Amazing trip - we are so thankful for this extraordinary day not only in terms of the beautiful weather, but because of the whale sightings. We know they were no guarantees that whales would be about while we were out, so WOW what a delight to find a pod of 5 orcas within the first 20-30 minutes of leaving the harbor. We got some really good looks at all of them, and I even got some good footage on my cell phone of the whales swimming in close proximity to some lucky kayakers. We spent a fair amount of time with this pod (I wasn't watching the clock but we definitely had plenty of time with these whales). Then we were told that the pilot was informed of another pod in a different location, so we headed out aways and located that pod of 4 orcas. I'm pretty sure that it's not typical to find more than one pod on an outing, and we saw two pods with a total of 9 whales. WOW!!! Also, the naturalist onboard was really good about talking to everyone about what we were seeing - making a trip to all parts of the boat to make sure we all had the latest information and had a chance to ask her questions. This was the first whale watching trip for my 5-year-old granddaughter, who was delighted with the sightings and shadowed Abby (the naturalist) all over the boat , listening intently to all she had to say. Of course the whales were the biggest excitement for us, but we also saw a bald eagle, plenty of harbor seals, and a porpoise - not to mention the phenomenal scenery of the islands and the pleasure of being on the water. I opted for this particular trip because of it's departure point and am thrilled with the decision. Thumbs up to Abby and Pete!!!