268th New Thing - Went on a Whale & Wildlife Tour

I was on vacation so I didn't have time to post the last few nights, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 4 days ago (Sat 7/14/12).

We were in the northwest in the Washington State area for a few days so Matt and my 2 Chicago friends went to San Juan Islands all day on Saturday. First, we drove about 2 hours from the airport north to the Anacortes and took the Washington State Ferry ($12.45 RT/person) to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands. Then we walked around the town for a bit before our reserved tour with Western Prince Whale & Wildlife Tours ($79.00/person). We boarded the Western Prince II at 2:00pm. The tour says you will breathe the fresh island air, take in the scenery, and experience the seeing of Orca (Killer) Whales, Bald Eagles, Porpoises, Seals, Sea Birds, and Sea Lions in their natural environment. It was about a 1 hour boat ride out to where the whales swim, 1 hour to whale watch, and 1 hour boat ride back on the 46' Western Prince II. We saw a couple bald eagles and sea lions on the way there.

Orcas are highly intelligent and social animals, traveling in groups called pods. We saw about a dozen orca whales from J pod and a few L pod in the Strait of Georgia. Their fierce predatory style won them the nickname of “killer whale” in spite of the fact that Orcas, both in the wild and in captivity, show incredible curiosity, awareness and gentleness toward people. Although orcas are found in all oceans and most seas they prefer colder waters and are more predominant in the Pacific Basin. Orcas are black in color with white undersides. The largest of the dolphin family, male Orcas average 27 feet in length and weigh 8 tons with dorsal fins growing as high as 6 feet. Females are smaller, growing to an average 23 feet and weighing six tons. Their dorsal fins only grow to two feet and are more curved, making it possible to tell the genders apart while viewing them from the boat. They did all the 'tricks' in the book: breaching (jump clear of the water and crash back down on its back or side), blowing (rising puffs of steam), tail lobbing (slap its tail on the water’s surface), spy hopping (hang vertically in the water and sticks its head above the surface to get a look at what is going on out of the water), etc. The captain and naturalists on the tour agreed that this was 1 of the best tours they had this year!

Next we had a drink at before catching the ferry back to Anacortes. Then we drove about 45 minutes to my friends manager's house in Bellingham WA where we had refreshing margaritas and a delicious pork and veggie dinner. What an awesome and amazing day out on the water in the northwest!

What did you do today?

132nd New Thing - Played with Talking Tom Cat

I was searching through apps on my Droid Razr and came about Outfit7's Talking Tom Cat . This app is described as a cat that responds to your touch and repeats everything you say in a funny voice. I wanted to see what it was all about so I downloaded the app to my Razr to check it out. You can Talk to Tom and he will repeat everything you say with a funny voice, pet his body or head to make him purr, poke his head, belly or feet, grab his tail, pour a glass of milk for him to drink, and forget about him and he will yawn or sneeze. I find Tom only slightly enjoyable. What did you do today?

Eating My Way Thru NOLA - Day 3

NOLA - October 2018 PJ's Coffee (5432 Magazine St, New Orleans LA 70115) - Goal was The King Cake Protein Velvet Ice but apparently that was only seasonal around Mardi Gras. So I got a PJ's Original Cold Brew Iced Coffee instead. A chain but good stuff. Royal House (441 Royal St, New Orleans LA 70130) - Crawfish Benedict with a side of grits was very tasty. Parran’s Po-Boys & Restaurant (3939 Veterans Blvd, Metairie LA 70002) - Seafood Trifecta (1/3 fried shrimp sandwich, 1/3 fried oyster sandwich, 1/3 fried catfish sandwich *best*) dressed (mayo, lettuce, tomato). Chilly's Snoballs (3940 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Metairie LA 70006) - Sampled a few and then ordered 8oz Douberge and 8oz Wedding Cake from the drive-thru. Toups Meatery (845 N Carrollton Ave, New Orleans LA 70119) - Boudin Balls to go Mother's Restaurant (401 Poydras St, New Orleans LA 70130) - Ham, Jambalaya, Red Beans & Rice Other snacks ...

144th New Thing - Ate a LQ Belgian Waffle

We stayed at the La Quinta Inn & Suites the past 2 nights since my brother and sister-in-law were visiting Colorado to ski. LQ's serve free Bright Side Breakfast daily as an amenity to all guests. The Bright Side Breakfast includes: waffles, hot and cold cereal, bread/bagels/muffins/pastries, hard boiled eggs, fresh fruit, and all-you-can-drink coffee/juice/milk. This morning, I made-my-own LQ Belgian Waffle. They make the batter and you make the waffle on their iron. It cooked evenly and turned out fluffy and tender. I wonder what mix they use for the batter (my 1st internet search suggested that they buy their waffle mix from Sysco , my 2nd internet image search found out it is Carbon's Golden Malted Original Pancake & Waffle Flour). I ate 1/2 of my waffle with syrup and fruit and the other half with PB&J. It was a good breakfast to have before skiing, again! What did you do today?

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