Family Day Continues

After writing my last post, Marina called me from school. She was too sick to be there. Right!  I had a choice to make: be the mean mom who makes her stay at school:  and then who aggravates the staff by making them clean up the vomit which the girl who wasn't actually lying spews everywhere 5 minutes after I leave:  Or reluctantly take her home. She came in the door of our house, took off her boots, put on her skates and had at it. Barely a week of school has gone by and she has figured out how to get out of it!  Perfect!

We mellowed out at home until it was time to pick up Piper and have dinner with Maygen, Iris, Mema and Priscilla. The girls played on the beach for 30 minutes before their food came. We sat down and ate and everything was going fine when Piper and Marina shouted "whale!  Orca!"

We all jumped to our feet. The entire restaurant jumped to it's feet. Those orca were swimming right past the restaurant  along the beach. Their dorsal fins rigid standing high out of the water, with a grey patch on their black flanks.   Marina grabbed this camera and ran out to snap this picture.  

I was right behind her pleading for her and Piper not to stand to close to the water line. (you've seen the films of orca coming up in shore and grabbing a seal right?). There was a mamma and a baby out there and when the girls loud excitement exited the building the whales tuned and went away from the shore and back to the sea.

After about 5 minutes, the girls stood at the shore, still looking for orca, when a seal went by, on it's side, looking at them. It was maybe 5 feet away from them and the waterline. I imagined it was thanking them for chasing off that family!  Then the otters came out. It was like the entire ocean community was breathing a sigh of relief.

I breathed a sigh of relief too. In all the years I have lived here I have never been in a spot on the day the orca came to town that allowed me to see them. Now I was seeing them on a day that had seemed glum and full of disappointment!  I saw the blessing and am taking it for what it is!  Now we are on Saturday and as soon as everyone wakes up we will begin our Family Day!