Day 4--Whale watching

I'll let the kids describe their own experience for this one. For my part I love to be out on the ocean, far from land. I enjoy the air, even if it was quite frigid up here in Maine.
But the best part is seeing those whales. When you think about it, it's not easy for us human beings to see large mammals any more, at least in the wild. The land-based ones have been hunted down almost to extinction. We almost did the same thing to the whales, but thanks to the discovery of petroleum, the whales survived (kind of ironic isn't it). Whales are relatively easy to see, at least if you know where they are. The fact that it's difficult to see them, and they don't stay up on the surface for long, reminds us that animals were not created for our viewing pleasure, the impression one gets in a zoo.

I doubt the kids took in all these lessons. In fact, they are probably so zoo-conditioned that they expected the whales to come up to the boat, say hello and stay in viewing area until we'd had our fill. I too feel a tinge of disappointment at not getting to see more of them. I guess I suffer from the same captivity they do.

Meanwhile, I'm still feeling those swells, which is making writing a bit difficult. Zoo-conditioned, land-locked. Oy, the maladies of civilization are endless!