The Toads Go East - Day 4

Monday

Up with the lark again, involuntarily, but up all the same. That darned thermometer was stuck at eight degrees Celsius again; I had no idea it could be so cold in August! Mind you, the sun was beginning to rise above the trees and it soon started to warm as I sat out under the awning with my coffee and computer. Busy though this campground might be, it was certainly quiet enough at six in the morning.

Today's excursion was a much anticipated whale watching trip, out of Plymouth. You may have guessed that from the photograph. But first we needed to get under way ourselves. Mrs T was up quite early, possibly with the excitement of the trip or more likely because it was so darned cold. I used Towed Haul's shower for the first time in quite a while (we don't often get these full hookups) and was again surprised by the copious amounts of very hot water it provided, even if it is in quite a small space; being a midget sometimes has its advantages. The big tadpole was a little petulant about having to shower before eating and the fact that we pressured him into using the campground showers rather than our own. He's a big fellow and he does struggle in the limited space but that didn't stop him from having a bit of a pouty look as we packed him off. He's a good boy but he's a typical teenager.

Breakfast was taken under the awning as the sun was fully up by now and it was only about ten minutes before our anticipated departure time that I realised the battery on the camera was flat. Hastily I popped it into the charger but we decided to postpone leaving, fortunately having allowed oodles of time "just in case". An hour later the battery was sufficiently boosted for use, so off we went. 

Plymouth is a neat little town, nestled around the harbour, and resembles so many small ports that I spent my childhood holidays visiting. It's also a very popular place in August and parking can be at a premium, so I was quite excited to find a space close to the dock almost immediately. Sure, it cost $10 to park ($7 really but we had no change) but that covered us for the full day and the boat trip wouldn't get us back until around seven in the evening.

After a little holiday shopping, we fell on Al's Pizza Place and came away with fists full of chips to tide us over for the trip, because as you'll have seen, we do like to eat healthily.

Now Mrs T and I have been on a couple of these whale watching trips before and we know how cold it can get out on the ocean, so we came prepared; jeans, sweatshirts, hats and sunglasses. Big tadpole wasn't convinced and whilst he gave into the sweatshirt, jeans and hat were sadly lacking. You may not be surprised to hear, dear reader, that he regretted his reticence later. Mrs T also had a bag of sweeties and had packed a cooler with drinks, because she is a wise woman and also a mother.

The line up for the boat seemed enormous but they were, in fact, filling three different boats so we were soon boarded on quite a large vessel with 270 other excited people. The place they run out to is called Stellwagen Bank and is quite a way off shore from Boston. Our boat, it turned out, was pretty fast but we were still looking to take up to two hours to get to Stellwagen so you'll get some idea how far we had to travel. The boat was moving at quite a clip and out on the windward side it was all you could do to breath when leaning over the rail. We sat on the windward side, and in the shade, on the way out so the sweatshirts were deployed quite soon, strangely enough the big Tadpole giving in quite early on!

On the horizon we could see Cape Cod and Provincetown to the east and the Boston skyline to the west, which was all very exciting for a geography nerd like me.

Still a little way off Stellwagen, the naturalist on board spotted a Minke whale and as we slowed, so did Mrs T and I. Unfortunately, hardly anyone else on the boat did and in a moment it was gone, never to be seen again. We continued to motor towards the cluster of boats out on the calm waters, clearly all whale watchers themselves, and as we approached were treated to some lovely Fin whale sightings, quite close to the boat. Fin whales don't bring their tails out of the water when they dive but they're so big that when they do breach the surface, they seem to be there for ages, slipping through the water. There were lots of oohs and aahs from the people on the boat and whilst I might normally moan about such obvious displays of emotion, it is pretty special to see a whale in the wild.

We then spent the next half hour or so following a Hump Back whale around. Called Pinball (apparently), she obligingly breached the surface frequently, showed her tail, or Fluke as we know-it-alls like to say, and even did a dive under the boat. I took some photographs (who forgot the long lens?) but also just watched as the animal was magnificent. If you ever get the opportunity to whale watch, do it, because you won't be disappointed.

Then it was the long run back to Plymouth again, this time out of the wind but in the sunshine. The many small children on the boat were thoroughly bored by now and I wondered why you would take such little ones on a five hour boat trip. Still, I'm sure the parents had a good time. Back at the dock, as the crew were securing the boat, a couple were stood at the bow feeding gulls the remains of their lunch. The gulls were small, black headed things and looked quite impressive holding station in the air on strong breeze and occasionally popping down to pluck a chip from the hands of the people feeding them. 

So, that was whale watching Massachusetts style, and very good it was, too. We sailed with Captain John's Tours out of Plymouth and whilst it cost in the region of $150 for the four of us, that was five hours complete with some good commentary from the young naturalist on board. They guarantee sightings and if you don't see any whales on a trip, you can go again on another day at no extra cost, which seems a pretty good deal to me. 

Back on dry land we (naturally) headed for a restaurant and fell on The Olive Grove, a chain selling Italian (style) food. Like so many US restaurants, the food servings were huge and it was, effectively, all you could eat and drink with refills of non-alcoholic drinks all evening. It was a bit noisy in there but my Stuffed Chicken Marsala went down very well; they even gave Mrs T a free half glass of wine. It wasn't the cheapest meal we'll have but was still good value.

And so to bed. The big tadpole showed his bottom lip again when I wouldn't play Monopoly but understood as I fell asleep on the couch at ten o'clock. It's an age thing.

We are going to be a bit free-form tomorrow so I'm not sure what we're up to. Lazing around in bed if the tadpoles have anything to do with it!

Stay tuned, toad fans.


P.S. The table tile was replaced by the management. Excellent service!

P.P.S. The German family in the next site have left towels on their chairs!