Been a while...

10 days since we've been out on the boat.  That is a long time for us when we're home.

Today was supposed to be decent - it was 71º when I got up this morning.  That was supposed to last until late afternoon.  We went out after noon... the wind was starting to kick up from the northeast... yeah, the temperature was dropping.

Heading out...

This great blue heron is sitting on a chuck of styrofoam, left from the dredging operation...

There were a couple vessels in the turning basin (a tug and a barge), but it wasn't long before our first sighting...

We could see George and Scarlet on their boats with another group of dolphins further down the channel.  We decided to just hang in this area and give them plenty of room...

This pelican landed right where a dolphin had been a second before...

Another tail shot...

Dolphins porpoising...

"Porpoising" is a behavior: moving in fast jumps through and above the water.

We headed down to the ship channel, but the wind had kicked up even more, making for a sloppy ride.  We tucked back into the Port Isabel Channel - I had heard this guy on the radio, so we knew he was coming; no surprise as he came around the bend...

And, more dolphins...

Scarlet and a boat full of guests were in the turning basin as we came back.  She said, "The dolphins have been good, but sure got more active after you came out!"  I commented how two little ones were doing tail slaps right by her boat.  It is great to see operators who are enthusiastic about showing their guests a slice of "dolphin life."

That is Scarlet's boat above, just coming into the frame; and 3 dorsal fins below..

Look at that great face...

As we decided to head for home, we got a nice tail slap right by the boat...

Back home, I wiped the boat down (got a bit of spray on it in the ship channel) and put the cover back on it.  The weather forecasters are calling for a couple days of rain and wind... at least it waited until Steph and Dan were back in Arizona.  ;-)