Boston: Whale-Watching

Tuesday, October 11, 2011, was probably our best day in Boston. We drove into town and parked at Fanueil Hall and did some shopping. Michael and I bought a pair of Boston pewter peacock champagne flutes encrusted with crystals. We all bought souvenirs for friends and family. We grabbed a quick snack and then headed to the wharf.

For the next three to four hours, we had the most amazing time with Boston Harbor Cruises. We boarded a boat and rode at full speed about 45 minutes into the open ocean. It was a cold fall morning with clear blue skies, and Michael, like a champ, stayed on the prow of the boat the whole ride to save us a good spot. Why, you ask?

Because we were going WHALE-WATCHING.

Once the boat stopped, we crowded out to the deck and wormed our way to a railing. And then we saw it. It was Michael’s first time whale-watching, and his face lit up as we saw the first spray from a blowhole leave rainbows over the choppy water. As one, the people on the boat gasped and cried out and pointed to the water where a humpback whale had surfaced, just yards from the boat.

Usually, when humpback whales surface, they come up for air and dive for a good 15-20 minutes or so before resurfacing to breathe. So whale-watching can be a lot of waiting interspersed with brief thrilling moments. Not so that day. Right by our boat, at least four individual humpbacks were FEEDING on krill at the surface. So they appeared once every half-minute or so and posed for photos. Every time one appeared, we felt the same jolt of energy and the fun never wore off, even as we grew chilly in the brisk air. We even saw a single fin whale once.

We moved around a couple of times and spent almost three hours on that deck, exhilarated and giddy. Finally it was time to go back, and we reluctantly said goodbye and went inside the boat to grab a drink and a hot pretzel.

As we approached the silver city, we went back up in the spray at the front of the ship and enjoyed the view from the harbor.

When we returned, we wandered, slack-mouthed, back toward the city and eventually ended up at a famous Irish pub, The Black Rose. We couldn’t pass it up. Mom had the Black Rose burger with sweet potato fries, I had corned beef sliders and chips, and Michael had—of course—the seafood platter (haddock, scallops, salmon, and shrimp). Everything was good and we enjoyed the atmosphere and several drinks.

On our way back to the car, we did a little more shopping and wandered through the night market, where fresh fish and produce were haggled over by locals and we itched to have a reason to buy something.

It was a perfect day.