Day 17, 17 June 2015

48 Visitors

California Grey Whale (Whale is on Right, Rock on Left)

I had trouble getting to sleep due to my irritated throat but finally got to sleep after 3 am. We awoke to a cold overcast, foggy morning. We were back to opening at 10 am due to the tides and were to be open for an hour. It would be just the two of us again to run everything. We sure are looking forward to Leon and Terrie’s return Thursday. My voice was a bit better but still raspy and stressed, though the headaches were gone. I took my second dose of drugs for recovery. I made oatmeal for breakfast for a change, the good healthy kind you have to boil for 5 minutes. We put coconut, pecans, dried cranberries, a few chocolate pieces and bananas in the oatmeal to make it yummy. Grapefruit and chai tea rounded out our hearty breakfast. While in the middle of eating we saw the visitors milling around the house and then Fred saw a whale very close out the window. We dropped everything and ran out with cameras. Some of the visitors had seen the whale also and were very excited. The whale was only about 50 yards from the island and did show his tail on a dive. We tried to get some shots of the whale as he swam off. What a thrill to see him so close. I got back to my cold oatmeal and wolfed it down along with the rest of breakfast since I only had ten minutes before opening.

Oyster Catcher on Next

Fortunately we were not mobbed with lots of people and I formed groups for Fred to take on tours. I wrote down descriptions of the people to keep track. We opted for Fred to do most of the talking so I would not stress my fragile throat. The morning passed quickly with more groups showing up and we tried to get everyone in before the tides came in. I couldn’t start the tours early since I had people wanting to buy merchandise. Near the end I did start the last group since the tide was coming in and we needed to get them going. I swear I had a family of 5 for a tour but we could not find them. Other tourists ran about looking for them for me for a minute but they were not to be found. Perhaps they left due to the tides or I misunderstood their desire for a tour. I started the last group and gave them a good intro and Fred took over and announced the water was coming in fast and he would have to go fast. The people didn’t mind and wanted to see the tower most anyway. I did make sure the two young ladies in the group got to pick two goodies from the treasure chest and they purchased a few things in the gift shop. Down the group went quickly to cross and we watched and made sure they made it. They went across on the sewer line that sticks up the highest and just barely made it across the last few rocks without getting their feet wet. They waved triumphantly back at us as they touched the other side. Whew, our morning was done. Well, one other couple wandered over in sandals but just took a look around and left before it got too deep.

Cynthia Cleaning the Inside Lighthouse Windows, Fred is Doing the Outside

I resupplied some items in the gift shop and we had a nice little lunch of mango chicken sausages with cheese on Hawaiian sweet rolls, fresh mango and corn on the cob. We got to watch my soap opera at 1 pm and I knit a little. Fred went out to read on the cliffs and called me to tell me the whales were back! So I ran out with binoculars and camera to watch them for a while. They were father out but fun to watch. We could hear them exhale and see their spray from their blowholes. They were grey whales, which are baleen whales that have 2 blowholes. The toothed whales have just one blowhole. They swam back and forth and would surface and you could see their knobby backs. We were hoping they would dive enough to see their tails but they didn’t. So in between whale watching we did laundry. We have a washer and dryer to use that is really nice to have on the island and we don’t have to go off and spend the time to do it on the mainland. The afternoon sped by with the whales and around 5:30 pm visitors started crossing over again. One lady spoke to Fred and she knew we were closed but asked if she could buy a magnet, since she collected them from lighthouses. We let her in the shop with her husband and gave them a mini tour in the gift shop and showed them the 4^th order Fresnel lens that was in the tower from 1907 to 1953. The husband had worked in optics and they both admired the lens. The lady was thrilled with her magnet and they even gave us a little donation.

Looking Down at Visitors in the Afternoon

Fred and I went up to the tower and wiped down the smudges on the lantern glass inside out and took some pictures from up there. The visitors looked up to see us cleaning and some waved. I also wiped down the precious 5^th order double-barreled Fresnel lens. I like to keep her shiny and clean. After finishing up laundry we went into town and had a nice dinner at a Hawaiian BBQ place in town, which was delicious. We got some fruit and veggies and milk at Safeway. We returned to our place of serenity about 8 pm. Our serenity would have to wait a bit since there was a bunch of visitors all excited about seeing the whales. We quickly put our groceries away and joined them. They were swimming about a bit closer than in the afternoon and would linger on the surface a bit. The sun was setting and looking interesting due to some clouds and a big fog bank. One could see St. George Reef Lighthouse pretty good in the far distance. She looked so lonely and remote as a silent, dark sentinel with no one to visit and care for her. Fred brought down the flag and we folded her properly. I stayed out in the cold watching the whales through binoculars till about 9 pm. For my last views of them I got to see them for a good while as they languished on the surface. I distinctly saw 3 whales, one large back along with a smaller one very close by with their blowhole sprays. There was another large back and spray either leading or trailing the pair. How nice to see this family enjoying their swim at dusk in their immense ocean home. It was the perfect way to end the evening’s viewing. I returned to the warmth of our cozy lighthouse home to relax a little before bed. We watched a bit of TV and worked on the blog. We were both tired and falling asleep in our lazy-boys in the bedroom with the stove burning warmly. So off to bed I went still coughing a bit with my healing throat. Perhaps I will have dreams of riding a gentle giant with great heaving sighs through silky silver waves and feel their power and mystery as I cling to a barnacled back and see the last golden rays of a setting sun melt into a languid indigo ocean.

Cynthia Comtemplating