San Diego is a great place to go whale-watching, as the grays and others migrate from the Bering Sea southward from December through March. We chose to go on March 12 on The Hornblower Whale Watching Tour, afraid we might be too late in the season to see any of these gentle ocean giants. We watched as the Hornblower host presented free return tickets which never expire to all the guests from the morning cruise, since they had only one small sighting of a whale.
But on our three and a half hour afternoon cruise, nearly to the Mexican border, we were entertained with many gray whales spouting and sometimes waving their flukes as they dived deeper.
It never ceased to be exciting when we heard Captain Rich announce “Thar She Blows!” He kept maneuvering the ship, so that the whales stayed to our Port side, so we didn’t have to keep moving around the ship to see. Hornblower vessels have great viewing decks outside or inside climate controlled areas with a bar and large windows. From infants to elderly people in wheelchairs, we all loved our relaxing cruise and learned so much from Captain Rich’s excellent and continuous commentaries about the whales, San Diego, and the Naval Base, which we got to see during our cruise.
We also enjoyed asking our questions individually to the Whalers on board in bright yellow jackets. They are certified whale experts from the Natural History Museum nearby. The Hornblower offers many kinds of cruises and the ships are certified by careful inspection and are impeccably clean and comfortable. Food service is available at reasonable prices. We found the staff, from the ticket sale, to the Captain, to be extremely courteous and knowledgeable, and we recommend your Hornblower cruise as a highlight of your vacation!
When you are near the cruise dock there are many points of interest to include, from museums to the Seaport Village, where you’ll find interesting little souvenir shops and good eateries of all kinds.
We chose to have dinner at Edgewater Grill, and it was a WONDERFUL choice of restaurant for delicious food, excellent service, and fun to watch the kite flying, runners, yachts, ocean-liners, barges, rowing, and all the other activities in this active community village by the Pacific.
When your journey takes you to San Diego be sure to stay at one of the fine Evans Resort Hotels: Bahia or Catamaran or Lodge at Torrey Pines. These offer beautiful accommodations and impeccable garden grounds with access out of your door to the bay for the first two and for excellent world-famous golfing at Torrey Pines.
Real Travel Adventures 