La Jolla
We entered the ritzy area known as La Jolla and before we knew it we were in wet suits with a life jacket, snorkel gear mask and flippers in hand. We walked towards the beach which was wonderful, aside for the hot pavement on our bare feet. It was so nice to feel a wind on my face that was not dry and miserable. This wind was sweet and heavy with water and the smell of the ocean. Having the sun out and overhead was a blessing as we walked towards the sandy shore 
rather than the curse it could be from time to time in the desert. Although a sunny day is always a good thing. As we approached the beach the pavement began to be a bit cooler beneath our feet and softer as the amount of sand increased until the amount of sand was greater than the amount of pavement. This gave way to pure sandy beach. Although the sand was hot on our feet as well we were both so excited about being at the beach that neither one of us seemed to mind. I was so distracted by the sight of the ocean and the smell of the salty air that I hardly noticed much else. We were given a very brief talk about paddling and the next thing we knew we were paddling against the waves and towards the horizon. It was not difficult but battling the waves to move forward was interesting to say the least. I got soaked and soon rather than looking out through sunglasses I was looking through water drop speckled lenses. We made it through the swells easy enough and we were in a kayak on the ocean – this was pretty cool. Not that the water was necessarily choppy but it was not glassy so as the waves pitched so did we. We both looked at each other and wished that we had taken something for motion sickness. My stomach turned and dropped with each dip our little boat took in the sea. I began to get accustomed to the movement of the ocean. Poor Brad on the other hand was bothered a little bit more. The sick feeling mostly went away as we paddled, only when we sat still at the mercy of the ocean did my stomach feel tight and heavy. As we just sat without paddling the waves would pull us in towards the beach so we had to remain aware of our location. The water although it would get muddled from time to time was so clear. As we traveled atop the ocean we could see the sandy dune like ocean floor. As we first traveled out I saw a Leopard Shark swim beneath our kayak. It was startling but awesome at the same time. As we traveled we began to pass sea caves that were formed over millions of years by the rising and falling of the tides. They were pretty cool and watching the waves crash and brake against a
nd through them was a sight to see. As the waves would hit the cave white water would rise and splash in the air and along the walls of the cave. At this point the ocean floor beneath us began to change. Patches of dark green and black replaces the sandy bottom. Upon closer inspection this was due to sea grass, kelp, and reef. We begin to see flashes of orange. We began to notice they were Garibaldi, California’s state fish. They were everywhere and so brightly colored that they were hard to miss. Once we were in the deep of the sea grass forest and above the reef the entire group tied their kayaks together and an anchor was thrown in. At this point brad promptly put on his mask with the snorkel attached and in a nasally voice which you can just imagine he jokingly asked me if we were going to see the sea lions. I giggled and he jumped in. I put on my flippers and mask and was close behind him. It was a bit strange to breathe under water and it was hard to do at first. It is against any natural reflex and you throat wants to close. This lead to my taking rapid short breathes whenever my head was submerged. As I mentioned already the first fish we saw were those Garibaldi. They would swim upside down randomly and it was the funniest little fish move ever. They had those perfect cartoon-like fish mouths that puckered out. There were other fish that I do not know the names to. Brad and I dove in to the bottom and looked around the tall seaweed and the rock piles just trying to take it all in. It was really hard to be at the bottom because although it did not seem to be that deep the pressure was unreal. It hurt my head, my nose and my ears so once I was down it was not a matter of how long I could hold my breath but was a matter of how long I could withstand the pressure 
before surfacing. It was also a strange feeling how fast we came up; the ocean seemed to help you surface. This is true in any water but I noticed it more here than I had before. On the ocean floor there were coral and other beachy things. I wanted to see an octopus but was not lucky enough. I am sure if we had been able to stay out there all day we would have seen one or at least a squid for they do live in the area. We were lucky enough to see three sea lions and we watched them swim and they seemed to be playing. They would surface and poke their cute little heads out to look around. They seemed to check everything and everyone out then they would playfully dive their shinny heads back under water. We kayaked away over a shallow place where the ocean floor turned sandy again. Here we saw a giant kelp plant with an air sac the size of my head and a blade larger than a kayak. Dr. Windelspect is convinced that kelp together with rice is not only the future of the food industry but also the end of starvation. It may be rubbery but he is a pretty smart guy so he may be on to something. Over this shallow sandy area we were lucky enough to see a dozen leopard sharks and guitarfish. We paddled back toward the beach where we came in from. Here we rode a small wave in to shore – this was pretty fun to do. All in all I really enjoyed sea kayaking and I can see this being a hobby that I do more and more of. Once we pulled our boat out of the water Brad and I were equipped with our snorkel gear and we strolled down the California coast towards the shallow water where we had been lucky enough to see all those big fish. As we began to walk in the water it looked like shimmering gold. Something about the coast here when you are in ankle deep water it seems to swirl around you and the gold like flecks of sand are lifted by the water and the sun hits the flecks making it look like you are walking in a pool of gold. It was a beautifully clear day and the waves were not very high. This made it not such a great day for surfing, but a perfect day for snorkeling. Brad and I dived in and away we went swimming against the waves with our heads submerged looking down through the clear water at the sandy ocean floor with little sand dune ripples. The first creature we came across was a giant stingray. He was at least three if not four feet in diameter. He was kind of scary. We swam over him for a minute a bit startled but amazed. Sting Rays do not like to be hovered over so he began to flap his disc like body in a pulsating motion and his tail began to move from side to side. In this way the giant stingray began to swim. As he flapped he stirred up the sand beneath and around him creating little ripples in the sand that remained after he left. These ripples looked like the rings formed around a droplet of water landing in a still body of water. We swam away and did not see anything for some time. Then I turned and headed towards more shallow water and was startled to look down and see four leopard sharks below me an arms length away. They were all about four feet in length give or take. When I saw them I was so startled that I pushed away reason, knowing that these large fish would not bother me I still screamed a little underwater. I grabbed Brad’s hand and he saw them too. From here we swam around this area and were lucky enough to see at least a dozen leopard sharks and a few more sting rays. We also saw some other fish that were small shiners, like baitfish. I saw a large tan-golden fish that looked more like a fresh water fish than an ocean fish to me. We also saw some fish with blue stripes on their sides.
Brad got out of the water because he still was not feeling very well. I decided that I wanted to play for a few more minutes. I was getting more comfortable swimming with the big fish and I even began to swim with them. At first the fish would be a little alarmed when they noticed me, but if I just kept hanging out they would continue with their business and even let me swim around and between them. At one point I reached out and touched the side of one and although it moved a little it did not seem to feel threatened because it did not swim away. I was able to put my hand on this shark and swim along side it for a minute. They are pretty neat fish and I am really glad that I was able to swim with them. I swam in the middle of a school of tiny fish and as a wave gently broke over head they all seemed to move and shine in the sunlight all around me. Finally I was worn out and accompanied Brad on the beach. It was nice to have sand between my toes. Well, one funny thing is that we discovered that this area probably influenced Dr. Seuss as we had suspected. The beach that we snorkeled at was where Dr. Seuss had lived. When someone told us that Brad and I looked at each other and laughed because we had just been talking about how everything looks like a drawing of Dr. Seuss’s and we were wondering if he lived around the area. As one would think he had a pretty crazy house with an elevator and observation decks. This was his house - 
He would have probably been a cool guy to know. After we waddled in our wet suits back through La Jolla we went to a local surf spot, Wahoo’s, for dinner. There were surf videos on the TV and stickers on everything. The benches were made out of skateboards and the food was good. It was not trying to be anything fancy it just was what it was a divey surf joint. Oh – in this town there was a surf shop called Jeddies. That night we drove to San Onofre to camp right on the beach bluffs.
nd through them was a sight to see. As the waves would hit the cave white water would rise and splash in the air and along the walls of the cave. At this point the ocean floor beneath us began to change. Patches of dark green and black replaces the sandy bottom. Upon closer inspection this was due to sea grass, kelp, and reef. We begin to see flashes of orange. We began to notice they were Garibaldi, California’s state fish. They were everywhere and so brightly colored that they were hard to miss. Once we were in the deep of the sea grass forest and above the reef the entire group tied their kayaks together and an anchor was thrown in. At this point brad promptly put on his mask with the snorkel attached and in a nasally voice which you can just imagine he jokingly asked me if we were going to see the sea lions. I giggled and he jumped in. I put on my flippers and mask and was close behind him. It was a bit strange to breathe under water and it was hard to do at first. It is against any natural reflex and you throat wants to close. This lead to my taking rapid short breathes whenever my head was submerged. As I mentioned already the first fish we saw were those Garibaldi. They would swim upside down randomly and it was the funniest little fish move ever. They had those perfect cartoon-like fish mouths that puckered out. There were other fish that I do not know the names to. Brad and I dove in to the bottom and looked around the tall seaweed and the rock piles just trying to take it all in. It was really hard to be at the bottom because although it did not seem to be that deep the pressure was unreal. It hurt my head, my nose and my ears so once I was down it was not a matter of how long I could hold my breath but was a matter of how long I could withstand the pressure 
before surfacing. It was also a strange feeling how fast we came up; the ocean seemed to help you surface. This is true in any water but I noticed it more here than I had before. On the ocean floor there were coral and other beachy things. I wanted to see an octopus but was not lucky enough. I am sure if we had been able to stay out there all day we would have seen one or at least a squid for they do live in the area. We were lucky enough to see three sea lions and we watched them swim and they seemed to be playing. They would surface and poke their cute little heads out to look around. They seemed to check everything and everyone out then they would playfully dive their shinny heads back under water. We kayaked away over a shallow place where the ocean floor turned sandy again. Here we saw a giant kelp plant with an air sac the size of my head and a blade larger than a kayak. Dr. Windelspect is convinced that kelp together with rice is not only the future of the food industry but also the end of starvation. It may be rubbery but he is a pretty smart guy so he may be on to something. Over this shallow sandy area we were lucky enough to see a dozen leopard sharks and guitarfish. We paddled back toward the beach where we came in from. Here we rode a small wave in to shore – this was pretty fun to do. All in all I really enjoyed sea kayaking and I can see this being a hobby that I do more and more of. Once we pulled our boat out of the water Brad and I were equipped with our snorkel gear and we strolled down the California coast towards the shallow water where we had been lucky enough to see all those big fish. As we began to walk in the water it looked like shimmering gold. Something about the coast here when you are in ankle deep water it seems to swirl around you and the gold like flecks of sand are lifted by the water and the sun hits the flecks making it look like you are walking in a pool of gold. It was a beautifully clear day and the waves were not very high. This made it not such a great day for surfing, but a perfect day for snorkeling. Brad and I dived in and away we went swimming against the waves with our heads submerged looking down through the clear water at the sandy ocean floor with little sand dune ripples. The first creature we came across was a giant stingray. He was at least three if not four feet in diameter. He was kind of scary. We swam over him for a minute a bit startled but amazed. Sting Rays do not like to be hovered over so he began to flap his disc like body in a pulsating motion and his tail began to move from side to side. In this way the giant stingray began to swim. As he flapped he stirred up the sand beneath and around him creating little ripples in the sand that remained after he left. These ripples looked like the rings formed around a droplet of water landing in a still body of water. We swam away and did not see anything for some time. Then I turned and headed towards more shallow water and was startled to look down and see four leopard sharks below me an arms length away. They were all about four feet in length give or take. When I saw them I was so startled that I pushed away reason, knowing that these large fish would not bother me I still screamed a little underwater. I grabbed Brad’s hand and he saw them too. From here we swam around this area and were lucky enough to see at least a dozen leopard sharks and a few more sting rays. We also saw some other fish that were small shiners, like baitfish. I saw a large tan-golden fish that looked more like a fresh water fish than an ocean fish to me. We also saw some fish with blue stripes on their sides.
Brad got out of the water because he still was not feeling very well. I decided that I wanted to play for a few more minutes. I was getting more comfortable swimming with the big fish and I even began to swim with them. At first the fish would be a little alarmed when they noticed me, but if I just kept hanging out they would continue with their business and even let me swim around and between them. At one point I reached out and touched the side of one and although it moved a little it did not seem to feel threatened because it did not swim away. I was able to put my hand on this shark and swim along side it for a minute. They are pretty neat fish and I am really glad that I was able to swim with them. I swam in the middle of a school of tiny fish and as a wave gently broke over head they all seemed to move and shine in the sunlight all around me. Finally I was worn out and accompanied Brad on the beach. It was nice to have sand between my toes. Well, one funny thing is that we discovered that this area probably influenced Dr. Seuss as we had suspected. The beach that we snorkeled at was where Dr. Seuss had lived. When someone told us that Brad and I looked at each other and laughed because we had just been talking about how everything looks like a drawing of Dr. Seuss’s and we were wondering if he lived around the area. As one would think he had a pretty crazy house with an elevator and observation decks. This was his house - 
1 comment:
Hey R&B .. this is WOW..kayaking and snorkeling all in one day and play w/ sharks. Then to see where DR Z lived was a real treat.
Green w/ envy ;-)))
Tom
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