We started out 2008 with a whale watching tour off the coast of Redondo Beach, something of a family tradition. The sea was calm and the sky was clear. Almost as soon as we hit open water a huge pod of dolphins (hundreds of them) charged our boat and started playing in our bow wake and posing for photos. We were surrounded by dolphins as far as you could see in every direction.

We didn’t find the migrating Grays we were searching for but we did spot a family of Fin whales.

But, exciting as that was, the real reason we go is to be with each other. There’s always something about the journey, short as it is, that leaves me feeling renewed. Cousins, grandmothers, aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers, daughters and sons, welcoming the new year together with love and happiness and hope.

Happy new year.