The Middle Aged Man and the Sea-Whale Watchin in the LBC

I had been whale watching before. In Maui no less. What I remembered from that experience was spending 75 dollars to be jammed like a sardine in a boat that wandered around aimlessly for 2 hours and found exactly zero whales. At the start of the trip, the boat captain had haughtily stated that we would not “chase the whales” out of respect for their habitat. However after about 50 minutes of nothingness, she must have had a change of heart, because chase them is exactly what we did. Alas, we caught up to no whales. In fact, all I remember catching that day was sunburn on my right thigh, and a piercing headache from the screaming 4 year old German kid next to me. It took several umbrella-laden fruity drinks by the pool to forget the whole thing.

So it was with some trepidation that I clicked on a Groupon deal that offered whale watching out of the Long Beach harbor. I had never used Groupon before, but I was desperate to find one more birthday present for my friend, and thought this could be just the thing to propel my gift giving into “wow, you really care!” status.

After an excellent early lunch at the Auld Dubliner, we made our way down to Dock 2 at the harbor. As we stood in line with about 75 other people, I started to think maybe it wasn’t such a great culinary idea to experiment with something called “Pork Pudding” and Stone IPA right before a 3 hour trip out to sea. With no Dramamine in sight however, I knew I would just have to brave the elements and hope for the best. It was a cloudy, 68 degree day, freezing by Long Beach standards, so I was dressed like any other weather spoiled southern California resident should be. (Jeans, long sleeve shirt, sweater and jacket).

After finding some seats near the back of the boat, right next to some lovely missionaries from the Mormon Church, we were off on our adventure. I was still a bit skeptical that we would actually see anything, but I must say that Long Beach looked gorgeous from the water. For a city with a population just under a half a million, for some reason, it still seems like Southern California’s best kept secret.

After roughly 45 minutes of nothingness however, I was beginning to think that whale watching was some sort of grift on gullible tourists. When the marine biologist/tour guide pointed out some birds, my heart sank and I decided it was time for a beer.

Minutes later, something magical happened. Our boat came upon a pod of about 50 dolphins, leaping through the air with a choreographed precision that was not only breathtaking, but also made me think that there must be some sort of  aquatic version of “So You Think You Can Dance” episode being filmed. I had never seen anything like this in all of my life. Surely, numerous Flipper episodes had not prepared me for something so wondrous.

This amazing site turned out only to be the appetizer however, for just a few minutes later, straight ahead about 300 yards, we spotted a tail. A big, big tail. We were heading towards a Blue Whale, the biggest animal on the planet. As we approached, I gripped my Corona bottle tightly, as the boat turned off its engine. 75 people were a quiet as church mice and an eerie silence took over the sea. Then, just about 20 feet away, a Blue Whale, about 80 feet long, announced its presence with a huge burst of water from its spout. In just that moment, 75 strangers all became one happy family, sharing space with each other, in total celebration of this incredible creature. To add to the glory, 2 more whales decided to join in the fun, and now our boat was essentially surrounded by blue whales, coming as close as 3 feet to the boat. I decided to forgo using the line from Jaws “We’re gonna need a bigger boat,” and chose to just enjoy the awesome experience. Until this day, the largest wild animal I had ever seen had been a coyote casually strutting through the 4th hole during an early round of golf at Bixby Village. I knew this was truly special when I saw that even the marine biologist had taken out his iPhone to snap pictures.

Our boat sat for the next 45 minutes, as mammals with tongues the size of an elephant, circled us and gave us a show of a lifetime.

On the way back to the harbor, I couldn’t help but fall deeper in love with Long Beach. Rich in culture, diversity and craft beer, I continue to be amazed with what this city has to offer. And should you need a break, in just an hour or so, you can get to the snow, to the dessert, and even to the most amazing creatures on the planet.