By Gail Jackson

We all do what we have to do for our kids, right? Some of the “have to’s” are better than others. This was one of the better ones. We have just returned from two weeks overlooking the ocean in Southern California. Things don’t get much better, especially when we were able to leave 112 degree heat behind.

We visited with our kids for a couple of days on each side of the trip and house-sat for them the rest of the time. Our sole responsibilities were to feed a tank of fish and an outside dog once a day (plus play with her for 30 minutes) and add water to a snake’s trough once.

The first day there we went with the family on their boat out to observe sea lions. The polygamous creatures appear to call specific buoys home although how they keep them straight is a mystery. Each structure housed a huge male and his harem and offspring.

Sea lions are very curious critters who observed us observing them, posed for us, and cavorted apparently just for us, providing great entertainment. Only one big bull bullied us (successfully, I might add) away from his colony. A more hospitable one actually lifted his flapper in a seeming wave.

On the way back a large soccer ball sized and shaped purple and white object drifted alongside our boat. It was a pretty, and an amazing, thing that a desert dweller’s mind could not identify. It was a jelly fish! Unlike any pictures I had seen of them.

When the family returned from their vacation we engaged them in board and card games, swimming competitions, and other fun things and then, one evening decided to head out to sea. This time we were seeking dolphins, who often swim in groups of hundreds. We had also heard that the largest creatures on earth, blue whales, had been spotted recently.

We put the boat in the water at 6:10 p.m., leaving only two hours for our search, knowing success would be a fluke. Though not totally realistic, we were totally hopeful.

The captain, our optimistic son-in-law Mike, told us as we sped out to the open sea that we should keep our eyes peeled for tall (about 30 feet) water spouts. We were obedient. Those on the left, scanned left; those of us on the right scanned right. We did see a few dolphins and a couple of swimming sea lions but nothing to write home about.

Twenty-six minutes later, Dave of the Desert gave a shout out and we sped off in the direction he indicated, observing two more “blows” as we approached. It’s difficult to put into words, the thrill of being within 200 yards of the most gigantic creature on earth. It is unfathomable! A blue whale reaches 100 feet in length and weighs as much as 42 elephants!

While our kids had observed the smaller and more frequently sighted gray whales in other trips, they had never seen a blue whale. Also, they had never seen a fluke which, they explained, is more than just an idiom. It’s quite a sight! The fluke is the tail of the whale. A diving whale, fluke in the air, is a thing of beauty.

At one point we were all excitedly observing the dorsal fin of the strange mola mola, another unbelievable creature of the sea just a few feet off the side of the boat, when a huge sound came from the other side and we all turned to find a blue whale within 40 yards of us. It was astounding. We had two rare opportunities on each side of us and didn’t know which way to look. We think the whale must have been a female with a baby with her because she seemed to be watching us carefully and made a sort of semi-circle around us before moving away.

This was so up close and personal that our 15 year old granddaughter and our daughter were frightened as well as excited. Later, when Heidi asked if I had been scared also, I said, no, and added I was too old to be afraid. I didn’t realize the profundity of the statement.

The young have life ahead and the young mothers have lives to be responsible for. While still very enjoyable, I have lived my life, and as long as I have Dave with me, I realized that I am no longer afraid of what lies ahead.

The mola mola stayed near us but unfortunately, did not breach so we could not see it in its entirety. There is no way to describe a mola mola other than a giant fish head with no body. They are worth looking up on the internet. They too are curious and people-friendly though rarely sighted. They are also called sun fish.

Unbelievably, “thar she blows” sounded out no less than six times in our two hours. And in five of those we were within sight of the creature in time to see the two additional spoutings. And three flukes!!!

And also, unbelievably, but happily, we have it captured on film – or whatever photos taken with modern technology is captured on.

And we returned to our desert — and 115 degrees.