Last week I went on a whale watch! I hadn't been on one in 22 years because when you live here, you don't usually do the touristy things. But- I was invited by the Captain, so how could I refuse! 
Actually, just the thought of being out on a boat on a hot summer's day was enough enticement, and it was sunny and hot- about 80 degrees that day. The "Dolphin" boat left Provincetown Harbor around 4pm.
Leaving the harbor, we drove by Aunt Fran (she's the woman on the far right)
Then out around the very tip of Cape Cod, past Long Point Lighthouse. You can see the town and Pilgrim Monument in the background. Now we were out of the Cape Cod Bay and in the deep Atlantic Ocean, where the Great White sharks roam. (we didn't see any though)
We saw a LOT of Humpbacks (pictured) and Minke whales, (which are quite a bit smaller).
When you see the tail like this they are going down for a deep dive.....There was a naturalist from the Center of Coastal Studies on board telling everyone all about the whales. It was really interesting and I learned a lot. She said there are about 2000 whales in this area, and she knew every single whale that we encountered by the markings on the tail or fins. 
You can click on the photo to enlarge it. As you can see, I was sitting way up high above all the people on the packed boat and I had a 360 degree view. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to ride up top!!
This whale we came upon was actually sleeping! I guess they can sleep at the top or at the bottom. It doesn't matter. When we arrived a gull was pecking at it which really concerned the naturalist. She said the gulls can really hurt the whales, and sure enough, as soon as the gull pecked the whale woke up and dove under. 
This view of the Pilgrim Monument is from the Atlantic Ocean. We were almost off the beaches in Truro in an area where there are colonies of seals, and where there are seals, there are Great Whites. It would have been pretty neat to see one swim by, but then again.....
Guess who got to drive the boat?!! Ok, I really only took the wheel for a minute or two, so NO- we didn't run aground! 
I rode my motorcycle up to Provincetown so luckily I had lots of warm clothes, because it was pretty chilly when we were moving.We passed the Bay Lady sailboat. It is a boat that takes on paying passengers so it's always full of people. What a beautiful ship with all the sails up! I got lots of reference photos for future paintings. I'm very excited about that! 
As the sun began to set we watched the Bay Lady sail away.....
....rounded the point and went back into the harbor.
They were having sailing lessons at the Ptown Yacht club. 
And back into the slip at the pier before the sun actually set. I hopped on my motorcycle and had a wonderful ride home (45 minutes). What an awesome day it was. The whole day was perfect from the ride up, to the weather, to the amount of whales we saw, to the ride home. Ahhhhh this is what life is supposed to be like ALL the time!
Provincetown on Dwellable
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