Summer Boat Trips

Last summer we went on two of our more memorable boat trips in the Puget Sound. There are a couple of orca pods that hang out here every year to hunt king salmon and look for other delicious food treats. The whole family + Terry took the boat out in June to sit in the sun and look for whales. I studied my GRE vocabulary flashcards during the lulls - Terry taught me how to remember what enigma meant by reminding me that the Joker's name in Batman was E. Nigma. I'll never forget now.

On the first trip, we saw all of the normal fauna: seals, marine birds, fish, and river otters. It was also the first summer afternoon where it was warm enough to wear shorts:

At the end of a long day of NO whale sightings, we decided to head back to Anacortes. Around the edge of Lummi Island, a pod of orcas surfaced around the boat and chased fish. We watched them until it was safe to start the boat engine again and came away with a really awesome hunting picture.

On the second trip (4th of July), we went fishing. On all previous fishing occasions, Eric and I caught unimpressive flatfish and rockfish - throwbacks, so my expectations were not high. We waited forever for a bite and when we got one, everyone let me reel it in.

This time, I got a little more than I expected.

At one point, I honestly thought I hooked a shark because it was so strong. Thirty minutes later, we got a glimpse of what I had - my very first king chinook salmon. Then the seals started to follow us and I reeled faster.

Celebratory Mike's: