Day 23: FERRIES!!!

I developed a tick while we were in Vancouver: Every time I saw a sign directing us to a ferry port, I turned into Mr. Crocker.

Who? If you have kids or have recently been a kid, you are likely familiar with Fairly Oddparents. And if you’re familiar with Fairly Oddparents, you’re familiar with Timmy’s fairy-chasing teacher, Mr. Crocker, no?

FERRIES!!!!

El Jefe and Earl had never been on a ferry like the one from Vancouver to Victoria before. I had, but this is going to be long enough without me going into that whole story (and trust me, it’s a story! at least we didn’t die.).

When you’re 10 and have birthday money burning a hole in your pocket, the best boats are the ones with gift shops that sell mini Lego Creator sets, so that’s how Earl spent a chunk of  her hour and a half on the ferry.

We docked in Swartz Bay and the debate began: Do we go to the botanical gardens (my vote) or to the miniatures museum (Earl’s vote)? We didn’t have time to do both, so a decision had to be made.

I lost.

Miniature World was much cooler than I’d expected, I’ll admit. Teeny super-detailed models of everything from the middle ages to the circus to the American Civil War to Nazi Germany to fairy tales to doll houses. It was mind boggling and fascinating that anyone could have the patience required for such intricate and involved eensy-weensy displays.

Miniature World was the precursor-slash-timekiller before the main event of the day: Whale watching.

I’ll tell you right now, I’m going to sound like a total commercial, but I got nothing in return for this except for a great experience. There are a lot of whale watching tours to choose from in the Vancouver area. I went with Eagle Wing Tours based on TripAdvisor and their whale guarantee.

I will go with Eagle Wing again in a heartbeat because everything from the boat to the crew to the weather was perfect.

Yes, I know they had nothing to do with that last one, but they get credit by proxy because it was perfect. Especially with the parkas, hats, and gloves they provided. Because it gets cold out there when you’re sailing through the waters in search of wonders.

The boat was a catamaran with indoor and outdoor seating. It only took a few minutes into the four-hour excursion for Earl to choose her prime spot for the day. She perched up on top of the cabin with one of our guides, Sydney. The waters were calm and flat, but a passing cargo ship threw some wicked wake our way, much to Earl’s utter delight.

Sydney sat up there for the longest time and talked to Earl, answered her questions, talked about orcas in their natural habitat versus orcas in captivity. It was about 45 minutes out to where the whales were, and Earl nearly talked Sydney’s ear off, except for the few seconds when El Jefe dragged her down to the bow for a quick pic.

In short order, whales started appearing. They were heading north for the evening to feed on salmon near the Frasier River. Our guides, Sydney and Molly, and our captain, Brett, pointed out that you could identify the individual members of the resident whale pods we were seeing by the saddle patch behind their dorsal fins. Competition started between the three to see who could identify whom first.

My child is not one to shy away from competition. In fact, she usually throws herself into the middle of it whole-hog, invited or not.

It wasn’t long before she’d coaxed a pair of binoculars out of the girls and was studiously going back and forth between peering at patches and matching them to photos in the whale ID book they’d brought out.

She was pretty darn good at it, too, even picking out “Grandma,” a 100+ year old matriarch, before the rest of the crew.

We must have seen 25 orcas altogether. Next time, I’ll take a better camera. The iPhone just doesn’t do justice to how close or magnificent they were.

We saw whales almost continuously for close to two hours. At one point, there were 10-12 orcas in a resting pattern, touching pectoral fins and breathing in sync. They spend the bulk of their time foraging, so to see the resting pattern even got the crew excited.

The delight all three of us felt being on the boat, seeing these creatures, was beyond words. It was truly one of the best experiences I think I’ve ever had. I mean, really, anything that has even El Jefe grinning like a goober has to be fantastic!

I didn’t even care that I legitimately thought I would have to shave my head to ever get the knots out of my hair or that it took an hour (much to her horror) to get all the mats out of Earl’s.

But those are little things that don’t matter. It was almost as perfect a day as they come.

When the boat docked, we thanked everyone profusely. Earl learned so much from the girls who were endlessly patient and kind to her. They knew their whales, their boats, and their dumb jokes. A good crew can make or break an experience, and, man oh man, did they ever make it.

As we drove onto the FERRY!!! back to Vancouver, barely making it in time for the last boat of the day, the sun was starting to set. I don’t know how long it took for our smiles to fade, but I know they lasted far longer than the sun.

What a day for the ages indeed.