The Great Pacific

This morning was all about getting ready for our grand adventure, however, before we managed to walk out the door, we had some surprise guests for breakfast. 
We had heard about the urban deer in the area, and well, two of them walked right past our picture window this morning. They were so tame and close that we could have reached out and touched them!
We booked a whale watching cruise for noon and thought we were arriving early only to find everyone waiting for us because a whale had been sighted just out of the harbour.  The waves were not dangerous, but high enough to give us an interesting ride, kind of like a roller coaster with bumps!! We did see lots of sea lions (do they ever get big!!), but it was the whales we wanted to see.  The skipper, Cameron was great, picture an older hippie/surfer who never left the ocean. He gave us lots of info and told fabulous stories! He had us helping to look for spouts which would let us know where the whales are, and we did find whales, at least 3. We never saw more than their backs as they came up and then dove. Still, the experience was priceless and we were glad we went, okay until my stomach messed up on me. Gotta say that I likely got the closest view of a whale (diving) when I was leaning over the side in the back and everyone else was inside looking toward the front and missed it LOL.! On the way back as I clutched the empty ice cream bucket they gave me, we also saw seals, more sea lions and otters!
Never one to give up, I took a few hours to recover (on the couch), and after a great picnic supper in our room, we headed off to tackle the Wild Pacific Rim Trail, Lighthouse loop. The plan was to time it so that we could get some sunset pictures over the water. The trail took us 3 km., along the coast and overlooking such incredible views they took our breath away. Although Ann threatened to take away my cellphone camara several times, she loved the pictures afterward! 
We met such wonderful people as we walked, several who had originated in Ontario, came to B.C. and never left!
Well, our sunset walk was great until we realized that we had pushed our luck a bit and had to hurry to get back to the car before darkness. We made it just in time!
Another day done, but wow, it was great!
P.S. my stomach is much better now, but for some reason, the floor feels like it's rolling a bit, just like the boat........
Nite all

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