Hornblower Whale Watching Adventure

"Water Watching and Sea Sickness"

The weather was great, the water choppy, and we only saw a dorsal fin. That having been said, it was an experience. I have a hard time separating my own personal discomfort from the actual experience, but I’m going to try.  I’ve never been one to enjoy boating, mainly because I get seasick. This was no exception to that rule, and within fifteen minutes, I was feeling seriously green, as were the other members of my family. Still, we intrepid travelers decided to soldier on (or sailor on as the case may be), more or less because the boat was already in the middle of the water, and we were in it for the long haul whether we wanted to be or not. As the boat navigated through the harbor, we saw the sights of San Diego and were treated to an interesting and informative narrative through the boat’s captain over the loudspeaker. He told us a lot about the history of the area and I wish I could have enjoyed it more.  Some docents from the local museum were there to talk to the passengers about the local marine life, and they happily answered questions from my girls who were very interested in the whales we might see on the trip.  After we got into the ocean, the sea-sickness abated somewhat and we were able to enjoy the beautiful ocean around us. Though the captain told us where to look, we were unable to see much of anything aside from a dorsal fin that was quite far out. We were on one of the last trips of the season, so we didn’t expect too much from it, but were a little disappointed that we were only able to see that little bit. Sadly, it was then time to head back in to the harbor. The seasickness back, I went below decks to the more comfortable seating inside and waited to make port. I think if we had gone earlier in the season, the trip may have been more interesting, and I by no means am making this a negative review.  I recommend Dramamine or something like it for everyone, not just those prone to seasickness. My husband was in the navy for 10 years, and he was quite green during this trip. Also, take along pretzels or crackers to combat the motion sickness as that helped a little. Little kids might enjoy the boat trip for itself, and I hope others may see more whales than we did.