As we unloaded the car, we realized how much stuff we "travel" with. Stroller, booster seat with a tray, diaper bag, backup clothes, a bag of toys, bottles, food - and that's just for Olivia. As we passed O to Meredith, we noticed we were forgetting one thing for Olivia, her barrette was missing. Not just any barrette, but the one that we had put in her hair earlier in the day.
That's weird. Check the car, the floor, the car seat, the bags, under the blanket, under the shoes, in the shoes... but no barrette. After 10 minutes of frantically searching, we were convincing ourselves more and more that Olivia had swallowed it. Instead of whales watching, we were thinking we were going to be watching Little Nemo at pediatrics to find out the conclusion of The Missing Barrette.
Thankfully Rob put us at ease by saying "we probably would have heard her if she tried swallowing it." Rob should know, he sees the opening it would have gone down many more times that most of us as a dentist. We knew we were in good hands, and Rob and Meredith would keep a close eye on O.
We cautiously headed back to Camp Foster, trying to assure ourselves that Olivia was ok and did not swallow the barrette. But as we got closer to the base to meet the bus, our anxiety rose exponentially. What kind of parents are we?
Let's look one last time. Once last look rummaging through the car, in her socks she pulled off, pulling out the floor mats and car seats. You know what fell out? A little green barrette. And the V-Team breathed a sigh of relief. The called the babysitters to confirm that The Case of the Missing Barrette had been solved. Without the barrette case solved, neither of us were going whale watching.
And off we went toward the port to to request permission to come aboard the Chateau something for a morning of whale watching. (Michelle identified this trip as my annual water duty for being in the Navy. Last summer it was a fishing trip with friends that seven of ten people got sick on).
The Relieved Couple
We were only 20 minutes from the shore when the first call came out. Our tour guide translated the captain's announcement for the 95% American passengers on board that they "expect to see two to three whales spotted in this area". The kids on board squealed in excitement and jumped from the seats to man the rails. Photographers assumed the ready position. And we waited.
This is where it gets interesting. In California, whale watching meant watching for the blow from 100 yards out. You need binoculars to see anything much closer. The conservation laws don't let you get much closer. In Japan, however, a blow sighting results in many radio calls to the other boats to relay the information and get much closer.
Get your cameras ready sports fans, whales spotted 2 o'clock
Blowhole!
This was the only picture we took of the whales. It was much more fun watching them with the naked eye than with a camera. I think too many people missed seeing all the action because they were too occupied trying to catch it on camera.
After the call went out, the Japanese Armada arrived with its fleet of tour boats
The other tour boats, with a boatload of people
The grass was much greener and we were happy with the legroom on our boat
After an exhaustive morning searching for a barrette, then a fun-filled morning watching the whale-watching boats stalk their prey, we were hungry. No tour would be complete without lunch on Kokusai Street. We were on a mission to feed by baby momma and to eat at the restaurant that we've always wanted to eat at, but never could because of the huge waits for dinner. This time it was for lunch and were were easily able to get a table at Helios.
Too many choices, so we had to try them all
Even the sausages came on a sampler
The micro brew was fantastic, but the sampler didn't come with the goya brew.
Thanks to the bus for doing the driving.
1 comment:
This just made me laugh. I'm still laughing.
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