Page 63 of Game Changer
“Guess I should do that, huh?”
Our eyes meet and we share a smile.
Dad lifts his beer.“Thanks, son.”
I clink mine against his in a toast.“To not wasting time and missing out.”
Molly
Jax and I board the boat in Huntington Beach Sunday afternoon and find seats at the front.The bow of the ship.Forward.Whatever.I don’t know much about boats.Also this isn’t a ship, it’s a catamaran.
I’m bouncing in my seat, looking all around, taking in the boat and the harbor.“I hope we see whales!”
“No guarantee,” Jax says, smiling.“But I hope so too.”
The air is fresh and cool, the sun warm.I brought a hoodie in case it’s chilly out on the ocean.
The first animals we encounter are sea lions, sunning themselves on rocks in the harbor as we slowly cruise out.
“They’re so cute!Look at their faces,” I say to Jax.I watch in fascination as we sail by them.He snaps a bunch of pictures.
Out of the harbor, the catamaran picks up speed.My hair is blowing all over the place, in my eyes and my mouth, and I futilely try to keep it back.It’s barely long enough for a ponytail, even if I had a hair tie.
Jax disappears inside the catamaran, and returns with a baseball cap with the name of the tour company and a whale embroidered on it.“Here.”He gives me the hat and holds my hair back as I pull it down.
“Thank you!”I am now free of hair blowing in my face.That was so thoughtful of him.
The tour guide is speaking over a sound system, telling us what kinds of whales and other marine life we may see on the cruise.I look back to the shore, already distant, then turn my face to the sun.The ocean stretches all around us, shimmering cobalt, the Channel Islands shadowy in the distance, achingly beautiful and awe-inspiring.
“Blue whale season is typically from May through November,” the guide tells us.“Blue whales are the largest mammal on earth, weighing up to three hundred thousand pounds and reaching up to one hundred ten feet long as adults.That’s approximately the length of three school buses.”
I shiver with excitement.
Jax has his camera ready to capture images of whatever we see, with a super long lens.He showed me a bunch of pictures he took on the helicopter trip yesterday and then Catalina Island, and they were amazing.
“Unfortunately, the blue whale species is on the federally endangered species list.We’ll talk more about blue whale endangerment and the threats this species faces today.”
“Oh no.I hate it that they’re endangered.”I pout at Jax.“Humans suck.”
He snaps a picture of me and I roll my eyes.
“Can I get some of your pictures from today?”I ask.“I want to show my students what I did over the summer.They’d love hearing about whales and dolphins.”
“Of course.”
We cruise along for a while and then the boat slows.
“Okay, folks, on the port side of the boat—that’s the left side for those who may not know—we have a pod of common dolphins.”
Jax and I are seated near the left side, so we jump to the railing to peer over.
I point excitedly.“There!”
Jax has his camera focused, clicking away.
The dolphins are swimming fast, and some are jumping out of the water.I clap with delight at their acrobatics.“There are so many of them!”
A lightness fills my chest and I bounce on my tiptoes.I try to take a few pictures with my phone, but I know they’ll suck compared to Jax’s.Everyone around is excited, too, lots of kids overjoyed to see the playful creatures.
