whale of a time

Books, tv programs, experts and many other people who have been lucky enough to come into contact with whales will all tell you the same thing. They will say how amazing it is to see such huge creatures in the wild, they will tell you how at peace you feel when you see them in their natural habitat and how exhilirating and life changing the experience can be, yada yada yada.

i never actually believed it all myself until we were fortunate enough to go on a whale watching trip on friday. what an immense time we had and we saw so many, at least 24 different humpback whales all swimming around the boat in the search of food -lucky for us they dont partake in humans for their main course. Our first glimpse came when we saw the colour change in the water from dark blue to a light green and we realised that there was a whale there under the water and it was rising to the surface. when she surfaced she nearly soaked us all by blowing out a huge billow of water (we wouldnt have minded if she had), she then mosied on next to the boat for a couple of minutes before she dived again. we could have almost touched her she was so near, we have seen many things on this holiday but this will take some beating. i would have been content with just that one encounter but we got so many more like it, we really were spoiled. Apparently it wasnt a normal day on the whale watching scale.

The whale watching topped off what has been a really lovely and relaxing week in cape cod. the weather has been great and i actually got sunburnt for the first time this holiday - on my ankles of all places (such a good look). we arrived last monday after a really cool train journey from washington which took us through 10 states, the highlight of it being we went straight through manhattan (albeit under manhattan in a tunnel but we still saw the skyline before and after the tunnel). we got off the train at providence where we rented a car and drove the 2 hours to the very tip of the cape to a town called provincetown which is a very quaint and beautiful. we had a little difficulty in finding our condo and then gaining access (que a phone call to the owners) but we eventually got in and went straight to work at cooking some of our own food - we havent been able to eat home cooked food in over 6 weeks (and we both have been struggling with that a bit) so we really have made up for it whilst we are here. its not been without its quirks however, we only have a hob and a microwave and no counter space - we also have a bbq grill outside which we tried last night and couldnt get to work, a fridge which was set so cold that it froze all of our groceries after the first day including our beer (not funny), and a set of electrics which fuse every now and then and we cant gain access to the fuse cupboard which is downstairs and outside (our new best friend is our neighbour who so pleasantly lets us in every time we need to reset - as well as this we have also managed to break a lamp (well ricky did) and we locked ourselves out (well i did). it all adds to the fun of it, i can say that now after enduring ricky screaming blue murder every 5 minutes when something else goes wrong. to say we are looking forward to being back in our own flat is an understatement. the condo is really nice but its good for a week and we are ready to move on.

Cape Cod is such a beautiful place, its really relaxed after being in the city and the air smells so nice and clean. its also great to be beside the sea again, they have the most amazing sand dunes here and so many cute lighthouses. All the houses are grey and wooden and it just has a very nautical feel about it, you can almost smell the maritime history of the place. Provincetown, where we have been staying, is a gay holiday haven for americans and ricky and i have looked some what out of place on a few occassions as 1. we dont have a dog and 2. we are also extremely non creative and broke - every one here seems to be an artist, drives a ferrari and has a tiny rat like dog who wears shades and is called muffin, its a look i am sure ricky could get used to. We have done what we came for and that was to do nothing and chill as much as possible before we head to new york and then home, and we both feel really well rested and pumped up for the best that New York has to offer. we have lay on the beach quite a few times, strolled about wee quaint towns, visited some lighthouses, whale watched, played crazy golf (incidentally russell, i threw a 2 hole lead away on the 16th - i would have been so smug if i had won), done some wine tasting, ate some lovely fresh fish, been to the cinema (not sure i would recommend terminator to be honest but then again i never really was a fan) and the best of it all was, we went to a real live drive in movie theatre on friday night, where we saw a double bill of night at the museum (still as rubbish as the first one but much better when you see it in a drive in) and xmen origins (which we had actually seen in san francisco but was worth a second watch). it was the most cool, most retro american thing we have done to date and we loved it.

so our week is up and we are now heading back on the train to New York (where i am writing this from). we have some plans about what we want to do but mostly we are just going to enjoy being back in the most amazing city in the world and taking stock that this will be the last few days of what has been the most tremendous of adventures. I am not sure if i will get a chance to blog again before we head for home on thursday evening (we arrive back in edinburgh friday morning) but if i dont i will certainly be bringing you up to speed on what we got up to over the weekend. i am sure i will continue on the blog for a wee whiley after i get home to let you know how we are settling back in and to let you know when i have put the rest of our photos online. i so cant wait to catch up with all of you and hear all your news. I also want to wish my mum and ricky's dad HAPPY BIRTHDAY, sorry we cant be there to help you celebrate but we will more than make up for it when we see you guys soon.

Its been so fast and its been amazing in everyway, we have seen and done so many things that i doubt some folk get to do in a lifetime, but thats why we did and its all been worth it, now all we have to decide on is where to go next ........................................

see you all real soon xxxxxxxx