My Whale Tale

The January-February EBW challenge theme is Tropical Holiday. Melody of salamanderhouse made a cuff featuring whale tails http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20422737 that is just wonderful. I commented on it in our forum posts and told her I had had an up close and personal experience once with a whale. She posted back that she would like to hear the story. So I thought, why not just blog it. Here it is, Melody, you asked for it. :)

Actually, it was probably one of those "you had to be there" kind of moments, but it has stuck with me for years and I will probably never forget it. In the early 90's, back in my "golden family years" we took a vacation to Oregon. This was pre-divorce, kids were all still in school, life was normal. You know. We stayed in Lincoln City, Oregon, in a motel right on the beach. It was wonderful. One day we drove along the coast to Depot Bay and I think it was on the way back that we pulled into this spot along the highway where you could look out over the ocean. It kind of jutted out and there were coves on either side. We were all just goofing around, watching the waves, my ex was videotaping the kids, usual vacation antics. My youngest son was sitting on a fence post looking out over the ocean when all of a sudden I heard him yell, "Whales! Look, whales!!" I'll never forget the excitement and awe in his 11 year old voice. We all ran to look, and sure enough we saw the water spouts and the tails as they went back under. I think there were just two. We watched for a long time, trying to get a good picture and then we realized that one of them had swum right into the cove alongside the pull-off. She came to the surface and it was like she was checking us out. I could plainly see the barnacles crusting her head and as she rolled to go back under I was staring right into her eye and she was staring back at me. I have never felt so close to nature and the Creator before or since. For those who have the opportunity to view whales all the time, this may seem like no big deal. But for a land lubber from Kansas who was seeing an ocean and all things of the ocean for the first time it was a once in a lifetime experience. I have since visited the Atlantic Ocean, been to Sea World in Florida, visited the Gulf at Galveston and sailed alongside dolphins in Galveston Bay, but nothing compares to that split-second communion between me and that gray whale off the coast of Oregon.

So there it is, my whale tale.

Reflections

Found this on a blog by fellow EBW'r, Njema. It was so much fun to read through her answers and find out a little bit more about the person behind the art. So thought I'd do the list here on my own blog for those who might want to know a bit more about me. Besides, I'm always a sucker for all those self-analysis, what's your personality, what animal are you, kind of lists, anyway. So the things I have done are the ones that are in bold and blue.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (I guess 5th grade band counts!)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disney World
8. Climbed a mountain (just mountains of laundry)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb (My sis and husband raise sheep)
26. Gone skinny dipping (Nope, but I've played strip poker :o)
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (watched both, don't know which is better)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (guess my fledgling craft business counts)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (what a spirtual experience!!)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (no, but I've eaten escargot)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (a 1973 Monte Carlo. Am I telling my age?)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (Had three)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Only 38 out of 100, which makes me, what? An ordinary person? Not much of a traveler? Yep. It was fun, though, reflecting back on things I've done and haven't done. Some of those things are from my childhood and thinking about them brought back fond memories. Give it a try. It's an interesting list and reflection is good for the soul.