done to whales by humans and this was an example of one. It seemed that our captain was very cautious not to hurt the whales near us. He would get close, but they had a radar that showed where exactly the whales were and what direction they were going in. This kept us from hitting them accidentally. At one point he told us there was a whale 200 feet directly below the boat. This video also shows a special moment at the very end. A lot of rare events and anomalies occurred on this trip apparently. At the end of the video you will hear all of us make an "awww" sound. It may appear confusing because it doesn't look like the whale did anything, which it didn't--a bird did. There was a small bird which got rather comfortable on our boat; sat down right beside our feet for about an hour without moving. It was this bird that caused the "aww" sound. At that very moment, the bird flew off the boat and landed right on the whale's back in the video. Right before you hear the "aww" sound you can actually see the bird fly off the whale's hump as he dips back into the water. It was pretty awesome.
The video below is another special and rare one. Apparently it is very rare to see a whale jump. We saw it happen. There was a mom and a baby traveling together. The baby (I guess still young and full of energy) jumped straight out of the water and landed with a massive splash. Unfortunately I wasn't filming at the time he jumped because our battery was getting low. I was able, however, to catch the splash from his jump, which is at the very beginning of the video. If you keep watching you can see some pretty amazing shots of them swimming as well. It was amazing! I am now in love with whales. Side note: there were two very little kids standing beside us when filming--their conversation was rather interesting. They discuss what it would be like to sleep on the water, the amazingness of a whale fashion show, and how to speak whale. It was pretty funny.
The video below is one of the coolest ones to me--it shows how close we were to the whales. Our boat was literally beside these whales. We, sadly, we on the opposite side of the boat so it was hard to get a good view. This was of the mom and baby whale (the one that jumped earlier). We were so close you could see their faces. Apparently the mom had mud on her face, which was a sign she was eating at the bottom of the ocean earlier. Pretty cool. Also, a little side note--you can hear a woman say "Don't put your foot down!" She was talking to me. That bird that was on the boat had decided to get rather close to me. I was on my tip toes trying to get a good shot of the whales when the bird was nearing my foot. I could have easily killed it. Luckily I didn't.
This video gives you the best view of the whales out of all of them. We started out being far but slowly glided toward them. We were so close! This time the whales were on our side of the boat, so we got the best look at them. Enjoy!
Below are also a bunch of pictures we took of the whales as well, when we weren't taking video:
This is the small bird that joined us on our boat ride. He staid quite a long time. There were two little girls on the boat that seemed more in love with this bird than the massive whales. Eventually the bird flew off and actually landed on a whale, as you can see in one of those videos above.
More pictures from the boat:
Below is a video of us on the ride back to shore. We were able to stay at the front for quite some time. Eventually we moved so others could view the front as well. Pretty awesome sight. The video doesn't give justice to how beautiful it was and how amazing it felt to fly over each wave with such speed.
Funny moment happened on the way back to shore. A lady came running up next to me to see a seal that was nearby. She pointed and called her husband over to see it. At first it was normal, but then she started making seal noises at it. Eventually the seal looked at her like she was crazy and swam off. Then her husband turned to her and said, "the seal saw your face and left." Hahaha!
Our boat:
On our way back to shore, the Captain announced that they found a missing glove. Jason and I immediately looked at each other. I had brought two gloves with us to Salem but was unable to find the other glove before leaving for the Cape Ann tour. Jason, very wisely, said "I doubt your glove was lost at sea and magically found it's way onto the ship." We laughed for a bit--how cool would that have been! It didn't though. Still not sure where that glove is.
After we returned to the dock, we immediately called North Shore Taxi. They said they'd get out as soon as they could. While waiting we went inside the gift shop. It was packed with people. We walked through very quickly and immediately walked back out--just too many people. We found a long stretch of concrete logs outside the shop and sat down. We chewed gum and watched as person after person left the shipyard. Eventually we were the last people there, even the workers of Cape Ann left before we did. Eventually a guy came by and asked us if we were waiting for the Cape Ann tour; we explained we were just waiting on someone and he left. Jason said he was probably going to tell us we had just missed the tour--they only do it once a day in October.
After forty minutes of waiting, my phone goes off. It's North Shore taxi saying they were outside but couldn't see us. I asked what kind of car they had, but the taxi driver saw us and began waving. He was in a car that drove up only moments before my phone went off. It was a beaten-up white car that was unmarked. Usually they say "North Shore Taxi" on it. He seemed legit and had my number so we figured it was safe. It was. We got in and he listed off our address. This driver was also very quiet. No music either. We all just silently waited our return to the hotel. At one point the driver informs us he has to pull of the road for a second to fix his GPS. Said he wanted to tell us before doing it just in case we got worried he was going to do something he should--glad he gave us the heads up. Getting picked up in a run-down, unmarked car and then suddenly being pulled over before reaching the hotel--not a reassuring moment. Luckily, we were fine. We returned to the hotel safe and sound, just with less money ($60 instead of $50 for some reason...oh well).
We dropped off our stuff at the hotel and relaxed a little. In no time at all, however, we returned to the cobblestone streets that we hold so dear. We walked down to Essex Street and found our way to the square. Eventually we ended up back at the Old Burring Point Cemetery. During our ghost tour a while back, we saw an old house beside the cemetery, which was "rumored" (at least by our tour guide) to have a hidden walkway from the house to a crypt in the cemetery. He said if we were to remove the top of the crypt (which is illegal and horrible to do) we would find stairs--- du na na na!!! If that were true, I'd buy that house in a heartbeat and call myself Zelda and put up a sign that read "Will Cut Grass For Rupees." Sadly, I think he's a liar and has played too many amazing video games for his own good. In either case, the picture below is of the house in daylight. Pretty creepy, eh?
After passing through the cemetery we returned to the Salem Common. I love this place. It's so beautiful! We walked around and around and began discussing a number of different things. I think Jason and I are at our best when walking together. It doesn't matter where we are or what we're doing, if we are walking side by side we inevitably end up discussing the important things that matter to us. It always feels like we're dating again when we do this--probably why we do it so much at home.
On this occasion we discussed people refusing to vaccinate their children for fear that they will become autistic. We had seen a sign near the Common that said they are giving away free vaccines to help prevent poor kids from dying needlessly. Sparked some pretty fun conversations between Jason and I. We discussed politics and the hot button issue of the year--Planned Parenthood. It's easy to talk to someone when they agree with your views. The beautiful thing about marrying someone who is very similar to you is that it's easy to understand them and the conversations aren't hard--they agree with you. Some people say it can be boring being married to someone just like you. I disagree. Although I think it's important to be around others who disagree with us on occasion (how else could we grow and see outside our small and limited view of the world), marriage is the most important relationship you can have--being similar makes it easier to do life together. Lucky for me, even if Jason and I agree on the same topic (which was the case on this day), it's never boring with him. I love that about us. No matter if we agree or disagree, we always have interesting things to talk about. I fall more in love with Jason each and every time we go for a walk.
Below is a picture of my favorite part of the Common:
After walking for a while, we decided we were very hungry (we had only eaten breakfast that day). We wanted to eat at Howling Wolf Taqueria again. We had eaten here the day we arrived in Salem, but we were so tired and worn out from the journey that we didn't really get to enjoy it fully. Now we could.
Jason and I were seated by the window at a high top table. It was packed--as always. We sat down and were greeted by our waitress who brought chips and salsa. She took our drink orders and rushed off to another table. For the first moment almost all day, Jason and I were still. That's when it hit--the table and floor began to move. We looked at each other and knew what we were thinking. "Do you feel disoriented, too?" we asked. Apparently being on the ferry the night before and then being on a boat for 4 hours causes your equilibrium to shift. Although still and clearly not moving, it felt as though we were rocking back and forth in the restaurant. We laughed for a while about it and tried our best to stabilize ourselves throughout dinner. Even though we were off, dinner was certainly not. It was amazing.
To the left is Jason enjoying his Fisherman's Brew from Cape Ann (where we did our whale watching, oddly enough).
To the right, Jason with his Daily Ration from Mayflower Brewing. Both were good (Mayflower was a little hoppy for me)
Below is a picture of Jason's delicious food! He ordered what I had gotten the first night in Salem (two pork and pineapple tacos). He also ordered a fried avocado taco. Both were great (he let me taste them)!
I ate chips and dip, along with Spanish Rice and beans:
For dessert, I got fried plantains! I love fried plantains!
We sat and enjoyed each other's company as we watched our waitress zip here and there. I admire waitresses and waiters very much. It's really an art form. It's like watching a mental dance take place. She remembered each and every person's request without writing it down and she never stopped. We had asked for a T-shirt for Jason when she returned to our table. She said she'd go get it. I watched her immediately go to four other tables and check on them. She got some to-go boxes, more drinks, printed off a check here and there, prepared chips and salsa, and in less than five minutes returned with a shirt for Jason. She deserved a reward in my opinion! Jason got a blue shirt that says "Feed the Good wolf" on it. It was great! We thanked her, paid, and tried our best to leave the boat---I mean restaurant--safely without falling overboard. We walked back to the hotel and called it a day. What a great day it was, too!
Procuring a voyaging administration at the air terminal is the most horrendous activity. Finding a ride directly after your flight lands at the air terminal. Like we have talked over that if you are going to Boston city, at that point finding a taxi outside the air terminal turns out to be progressively troublesome. This is perhaps the busiest air terminal in America so employ the best Best Boston Car Service to get a smooth ride home. A large number of individuals travel through this air terminal. Along these lines, if you are with your family, at that point in the wake of leaving the air terminal finding a vehicle in which the majority of your relatives will sit easily is almost inconceivable.
ReplyDelete