a whale of a tale

well, i finally got my base tan for 2011 which means i'm ready to hit the beach! we went whale watching yesterday out on the open sea in the 80°+ weather. it was supposed to be a three hour tour (a three hour tourrr) but instead it was more like... a 5 hour adventure. it took a long time (like an hour and a half) just to float out of the harbor due to the parade of flight happening above us and like parachuters and the coast guard and stuff. but hey, we had the best seats in the house!

the show was cool, somewhat ho-hum. but then... these guys made an appearance! see all these little specks? that's like... a lot of planes. amazing how they all stay in formation. kind of eery actually. like they were coming to take over the world.

same lighthouse, new angle, FUN FACT: this point is the most south western point in the continental united states!

some sea lions and/or seals. sea lions can walk on their front flippers. seals cannot. fyi.

and... FINALLY... out of the harbor. woo! los coronados islands straight ahead. hello mexico!

if you've never been whale watching, here's the deal. you're either looking for a tail flipping out or a spray coming up through the blowhole. believe it or not, it's pretty hard to photograph the phenomenon, but i did manage to get the tail AND the spray (kind of...look closely!)

luckily we went during the perfect time of the season and we saw lots of whales and dozens of dolphins. the dolphins were jumping and swimming really fast along with the boat. the vid i got seriously doesn't do the experience justice, but it was amazing!

anyway, you should go sometime! so so fun!

speaking of fun, my yankee candle is still going strong. i guess. except today i had to hold the lighter on the wick for 10 seconds or more just for it to light. and then, only the base of the wick caught fire. what gives?