A Five Hour Tour!

Spirits were high at the crack of dawn, as it is time to embark on a five hour tour across the San Diegan seas. The Daiwa Pacific is due to leave port in a few minutes; we rush to the door....






















No no Miss, you can't go, they would never allow you aboard! Even with all of those fish to scrounge, you wouldn't like the salt water much.





















Finally aboard the Daiwa Pacific, we meandered through the harbor...























Out by old Point Loma, the harbor turns to The Pacific





























Into a southwesterly wind, the boat crashed through the waves, wafting a mist back to us. Keeping alert, we could tell our quarry was near, the great California Gray Whale is migrating these waters we sail.


























Johanna, along with another crewmate scan the horizon for the telltale sign of the whale...


























Could that be it?????






















THAR SHE BLOWS!























As mysteriously as they had come, the giants vanished beneath the waves once again....





















Within minutes, the Daiwa was in the midst of a Dolphin forum! A rare sight, 40-50 Pacific White-Sided Dolphin gave the ship an escort to our next objective, the barren Coronado Islands, off the coast of Mexico.






















Here comes a friendly one, I think she's trying to tell us something!
























Unfortunately, we couldn't speak Dolphin, so we had to move on; you can almost see the dissapointment in her eyes!





















The Coronado certainly aren't barren, as its residents would attest. Some are quite cranky, others playful; either way they make sure we know who's island this is...



















A few pups accompany us as we make our way away from the leeward side of the island, towards the open Pacific.

















The borders of the sea lion town don't extend out here, its way too chaotic for their lounging lifestyle.

















However, the Pelicans can just fly away at the sight of a widow-maker wave...























We finally start back towards port, having reached the exotic Coronado islands. This pair of Oystercatchers seems sad to see us go; but nevertheless, my normally rock solid stomach is starting to succumb to the 8-10 foot swells...



















Someone wants a free ride to food..... This gull stays with us for over 20 minutes, cruising in our wake.


















Ahh, back at Point Loma, the ocean sits down, and the late-risers are out for an afternoon sail




















Back in port our land legs return....

























And another expedition comes to a close...

Whale Watch: 1st Attempt

We planned last weekend to go out on a 5-hour whale and nature watch. Unfortunately, our boat never left the harbor--it was cold, rainy, and nobody showed. Before we got the final word on whether our boat would go out or not, we caught these birds trolling the harbor for breakfast.




 

Tijuana Roots

 

VOLATALIS FELIS!

Walnut Canyon, Flagstaff, and Sedona, AZ

Here's the view outside of the Pittman's in Gold Canyon, AZ.... And on to Flagstaff...

Christmas in Arizona!

Christmas Pictures from Wrentham!

I (Cole) flew in to Wrentham for a quick visit over the holidays (Christmas included of course). It was a very short stay, but it was really great seeing my family and the homeland!


























My noflings (niece and nephew): Sophie politely offering a binky and Julien having a great time!























A trip to Wrentham would never be complete without a serious lunch with Jackson (on the left), Nathan, and my mom. Also note the critter Nathan won in the claw machine at Papa Gino's; the Kosts are experts with those machines. I always thought they were just money sinks, basically scams, until I saw these guys in action, they always win some pretty nifty prizes!




















Can you tell my mom wasn't getting good letters?




















Cammie and I got new cameras, here's the evidence!





















Here's Beth checking out some presents on Christmas morning!



















Cammie waiting for the train to Boston. Along with my mom, we went on a whirlwind tour, checking out the MFA, and eating a tasty dinner at Tamarind Bay over in Harvard Sq. It was funny going back, it really didn't seem like I was gone long, old Boston will always be home I think.















Yes, there is actually snow in New England, here's a grainy shot of Mt. Washington from the plane. It was pretty amazing seeing almost zero snow in the northeast, and along the entire approach to Phoenix, snow all over the high desert. There was even some snow on the north-facing slopes in the Superstitions, just 30 miles east of Phoenix.