Ennui Overdrive ~

A few weeks ago I went out to Terranea resort, which is about fifteen minutes from my home, to take a mellow hike on their well-laid trails. What made the trip really special was the fact I saw about six whales, spouting, pushing their manifest bulk out of the water to flap their tails, just for the hell of it.
I felt a bit like a manic street preacher stopping people to show them the glory of life just off the coast: 30 tons of living, thinking, breathing mammal, flapping its tail in the sun, just for the hell of it. I would be remiss to let someone just walk past an opportunity to see a whale.
Today, however, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with a friend, Vanessa, and we set out for a hike along that same coastline at Terranea. Almost immediately, we started seeing whales. Some lingered on the surface and others dove deep and we didn’t see them again. I was thrilled to see them, but more so when I learned she had never seen one before. We high-fived and set off for more cetacean-sightings.
The whales, which I am assuming were grey (most commonly sighted), though one pair bore distinct humpback whale characteristics. They were in view almost constantly as we hiked the dusty trail.
This is what a humpback looks like as it goes under:

Vanessa regaled me about Louis CK and his thoughts about how we over-use some words, to the point of rendering them meaningless. “Amazing” was in one he felt was particularly over-used. I think even he would have to acquiesce to the fact we saw something truly amazing.
Jason and his Argonauts check out a whiff of whale spray:

What makes something truly ‘amazing’? Think on this: a grey whale can weigh, on average, up to 35 tons, can grow in excess of 45 feet long, and live on average 50 to 70 years. The humpback whales I am convinced we saw later in the day are very similar in size, though they are known to live up to and beyond a hundred years old. Who knows how old these creatures were, though there did appear to be some calves in tow.
I think Vanessa’s response to seeing the whale was dead-on: A high-five is a fine way to mark the amazing moment you see a whale for the first time.

What Vanessa had to say was pretty great. Check it out.

Me, all high on cetaceans and Croatians.