Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? There Be Whales Here!

Hi, all!

It's here - the very last Friday of the year!  And I couldn't let it pass without a chance for all of us to whoop it up.  I know you've got things you can share now that Christmas has passed, so here's your chance!  

I, on the other hand, have not been sewing this week - because I am in Maui, Hawaii!!  So I have something a little different to whoop it up about.   Let's get started!

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We decided back in February to take a trip to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary, and because we both like to be warm in the winter when it's possible, we decided to go to Hawaii, because it's ALWAYS warm there.  

We chose well, because the highs are in the low to mid 80s and the lows in the mid 60s.  The weather has been awesome, and we chose today to go out on a cruise to try to see some humpback whales.

And guess what!  We saw LOTS of whales!  Here's a whale fluke...

...and this one is harder to see, but this whale is lifting his head above the water.  The white cloud you see over his back is the blow from when he came up.  This picture was taken during a "competition", where several whales are competing to be the "primary escort" for a female.  We were very lucky to see several competitions, or "com-pods", during our boat trip.  We had to stay at least 100 yards away (unless the whales chose to come closer) so these are very enlarged shots.  And I missed a lot of much better ones because it was so much fun to watch, I forgot to take pics sometimes!

Here's another pic of a whale's flukes.  It really is amazing - those flukes are about 15 feet across.  The whales weigh about 90,000 pounds, and basically don't eat for the six weeks it takes to get from Alaska to Hawaii, the two to four weeks they stay in Hawaii to breed, and the six weeks it takes to return to Alaska.  The waters in Hawaii are warm and shallow, making them a poor location for predator fish, and thus safe for the calves that will be born here.  (The females who are impregnated here this year will return next year to have their calves.)  But the beautiful blue waters of Hawaii are that color because they don't contain phytoplankton, which is what humpback whales eat.  Water that contains phytoplankton is much greener!  And so the lesson ends.

And then I stopped at a neat little store...

How could I pass this by?

Look how welcoming it is...

And inside it's even better!  

So many beautiful samples, each one a great reminder of a wonderful trip  Gorgeous fabrics, too!  So many beach and Hawaii themed fabrics, and some of the prettiest batiks I've seen in a while.

In the end, I chose one of the pretty sashiko embroidery kits to commemorate our trip and our day - 

I'll share that with you later!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah