Whale Watching and other FUN stuff...

Hello Everyone.. 

I am in "college" now and loving it! Today I went to the mall to do some grocery shopping at WalMart, and got to visit the Disney store. Then in the afternoon, I helped make Pumpkin Spice cookies. I have a friend at school that reads stories to me using his iPad which I really enjoy. I do that almost daily. I am going in three pieces of equipment now. One is the stander, which is old news. I am going back in the gait trainer, but being slowly introduced. And then the HOPSA dress or something like that. Its like a jumper thing that I really like, and most of the time I get to go in it while in the sensory room which is a really cool room full of lights, sparkly things, tanks that have light moving things in them, etc.  Hmmm, I need to look and see if there are any dolphins in them. :) Maybe my teacher will take photos for me to share on my blog for you all to see. :) 

A few weeks ago, mom and I went to the family reunion that was being held in Dana Point. Well, for years we have been wanting to try whale watching out of Dana Point since we have several friends that go plus work on the boats, so mom and I sneak out of the reunion to take a two hour whale watch trip with a couple of good friends. It was fun!! 

First we saw a Minke Whale... 

Then we saw a Blue Whale, the largest animal on earth. The largest baleen whale with the Minke Whale being the smallest of the baleen whales.. 

Of course the best for last, my best friends; the Common Dolphins. There were a lot of them jumping and surfing in the waves created by the boat.. It was a lot of fun watching them. 

Mom has been going to the zoo and safari park here, and I have gone a couple of times on non-school days. Mom is really missing the Chimp kids at the LA Zoo, so hope to go there soon. We went not to long ago, but they were not out in the front, so we spent some time with a friend at other animals.. :) Here are a few photos from the two parks here. :) 

Baby Fennec Fox

3 Month Old Lion Cub

Remember Joanne the baby gorilla that was born via emergency c-section and had pneumonia??? This is her now 5 months old.. She is on her mom's back. 

Remember Aisha, the baby Orangutan that was born a year ago this October? This is her at 10 1/2 months old. 

Oshana and her cubs that are not quite 3 months old and their second day out on exhibit. 

Cheetah cub sisters that are 3 weeks old.. 

3 month old Lion cubs (4 of them) out with their father on exhibit. They had only been out a few days on exhibit with their dad when these were taken. 

Back to whale watching... The other day, Monday, mom heard of Sperm Whales being sighted off Dana Point (an hour and 15 minutes from where I live).. Mom's friend told her he was going to drive down and go out on the 4pm trip, so mom made the decision to pack up our stuff and go as soon as I get off the bus from school. Knowing it was a 50/50 chance of seeing them, let alone making it on time, we still went. So mom had like 10 minutes to get our stuff ready. My bus was a little late (not good), but saw I was in a good mood getting off the bus, she read my school nurse's report and decided we are going to try to make the 4pm whale watch trip. So off we went to the car then onto the boat. :) It was so much fun, I loved it. I was like, "hey mom, can we do this everyday after school". :) 

Thankfully we had no traffic, nor did our friend coming from LA. Our friend, Carla took this photo of us with our friend Gordon. 

So we got on the boat and headed out to sea.. We were about 3-6 miles outside of the harbor when we saw Sperm Whales. Not just one, two or three, but more like 50-75. As time went on, more whales appeared. 

Pinnochio's whale was a Sperm Whale.. :) 

BUT first I must mention that I got to see my best friends; the Common Dolphins before we were on scene with the whales.. :) I love it! There were so many of them.. I got to go outside too and watch them. :) 

Here are the pics that mom took of the Sperm Whales: 

Sperm Whales have been seen off the Ventura, LA, Orange Counties during previous years with a few large groups, but mostly just a couple and only for one day. These whales were here Monday afternoon - evening and then vanished without a trace. No one has seen them since. 

Researchers say that they have seen Sperm Whales come to feed, but not socializing the way they were doing Monday afternoon. 

While I was out on the boat looking at whales, well, while everyone else was looking at whales as I was busy entertaining everyone (playing my music and talking up a storm, smiling, laughing). Mom took this picture while I was inside on our way in, but I was just like this outside. :) 

You could see blows for miles, groups of Sperm Whales for miles all around us. It was amazing. Here is a photo of some at the surface looking towards Catalina Island.. 

After the trip, a group of us went to dinner there in the harbor before we all headed back home.. 

Get ready for my 2014 Summer Road Trip because it is about ready to come to my blog.. :)

Hope everyone is doing good and ready for fall.. 

Until next time.. 

Love,
Kayla 

My Summer Roadtrip - part 8 (the end) 

note: pictures are taken with mom's phone, my little camera, and mom's camera... feel free to click on images, see them larger. 

Hello Everyone... 

Mom and I woke up to a dreary morning. It was overcast, rainy, chilly so it was a good day to be driving down to Nanaimo to catch the ferry from Duke Point, Nanaimo, B.C. over to Tsawwassen, Delta, BC, Canada  just outside of Vancouver, B.C. (mainland). We were a little sad having to leave, but we couldn't of  asked for a better time on the island. 

We had about an hour of free time at the ferry dock, so mom and I got out to walk around despite the light drizzle, breeze and cold. I enjoyed it. 

On the ferry, we got to park right next to the elevator which our location was here: 

Here is our route in purple from left to right: 

 Since it was a long ferry ride, mom decided to grab a bite to eat. She said it was really good. This is what she had. 

Me on the ferry. I love going on ferries... :) 

Looking out the window while on the ferry. Such a pretty day. 

 Mom let me listen to my programs and music on my iPad to help bypass time. 

 Back to the car as we are almost to the dock in Duke Point. Mom has been up to this area to see Orcas before when she stayed on San Juan Island. It is one of her favorite areas to see Orcas. No Orcas today during our crossing. 

After getting off the ferry, we decided to drive towards Seattle which required us to cross the border. 

We stayed the night near Seattle. 

The next morning, it was another dreary, overcast, drizzly morning, but we still decided to go to the Seattle zoo. We had a lot of fun there. 

Can you see the brown Lemur in the tree straight back in front of me? 

Such cute cubs. They are siblings. :) 

And these are two jaguar cubs. 

 And a Gorilla.. :) 

Driving through Seattle, we stopped to take a photo of this scene.. :) 

Further south, we decided to check out Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. Not too thrilled about it, but it is in a pretty location.

Here are some photos of the adorable little leopard cub.  

He would come to the window and watch me. He was in the nursery.  

Me and the tigers.. 

There was a Walrus that kept swimming by... He was so close you could really see how big he was. Trust me, he was BIG.. 

I loved watching all the colorful fish. 

This fish was pretty cool looking.. 

Continuing south, mom took Cubby and I to a mall. I got Cubby a pink wig and mom got me some pink/purple leopard UGG boats. I love them! Getting back on the road, we stopped at a rest stop to chill out.. It was so hot. 

You can see Cubby's pink wig in this photo. She has it on in a picture above which that photo is out of order, but that is okay. 

Making our way further south, we decided to spend an extra day in Oregon to visit Silver Falls. It was a pretty area, but very crowded, so we went early one morning. 

It was so early, I was still asleep... 

Back on the road, here is a photo of Mount Shasta. It is not too often I get to see Mount Shasta clear like this on our road journey's. 

Sometimes I love to ride in my carseat.. I am co-pilot. :) 

Our next stop, we stayed over in San Francisco for two nights.. We had to do some sight seeing and visit the zoo. :) 

Mom let me stay in my pajama bottoms for the next leg home. Here you can see my new UGG's.. :) 

Arriving home to a rising full moon... 

I really hope all of you enjoyed my summer 2013 road trip. Since we are already at a year later in life, I just returned from my summer road trip 2014, so keep an eye out for those blog post.. :) They will be coming soon.. 

I am also getting ready to start my first year of "college" here in San Diego. I go back to school in 4 days. :) Yay! 

Until next time.. 

Love, 

Kayla