| Sarah's
parents, here to escape Ohio cold for a couple
of weeks, invited us to go whalewatching.
It was a perfect morning for it, clear and mostly
sunny with just enough clouds to keep it from
getting too hot. Maalaea bay was windy
as usual but once we made it to Olowalu
it was calm and the water was flat as a lake. The
captain cut engine and we drifted a bit in the
vicinity of three adults--two males languidly
pursuing a female. It was a very genteel and
mannered pursuit, in keeping with the Jane
Austen Sarah's mom was reading. Assistants
dropped a hydrophone
over the bow to broadcast the realtime sounds of humpback
whalesong over the ship's PA. As luck would
have it the trio swam right by the stern, breaching,
blowing, diving as if in slow motion. It was a
crystalline moment, all silent and still except for
their stately undulations and the sedate puffs of
their breathing, then the gentle plash and suck of
water as they slipped once more below the surface.
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