In order to break up the monotony of staring at excel files and other small boxes with numbers on screens, we went on a whale watch! Two hours after we came up the elevator and into our conference room we all filed out to go beyond our beloved harbor islands and see some of the largest animals in the Massachusetts Bay area. On our way out, it was sweltering hot but we were quickly cooled down by the cool breeze provided by our speeding boat.

After the boat ride out we spotted a pair of humpbacks that were feeding nearby. We learned how to ID Humpback whales and Kate even was able to tell us their names – Pele and Eruption!

Soon after we found another group of 4 Humpbacks, and a couple of smaller Minke whales playfully dashed around the boat. Kate was a wealth of knowledge pointing out various bird species and whale features.

After about an hour in the presence of Humpbacks we had to head back into the harbor. Our gorgeous day suddenly turned cloudy and as our boat was slicing through the water we were treated to a wonderful lightning show. As we huddled under an awning to keep dry on our way back, we gave ourselves the tour of the Harbor Islands we had heard 5 times before. Once we disembarked we got completely soaked, stopped for a little hot chocolate and headed back to MIT. We ended a very exciting day with a little data entry and then all headed home.