Today I paddled out for a 5-hour tour with a lovely couple from Oklahoma. It's always a great feeling to be able to showcase the marine environment to folks who don't often see it. Plus, they loved seeing so many harbor seals up close! We hung out in the kelp beds with a few seals who kept surfacing nearby and checking us out. It's still early in the season, so they're just getting used to kayakers again!
The highlight of the day for me was paddling by the Pelagic Cormorant rookery down on the south side of Henry Island, just northwest of San Juan Island. The cormorants are back! We hung out for a minute or two, watching mated pairs rub necks and gurgle to one another while balancing on tiny rocky ledges. It was a pretty special sight, and a definite sign that spring has come!