For a moment, I thought I was in a submarine, diving into the depths of the sea. I began to slide off the bench of the 20-foot boat into a jolt strong enough to bruise whatever eventually came back down. Then, without notice, only the sky appeared as white knuckles held tight to keep me from sliding into the boat driver?s lap, ten feet behind me. Whilst (as the English say) sliding, I tried to keep my eyes on the horizon hoping, more than searching, for that elusive whale. In the meantime, the lady behind me with the clenched teeth continued her moaning as she looked at the driver and pointed toward land. ??Whale?s tail over there!? the driver cried out. But was that a remark to let us know that he had earned his $140.00 payment for four people? He cut the trip short of an hour to appease the poor woman who was freaking out with fear.

However, after he reluctantly turned to head back toward the dock, he turned again quickly, pointing. I was more than hopeful that out here, away from the strong winds, was my whale. He slowed after another turn as he kept his eyes glued to a place in the water that appeared lighter in color. Finally, my whale so close? The driver stopped the boat suddenly, as if to avoid running over a whale. Then he bent over the edge of the boat and grabbed his hat from the water!

One of my favorite quotes is something like, ?The only regrets one ever has are the risks he didn?t take?.

I loved that adventure of being tossed by the high seas for an exciting moment in my life on that little boat, whale searching. April gave me a 50/50 chance of seeing one to begin with. Although my fingers-crossed, my positive attitude didn?t reward me with any whales, I did have a grand time with the sun warming my goose-bumped skin as it reacted to the cold splash. I experienced the waves up close and personal.