Enjoying three pods of whales

by Stephen
(Spokane, WA)

In early Sept. 2006, we had our father-in-law and his new wife (both in the 80's) aboard, off the west side of San Juan Island, and we were there hoping to see the whales.

Unknown to us, all three resident pods were there, and before we knew it we were surrounded by whales. The Whale Watch crew stayed alongside us as the pods passed, as they, like us, had no choice but to turn the engines off and let the whales go by.

There were about 90 whales total, and it's rare for all three pods to be together. By the way, the resident Orca whales are generally fish-eaters, and the transient Orcas are geneally seal and other marine mammal eaters - -

This was a really special day. It took about a half hour for all of them to pass.