I had wanted to visit the Farallons for quite a while because, make no mistake, I love the sharks. And in Fall/Winter the area is just lousy with Great Whites. So we booked a trip on a whale watching expedition that had planned on going out towards the islands in the off chance we might spot something big and toothy. Or at least to see for ourselves where they spend some serious seal-eating time.

On the way we spotted some juvenile male Humpbacks feeding along the west Marin coast. We followed them for quite awhile. And whales are fine and all - but I wanted to get out towards the islands and perhaps closer to the sharks.

Then, just about half way through the morning, the captain announced that seas were too rough and we wouldn’t be leaving the Bay. I was disappointed. But we did see quite a bit around us and the boat ride was fun although the sea sickness meds just about sedated me permanently.

And it was interesting to see how close the whales come to civilization since they were feeding in our backyard. That's not a figure of speech. If you look in the background you can see our neighborhood.

See the tower in the background, we live at the base of that hill.

Approaching the Golden Gate

The potato patch

This is where the first one was spotted