TBA
Erik's Visit + Scuba Diving off Anacapa Island
After a many year absence, Erik finally reappears in Los Angeles. He even manages to pry Constant from his existence in Orange County (well, no longer) as he checks out Loyola downtown, Versailles, and then the next day we wander all over, including Hollywood, even into Gardena for lunch at Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen. Mmmmmmmmmm.
A ridiculously decorated Mercedes McLaren SLR on the way to Amoeba Records in Hollywood highlights Saturday afternoon, while Hurry CUrry is dinner. We stopped by Beard Papa, but they were out of cream puffs. o_0
In what seems to be my tradition, after far too little sleep-- I think I had about 2 hour's worth-- I woke up, Rick and Alicia picked me up, and it was off to Ventura to hop on a dive boat to go scuba off Anacapa Island.
First spot was Channels, which has some awesome underwater rock channels cut into the area beneath a kelp bed. That and become re-acquainted with scuba made up most of the first dive, trying to appreciate the very pretty terrain beneath us. Second dive was off Portuguese Rock, which lead into a sandy descent, then we closed to the beach to try and find warmer water. Alicia skipped the rest of the dives as she was freezing cold, in part due to a wetsuit that the arms and legs fit too tight. Ack.
The third and final dive for me was Outer Coral Reef, where we saw hordes of sea urchins and lots of good stuff. Tons of starfish and more than a few spiny lobsters as well, plus the usual flounders, black eyed gobys, spanish shawls, etc.
We cruised around quite a bit before we found an unoccuppied area for the 4th dive. I skipped it as it was just too cold... but when the sea lions saw the boat approach and divers hop into the water, it was TEMPTING to suit back up and hop in. Holy crap!!!!
Sadly, my depth control really isn't there yet; unencumbered I'm fine, holding a flashlight I'm back to using my hands to stablize when I get distracted, I can imagine sea lions playing with us, aiming for last-second near-misses, that would be a bloody disaster for me!
