It was THIS BIG!

So Jin Sheen and her friend came to Seattle to visit! Well, not just me, but I like to pretend :) We only got to spend a little while together, but we did manage to take a kayaking/whalewatching tour from San Juan Island. It was moderately cold and rainy and the current was six knots in some places, but we were the only group to round the point and were rewarded with a beach to ourselves and a fantastic lunch spread. Our guide was pretty cool too- he served us chocolates on his paddle. That's cool, right?

While we had been told no whales had been sighted for quite a while, we were still hopeful. You can imagine our excitement when we heard about and then saw a pod of orcas way off our port bows (that's left for you landlubbers). You can't imagine our excitement when a second pod came straight at us! This picture doesn't do the experience justice, but as far as I know it was the only picture to be taken. They came at us, and we could hear them "singing" to each other as they passed underneath our kayaks.

Wow. Just... wow. What a treat for us- especially Jin!


What is it called when whales "sing," or communicate to each other?