Can’t stop, won’t stop! The great migration is in FULL SWING! We’ve had gray whales cruising down the coastline EVERY SINGLE DAY! Today, within about half a mile of shore, we spotted a pod of Pacific white‑sided dolphins (Aethalodelphis obliquidens, respectfully) — LAGS FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS 
These winter visitors are known for playing with basically ANY ocean species they can find, and seeing them hanging out near gray whales is pretty common.
While we were spending time with the white‑sides, spouts started popping up on the horizon. Now, you might think whale watching is easy — you go out, find a whale, and watch it. But these animals are highly intelligent, with needs, wants, and personalities of their own. Some whales don’t bat an eye at a large vessel, while others are incredibly avoidant.
Our first gray today was definitely vessel‑avoidant, so we chose to leave it be and let it continue its southbound migration. Luckily, another gray was less than a mile away. This whale stayed at the surface, continued south, and came up to breathe completely unphased by us — so we spent some time with this one until we ran out of daylight and had to head back to shore.
Naturalist,
Alison
