What could be better than a perfect autumn Saturday?  A perfect autumn Saturday aboard a whale watch boat as it explores the humpback whale feeding grounds right off the coast of NJ and NY!  I decided to check out the Seastreak Ferry whale watch cruise after noticing all of the birds pulling copious amounts of mendhaden from the Raritan Bay on my walks along the bayshore. (See this post.) I figured the whales might be feeding on their favorite food, too.  Well, we were only on the boat about 15 minutes when we came across our first whale...not feeding, but breaching!  It jumped high out of the water five times in a row! Not much in world can compare to the excitement at seeing muscular creatures (up to 40 tons!) propelling themselves out of the water and crashing with a monumental splash! After its joyful breaches, the whale started rolling over and slapping its pectoral fins, almost like it was waving at us.  Everyone on board was thrilled.  The excitement didn't end there.  In the course of the next several hours, we went on to see at least 3 more whales swimming, diving, blowing, lunge feeding, fin slapping, and even more breaches.  At one point, a pair came right along the boat and amazed us with their size and beauty.  To top it off, when they made their blows, a rainbow was seen in the moisture of their breath!   FOR REAL.  Just WOW. During the trip, a clear-speaking naturalist gave us facts and a deeper appreciation of these special marine mammals. The captain tried to find dolphins that had been in the area, but this was meant to be a day about WHALES.  No one was disappointed! (And by the way, no one seemed seasick on this sturdy vessel.) If you live in the NJ/NY area, check out the Seastreak's whale watching tours before the season ends.  CLICK FOR MORE PICS