Amazing Creatures...

From Boston to Maine and back to Cape Cod, I have read brochure after brochure featuring whale watches.

We decided we couldn't leave without taking one of the trips.  And, today was that day.  So, this morning we drove to Plymouth.

We decided on

Capt. John's boat.  The trip didn't leave until 2:00...plenty of time to have a great lunch at

Wood's Seafood.  Our choice was crab cakes.  Mine was served with rice and coleslaw, while Mark chose fries and coleslaw.

After lunch, we still had time to walk around and do a little shopping.  A little before 2, we joined the others at the dock where we loaded on our boat.

Our trip took us out of the

Plymouth Harbor, past the

Mayflower II and the

Plymouth Rock monument.

We passed by the

the lighthouse marking the end of the harbor and as we traveled on out to sea, we passed

the lighthouse that marks where the Gulf of Massachusetts meets the Gulf of Maine.

Now, out in the

open waters of the North Atlantic, we traveled 25 miles out to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.  This is a federally protected marine habitat for a truly amazing diversity of marine life.

And, amazing it was...

Humpback Whales right beside our boat.

They would

surface and

dive.

We saw

momma and baby swimming together.

And, after a little while, they would return, and again, in amazement, we watched as they

surfaced,

started their dive, and

disappeared.

I was sad when Capt. John said we had to head back to Plymouth.  I could have stayed and watched these amazing creatures until dark.

There just aren't enough

words to explain what we

saw!