I didn't have to go into work until noon. My first mate brought me a delicious birthday cookie... bigger than I could eat in one sitting. We had almost all nice folks on the boat... one crabby couple who was on another boat last night that didn't get to the whales because of the nasty conditions... and, in spite of their intentions to bring down the mood of the boat, I didn't let that happen... and neither did the rest of the guests.
The weather was lovely, the water was near calm - it is amazing that it can lay down overnight, considering how snotty the conditions were yesterday. We had to run into Canadian water to get to the whales; transients today, and they were on the move. I was able to assess the situation as we came on the scene and position the boat for some good viewing. I put us on the side where the light would be best for photographs to make things better for the one crabby guy who considered himself a photographer. I didn't mention what I used to do for a living. There was a lot of whoops and cheers from our guests.
I gave them the scenic way home, circumnavigating San Juan Island. I passed our Roche Harbor boat going the other direction and got a call from them on the radio... they asked me to switch to our private channel... and then sang "Happy Birthday" to me over the radio. I kinda got a lump in my throat... really, that was very nice.
Back at the dock, plenty of "thank you"... "nice job"... "happy birthday, Captain Jim". It really was a great day on the water. Then, my Honey took me out for supper.
Back at the boat, I opened cards...
Especially nice, since we don't really have an address here. Some made me laugh, some choked me up a bit. I am lucky to have two wonderful women in my life... and a cute cat. Then, one more talk with my little girl.
A very nice way to end a fine day. :-)
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