I knew he wouldn't leave without saying goodbye. Oliver has a personality unlike any other whale I have ever encountered. I first spotted him not more than a few days old laying on his back on top of his mothers nose rolling this way and that pectoral fins straight out of the water immersed in the brand new sensation of the suns rays on his bright white stomach. All humpbacks have different coloration patterns, and Oliver is unusually unique because of the amount of white he carries, something that is rare in the Northern Pacific group. Even more than his physical markings, you could always tell when Oliver heard the boat leaving our berth because with out hesitation he would start waving his arms in the air and slamming them down on the water calling out for us to come play. Two days ago after not seeing any whales for the past week, Oliver, under the close watch of his mother swam up to the boat one last time. He circled us on his side, on giant eye moving from one passenger to the next until he got to the back of the boat where he stop rolled on his back lift both his pectoral fins in the air and slowly rolled backwards deeper and deeper until his now impressive shadow disappeared. In the four weeks that we regularly encountered Oliver, he gained probably ten feet and twenty thousand pounds, not quite the little guy I first glimpsed but still just as curious, and I know he knew I appreciated the farewell