This morning we headed out to the Ocean Institute. I was pretty excited because my Aunt Grace, Cousin Steve, his wife Traci and 2 of their kids would be joining us on a whale watching tour. I haven't seen Steve since I was probably 10 years old and was looking forward to a day spent with them!! When we first arrived we were taken into a room to hear about what we could expect while we were out on the boat. That lasted about 20 minutes and then we headed out to board the boat.
We finally were on board. Garrett was so excited to hear about what we were possibly going to see!!
Lots of paddleboarders, kayakers and fisherman out enjoying the day!!
We finally made it out of the bay and started heading out. It got chilly the further out we went!!
Look at all those seals on that buoy!!
It wasn't very long before we saw our first animal. Dolphins!! They were so active and wanting to play. It was so much fun to watch them!!
At one point Garrett wanted to climb the ladder and go up to the top of the boat. He really liked it up there, you could see out pretty far and see the dolphins playing.
The water was really choppy and the boat was rocking pretty good, of course my child was getting tired from all the rocking, LOL!!
My cousin Steve and his family really seemed to be enjoying their time on the boat.
We saw so many dolphins that day. Babies with their moms, and they were all just playing together and with the boat. It was truly a unique experience and even though we didn't see any whales it was still wonderful!!
We really enjoyed our time on the boat and watching the dolphins!!
At one point Garrett was pretending to be Captain and steering the boat :)
Getting a snack in!!
Garrett got to go exploring in the bag!!
Look at all those birds!!
On our way back to the dock they took the kids inside for some education. They were able to see what whale teeth look like. They were even able to touch it!!
My little guy has no problems making friends!! They had us scan a code to listen to the whales. Garrett and his new friend really liked that!! This little girl and her family were visiting from the country of Holland!!
Then they were able to hear how the whales hear under the water and how they talk to each other. I think that was Garrett's favorite part!!
The last thing they showed them before we docked was the skull of a whale. They got to touch it, which is always a big hit with Garrett!!
One last picture of all of us in front of the boat we were on. So much fun!!
We then headed into the gift shop. Lots of educational toys!! Garrett had fun looking at everything.
Having Mexican for lunch!! Yummy!!
This was such a fun day, but a little bittersweet!! Today is the last day with my family before we leave to head back to New Mexico tomorrow. I loved being able to see everyone and we had such an amazing time in California!!