Whales and Dolphins of Monterey

My 80-year old mother's life long dream was to see a dolphin in the wild. I had seen them before, off the coasts of Zanzibar, Eureka, and in the Philippine Islands, but when my husband was browsing TravelZoo and found a discount for Randy's Whale Watching in Monterey, how could I say no. We took a Monday off work, and invited my parents to double-date with us for a weekend of ocean thrills and decadent seafood dining.

On Sunday February 10, we settled into the Days Inn, Fisherman's Wharf, on Munras Avenue, across from Don Dahvee State Historic Park. Since Mom can't walk too far, we decided to go down to the wharf for some reconnaissance on where we would drop her off, park the car, and locate the dock we'd depart from. Whenever you walk down Old Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey at dinner time, you are haralded by seafood restaurant owners offering free samples of hot, homemade clam chowder and enticing you with free appetizers. We chose the Old Fisherman's Grotto for a feast of chowder, oysters on the half shell, fresh crab, and calamari. I enjoyed a peppermint patty (cocoa and Schnapps) at the Grotto and relaxed in our room with its nice gas fireplace.

We were out of the hotel and on the dock by 9 AM. While waiting for our boat to depart, we hung out with the large pile of sea lions that make Monterey Bay their home and haul out on the floating dock.

We were decked out in rain pants, coats, and slicks, expecting to get wet by sea and rain, but it was a beautifully warm and clear day. As our vessel pulled us out of the bay towards the open sea, I spotted grebes, loons, gulls, cormorants, murres, scoters, and a sooty shearwater. A large brown pelican flew right by us, sea otters frolicked nearby, harbor seals and sea lions dove and surfaced as they fished. Then we saw what we had come to see: the whales. We didn't get close to the gray whales, but we did see them breaching and spouting, and we were extremely fortunate to get a closer look at the Minke whale. The real highlight of my day was coming upon the large dolphin pod, which came amazingly close to our boat, and watching them jump out of the water in synchronized breaches. They knew why were were out there and were only too kind to pay us a visit and graciously lead us to the next whale.

Pirate ship on the Bay

Our exciting adventure with the marine life ended right around lunch time, conveniently timed for another seafood splurge before heading home. We enjoyed more oysters and calamari at Rappa's Harbor View. Then it was time for us weary sailors to leave the beautiful central California coast to travel inland and return to our daily lives. 

Sailor Tim and Joe Rappa