This weekend I went whale watching for the first time. It was a fantastic experience. I went with Offshore Blue Adventures, which I’d probably consider the premier experience for anybody who wants to see whales and dolphins up close. They use an inflatable boat, similar to what the Coast Guard or Navy SEALs would use. The benefits of small boats on the ocean is that they ride large swells very easily; the benefits of small boats when whale and dolphin watching is that you can get closer without scaring off the animals.
We say quite a few gray whales, far more than our guide would have expected. We also saw two pods of dolphins. I had quite an obsession with whales growing up, yet beyond the odd beluga in an zoo setup, I have never actually seen one. This was one of my favorite mornings I’ve spent in San Diego so far.
Here is a Dropbox folder with a few videos I took. They were on my phone in a moving boat, but I did the best I could.