Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Don't Leave Home Without It!

I shall never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever go on the ferry without my camera again. Never. Ever.

Yesterday, I went to the mainland. Rather than my usual two or three day stay, I was just going over for the day to visit mom, who has been moved to the rehabilitation ward of the hospital, and to meet with the occupational therapist about her assessment for returning to independent/assisted living. I packed my book to read during the many hours I would be in the ferry lineup or on the ferry, a healthy lunch of fruits and veggies and a tasty ancient grains salad, a very large bottle of water to keep me hydrated in this hot weather, and my Visa to pay for the ferry and the outrageous parking fees at the hospital.

I did NOT pack my camera. Correction - I packed the camera and then decided not to take it. It was, after all, a trip I'd made a thousand times. And I was only going over there for the day so would not be wandering parks or beaches or visiting the piggies. And in such hot weather, I didn't want to leave the camera in the car nor pack it around with me. And so I left it at home.

As I put it back in my office, I argued with myself. "You never know, Jean, you might regret leaving it behind. What if you see dolphins or whales, like the ferry passengers did a couple of months ago?" "Nah....not likely to happen. I've sailed that route a thousand times and never seen so much as a seal. Besides, aren't whales most likely to be seen in spring and fall?

On the return trip early yesterday evening, just ten or fifteen minutes out of Tsawwassen, the captain made an annoucement:
For those who might be interested, there is a pod of killer whales heading towards us, just off the starboard side. They're currently about a kilometre ahead.

And there I was, camera-less, as at least a dozen or more beautiful killer whales leaped and rolled and breached and made water spouts and raised their flukes through the ocean waters on a clear summer day. And there I was, still, as two adults with a baby between them gracefully rolled through the waves right in front of me. And there I was without my camera.

I shall never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever go on the ferry without my camera again. Never. Ever.
My deepest apologies for this photo-less blog entry.

7 comments:

Caroline said...

lol, that's ok Jean. While it may not be the same as a picture, you have a way with words that creates a perfect picture in the mind of the reader.
I did see what you did, just by reading.

JRM said...

Oh how frustrating! I think I'm going to just have to suck it up and stick the old point and shoot in my purse for photo emergencies.

How cool that you got to see that, though, camera or not.

Anonymous said...

Ha! That'll teach ya! LOL.

E.

Karen said...

What a fantastic sight...of course, if you'd had your camera, they wouldn't have performed!

Erika said...

I have always wanted to see whales from the ferry!!!
Erika

Jen in SLO said...

How frustrating! I know just how you feel. It reminds me of a photographer friend, though. We were in Ireland many years ago, and I was asking him why he - a real, live professional photographer - wasn't shooting the amazing sight in front of us.

His reply? "Sometimes you just gotta live it."

You'll remember it, and it'll be a perfect memory.

Colleen said...

omg, I know that kick in the pants you must have given yourself!! I 99.9% of the time take my camera, even if just going to the store. Yesterday a beautiful black bear lumbered across the road and I was cameraless. Dang!