Among the favorite tourist activities in the nearby San Juan Islands is whale watching. We figured we'd been here long enough, so it was our turn.

I had heard mixed opinions about whale watching trips. The detractors say you don't get very close to them and all you see is a couple of fins sticking out of the water. But, considering the immense size of these wild animals, I would say you get quite close. I would love to reach out and touch them as they swam by but, about at 100 feet away, it was a good close look. There were some times when we could see quite a bit of the whale but you have to be looking in just the right place to catch it in a picture.

When we tossed marshmallows, they jumped up and caught it and spouted out some water in appreciation... ... Just kidding - I wanted to see if you were paying attention.

We saw lots of local wildlife on the trip. The bald eagle picture was about a mile from home. We saw seals and porpoises (which looked tiny after the orca whales).

It was thought provoking to see the wild animals that live so close to home.