Great Moment of Serendipity
Our greatest moment of unexpected blessedness happened one day in Alaska when my sister Patsy & her husband Billy were traveling with us. (They are going to Israel with our group too.)
When planning our trip one thing I had read about that really excited me was kayaking with whales. That sounded exciting to me but there were some problems that Charles pointed out. First, the water would be cold if we tipped over. And second, the cost of $1,000 for that one day would consume too much of the trip budget. I insisted that it would be worth the money to see and hear whales up close like that--so the arrangements were made.
When the day came to board the 52’ "Sea Wolf" which we had chartered for the whale adventure, the weather was cold and misty. We spent the morning watching about a dozen whales with our binoculars through the windows from inside the warm cabin. After lunch when the weather cleared, the hosts started pulling out life jackets and putting the kayaks into the water. We were given basic instructions before we paddled off in the direction of the whales.
We had been told to tap the kayak hull occasionally so the whales would know our location and not surface too closely tipping us over. At first we could hardly paddle for banging on the kayak but after awhile we calmed down and drifted quietly. Suddenly we were totally shocked by a whale and calf silently and smoothly surfacing about ten feet in front of our two kayaks. Our boats didn't even rock. It was a truly awesome moment caught on film. (See us in picture below.)
Looking back, I later realized that this serendipitous moment was the highlight of not just the trip ---but of our whole year.
When planning our trip one thing I had read about that really excited me was kayaking with whales. That sounded exciting to me but there were some problems that Charles pointed out. First, the water would be cold if we tipped over. And second, the cost of $1,000 for that one day would consume too much of the trip budget. I insisted that it would be worth the money to see and hear whales up close like that--so the arrangements were made.
When the day came to board the 52’ "Sea Wolf" which we had chartered for the whale adventure, the weather was cold and misty. We spent the morning watching about a dozen whales with our binoculars through the windows from inside the warm cabin. After lunch when the weather cleared, the hosts started pulling out life jackets and putting the kayaks into the water. We were given basic instructions before we paddled off in the direction of the whales.
We had been told to tap the kayak hull occasionally so the whales would know our location and not surface too closely tipping us over. At first we could hardly paddle for banging on the kayak but after awhile we calmed down and drifted quietly. Suddenly we were totally shocked by a whale and calf silently and smoothly surfacing about ten feet in front of our two kayaks. Our boats didn't even rock. It was a truly awesome moment caught on film. (See us in picture below.)
Looking back, I later realized that this serendipitous moment was the highlight of not just the trip ---but of our whole year.
posted by The Mundy Spot | 3:30 PM
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