The Three Ss

 So Tuesday was my turn for a Bucket List tour in San Diego.

True, these sightings were from the last week in November, but it looked a little promising for ocean wildlife sightings.

We are ready! Four layers for Hubby (he also had a coat) and puffy coat for me.

our ride for the 2-3 hour tour

The Naturalist on board told us to look for the Three Ss: splashes, spouting and seabirds. This pod of dolphins was our first sighting of ocean wildlife. The splashing and seabirds hinted at the activity. Brooke, our Naturalist, estimated the pod size of over 500. There was LOTS of activity!

It was very hard to get great photos on my camera as the dolphins move at 35 MPH. No matter where I aimed, I missed the activity.

Once we left the channel, the ocean was rather calm. After two days of rain, it was wonderful to have sunshine although the temp was probably 57º on land, it wasn't 57º out on the ocean with the wind in our faces. But no white caps! And we were prepared with our layers.

John, our pilot, moved out to a depth of about 1700' where the ocean's cold water was meeting the warmer less deep bay water. Brooke indicated this is where the whales would be, IF there were any in the area today. Spoutings were sighted and John moved closer.

not just one Humpback whale, but two

not together, nor in the same photos

this little boat of folks was also chasing the humpbacks

a spouting! I was so excited to see my photo

head/mouth and teeth on the right

We encountered another pod of dolphins on the way back to the harbor. This time I lucked out with a leaping dolphin photo.

It was so fun to watch the dolphins swim next to our boat.

There were several options for water activity at Mission Bay. The Hot Tub pontoon was available for rent.

OR you could rent the Paddle Pub for your party crew.

the sunset from our hotel balcony

Brooke, the Naturalist on board, had a professional camera and took photos of the ocean wildlife. She posted 20 photos that could be purchased and I did. Here are 10 of her best shots:

Two more days in San Diego!