Olga's and Orcas

The village of Eastsound greeted me with sunshine as I rode in for brunch before my whale watching expedition.  I chose the legendary "Olga's" (how can a Scandinavian named Peterson resist a place named Olga's?) and I wasn't disappointed.  After I had ordered some basic breakfast fare, the server began to tell me the story of Olga's.  It was originally started in the tiny berg of Olga on the southeastern corner of the island and serves an appealing variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner items.  Everything at Olga's is house-made by the omni-present owners, who pour their passion into every bite.  Tragically, it was set afire and they had to relocate to the "big" town of Eastsound.  The alleged arsonist was never arrested but was effectively banned from the island by the close-knit community.  After hearing about two of the house specialities, blackberry pie and "scalibut" cakes (scallops and halibut together in a super-secret recipe) my dinner plans were sealed.  I took them to go for an easy supper on the deck of my cottage!

The day had blossomed into a beautiful afternoon as I arrived at Outer Island Expeditions to search for the ocean's apex predator, the Orca or Killer Whale.  There was a gentle chop and not much wind as we sailed away from the dock onboard their new boat, Blackfish 3.  I rode on the upper deck with our captain Paul and two great people from San Francisco, Jake and Bethany.  It didn't take long before we were viewing orcas from pod J-16, including a mother "Alki" and calf and the giant male, Mike, whose magnificent dorsal fin rises over 6 feet above his body.  Naturalist Katie ably provided all the guests with great information as well.  Later that day we were able to see a 50-foot humpback whale named Big Mama as she breeched and slapped and waved her dorsal fins at the nearby boats.  Paul even found us some seals and one late-comer sea lion before we headed home.  Paul and Katie were both tremendously knowledgeable and really enjoyed giving us a great afternoon on the water.  I'd sail with them again in a heartbeat!