Whale Watching in San Diego!

Davis2001R6 · Joined: 12 Dec 2003 Posts: 5591 Location: Italy

For anyone interested in seeing some Whale's or Dolpins I just went to San Diego for the weekend. I put a few pictures up in the Gallery, nothing all too spectacular but you get to see a few dolphins and a tail or two of a whale. We left Saturday morning for San Diego and got there around 1:30. We were staying in the Gaslamp District which is pretty nice and also pretty clean. It is a tourist spot and also in California so it's also a bit pricey too! We walked down to the ocean and along through Seaport Village. Lots of little nice restraunts and bars. Saturday night we went to Buster Beach House & Long Board Bar for dinner which was quite good and fairly resonably priced considering it looked right onto the bay. www.bustersbeachhouse.com Then we did some rather expensive bar hopping till we crashed after midnight. Sunday moring we got up bright and early...ok well it was 7:30 so we could catch our boat for the whale watching tour. It was named the Hornblower and held a few hundred people. www.hornblower.com To our delite they even had a bar on it with $3 Rum and Cokes. We did get to see a few whales on our trip but the highlight was really the dolphins we encountered as they are more active and we actually saw them all the time, not every 3-5 minutes like the whales. It was still nice to enjoy the beautifull weather and just be able to be out on the ocean in January when it's in the single degree temps when you call the family in Chicago. Afterwards we headed to "The Fish Market" a restaurant nearby to fill up before we made our journey back home. The food was pretty good but the service was horrible for us at least. There is also one here in Phoenix. www.thefishmarket.com

All in all it was a nice weekend and good to get some much needed R&R, well more so for my wife, all I need is a good hike with you guys to relax!

The pictures are here:
http://www.arizonahikers.com/forum/modules.php?set_albumName=albuq88&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php&PHPSESSID=ac229e34e5940591abbac7d036e0a919

paintninaz · Joined: 06 Jan 2003 Posts: 3515

I've always wanted to go on a whale watching trip, looks like a fun weekend Tim!

I love the dolphin pic! Agree

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oriole_scott · Joined: 18 Jul 2004 Posts: 166 Location: the cornfields

Cool pix Tim.

I've done a few whale-watching trips out of the Boston area, and we were lucky a couple of times to have humpback whales swim right under the boat, close enough to see their big eye looking up at us.

Someone told me that Hawaii is the best place to do whale watching. Maybe we should schedule a trip. I hear there's good hiking there too... Surfin'

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HUM469 · Joined: 30 Jun 2004 Posts: 228 Location: Peoria, AZ

You bet there is good hiking, I would love to do the Kalalau again. If someone has the time to find some good group rate air fare, I know we could do it for cheap too!
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RedRoxx44 · Queen of the Walkabout Joined: 15 Jan 2004 Posts: 1167

Hey Tim I used to live downtown right off the gas lamp in an old loft. Fri/Sat never moved my car, just walked everywhere--store, clubs, etc. Loved to run (when I was a runner) downtown and along the Seaport Village loop.
Most fun was going to Coronado Beach during BUDS and watching the Navy Seals-to- be go through the wringer--some tough training.
I also loved it when one of the air craft carriers came into port. Very inspiring watching those giant ships sail in with all the sailors in dress whites out on deck.
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Arizonaheat · Posted: 1/18/2005, 7:45 pm Post subject:

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thesuperstitions · Guest

RedRoxx- I used to live on one of those carriers and it IS an amazing experience. When the air-wing is onboard, there are between 4 and 5 thousand people. My hometown didn't have that many people! The novelty does wear off rather quickly though. It's a very austere life aboard ship. The work-day is 12-16 hours, with your sleep-time constantly being interrupted by events such as man-overboard drills, general quarters drills and catapults slamming to a stop as an F14 takes flight. You are right to be inspired by these giants. I am forever grateful for the sacrifice that the folks that inhabit those floating cities, as well as everyone in our services who sacrifice so much for us. Sorry for the "Off-Topic" post.

Shihiyea · Joined: 20 Oct 2003 Posts: 1135

WOW! That is VERY cool! My sister used to go whale watching, but I've never seen any pictures of it! What fun! Mary

ajscorpion · Joined: 26 Feb 2004 Posts: 3

I was born and raised in a small town along the Central coast of California and sailed out of Santa Barbara Harbor on a regular basis as a young girl. I went deep sea fishing on charter boats out of Santa Barbara and Avila Beach also. Never departed out of San Diego but if is anything like the Central Coast area, it is always an amazing experience!! Have sailed along with a California Grey whale just yards away from our boat, another time (on a charter boat) with at least 100 dolphins taking turns riding along the bow of our boat, and seen many sharks and seals as well. The ocean is an amazing place and recommend that everyone experience a ocean boat ride at least once, you'll have a great time!!!!! Love Arizona so much and have met many, many wonderful people here! I wish I had some pics of those times to share with everyone but that was before the digital age!! Thanks for sharing all your pics and posts of all your adventures!!

Davis2001R6 · Joined: 12 Dec 2003 Posts: 5591 Location: Italy

I really wish I had one of those 10x optical zoom cameras for this trip. I could of had some pretty great shots then. RedRoxx If I could afford it I would love to live down there in the Gaslamp District. While I was there I was saying how nice it would be to run along Seaport Village daily.

I wouldn't mind going back down there just to check out the Navy Carriers they have there. I was just looking up the Navy Lodge they have there on North Island and it looked pretty nice. Anyone ever been there?

Daryl · Posted: 1/19/2005, 11:22 am Post subject:

I have relatives that live in LaJolla and we spend a few weekends a year there. I'd love to live out there, but I heard the average home price in SanDiego is $550,000!!!

(Not to get too off topic, but the rise in home prices there is one of the biggest reasons houses are sky rocketing here now)
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Kristyn · Posted: 1/19/2005, 12:36 pm Post subject:

The Navy Lodge is very nice. We stay there all the time. Not to mention that it is right on the beach! Price is great, but just make sure you schedule WAY in advance otherwise you will not get a room.
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