My wife Shelia and I spent practically the entire month of July on the road; literally. First, the annual Smith family trek to Ponce Inlet, Florida, then a few days after returning from the beach we flew to the other side of the country to board a cruise ship to Alaska. This was my first visit to the "Land of the
Midnight Sun" and boy was I ever glad I went.
While folks here in east Tennessee were sweltering in the heat, we went through a heat wave of sorts in Juneau, Alaska. While in the capital city we suffered through a record high temperature of 82 degrees. Most days however, we were forced to wear a jacket on deck and as we walked around other Alaskan towns and villages.
The closest thing I saw to a competitive sporting event on our trip was a heated bocci ball game on the deck of our ship. Alaska isn't about sports, unless you're talking about fishing tournaments or things of that nature. The most impressive thing I saw was a group of ten humpback whales eating their daily allotment of more than a ton of fish for each whale. After watching them for the first time or two, standing in total astonishment and awe at the sheer beauty of these magnificent creatures, I thought whale watching could become a big time sport.
First, you had to find them. During the summer months these whales come to the waters of the Pacific Ocean to eat. That's it. Just fill your stomach with as much fish as possible each day to gain strength for your trip south to Hawaii for the second major stage of their lives. (More on that later)
Once the whales are located you must maneuver around other boats to get the prime watching position. Keep in mind, this could change suddenly as the whales "bubble" together to force the fish up and into their mouths. You can award points for the whale with the most fish at once, or even more points for the whale with the most fish in one day. Of course you would have to get in the water with them to count and that is really ill-advised. On a more serious note, it was quite challenging to watch the whales as they went below the surface for a few minutes before "bubbling" up again with more fish. The key to where they would come up next was the many seagulls flying around, waiting for a morsel or two to be discarded by a whale. When the seagulls headed toward the water, be ready because the whales were on their way to the surface.
After filling themselves on fish for several months, the whales all head south, mostly to Hawaii to engage in another sport...breeding. That's enough about that.
As we continued on our trek each day, I would invariably hear, "Go Big Orange," as Tennessee fans would catch a glimpse of an orange piece of clothing I wore. It was pleasantly surprising to find so many Tennessee residents on the trip with us. Each one excited about what the 2016 season has the potential to offer. We're still more than month away from the start of the season, but it will be here before we know it.
I'm not sure if whale watching could ever be made into a competitive sport or not. But I can tell you this...it was a great way to spend some time in the dog days of summer...waiting for the Vols to take the field.