Our next October cruise stop was Bar Harbor, Maine. I love shopping for that perfect adventure when the ship ports for the day. When we pulled in to Bar Harbor I had a choice between a tour of Acadia National Park or whale watching. My adventure gene was calling. I wanted to relive Moby Dick, harpoons, and The Perfect Storm. My grandchildren would see my pictures of whales, reminiscent of the great insurance commercials on television. They would marvel at a grandmother who had been in the presence of great whites, humpbacks, and finbacks. Their aquarium tours would pale in comparison to the film their grandmother, the new “Marlina Perkins”,* would produce.
Clouds hugged the horizon as we boarded the tour boat after a lovely lobster roll lunch on the pier. The boat captain spoke, “ladies and gentlemen, you are the first to sail with us after a two week period of inclement weather. We travel to the area where storm swells are in the forecast. We’ll gladly refund your ticket money or apply it to a different tour.” I turned to my seaworthy husband, Bill. “There’s no way I’m going to miss Moby Dick or the Pacific Life whale. We’re going.” Bill’s familiar reply of, “Yes, dear,” was all I needed.
The first part of our trip was a lovely ride with ocean spray kicking through our hair as we walked around the ship. The seas grew more unruly as we traveled further into the choppy Atlantic. Even the most adventuresome searched for inside seating.
After what seemed like days, we pulled alongside a forty-five foot whale and her fourteen-foot companion. I briefly watched their blow until I began to feel the surge of twelve-foot tides. I can only compare this to being stranded at the top of the Myrtle Beach Wild Mouse ride. When the mouse finally started after a fifteen-minute mechanical problem, it lurched crazily to the bottom leaving my stomach at the top. I had seen the whale family; I was ready to go. But there were those in the group who weren’t sick. They laughed, ate, and drank out of cans. What gave them the right to feel so good? I wondered. One lady had the audacity to open a can of Spam within smelling distance of my table. She was the “curly-q” of all the twisted sisters I’d ever met! I was queasy the rest of the trip but never “lost my cookies”, unlike many folks around me. At least twenty-five of us were praying for God or a Coast Guard helicopter to pluck us from the green misery of seasickness.
Later that evening, back on the ship, I looked on while our cruise companions enjoyed a lovely meal. Their chatter was of the lovely scenery, delicious lunch and their unmatched trip to the Acadia National Park. “And how did the “Coogs” enjoy the day?” they asked. Without sharing the gory details of the ill-fated nature trip, I nodded and said, “My whale watching career is over.” I pulled out two store bought postcards of a humpback whale in a vertical jump to mail to the homes of my grandchildren. The new aquarium in Atlanta made a great excursion.
*For those too young to remember, Marlin Perkins was the star of Wild Kingdom 1963-1985.
Bill and Ann Coogler-Bar Harbor, Maine