Mike and I were lucky enough to go to La Jolla for a weekend get-away. The weather was chilly! I was in a sweatshirt the entire time! "May Gray" was in full-force down there. On the way down there, we even drove by a RV engulfed in flames. We even drove by before the fire dept. got there!
Also, in La Jolla they had what they call "Red Tide" invade the ocean. Apparently it is a small organism that makes the water appear red and/or murky. We checked our the Cove on Friday, preparing for a dive on Saturday. The visibility was very low, but we saw a ton of triathletes out for a practice swim, so we figured the water couldn't be too dangerous, at least. Determined to dive, we went for it on Saturday. Donned with wet-suits, and 50 lbs of gear, we walked the 30+ stairs down to the beach. Without too much trouble, we made it in and started swimming out. The view right around the shore was great; gharibaldi and sea grass were abundant. Getting about 75 yards out, we decided to go down. That's when we realized that Mike didn't quite have enough weight on him. Face down, swimming at a steep angle, Mike was trying as best he could to sink! Every time he would get close to the bottom (which at this point was only about 25 ft.), the surge would pull him right back up towards the surface. Poor guy! After getting thoroughly exhausted just trying to get down, we called it a day and swam back to shore. The surge was so strong, it was very slow going. Once back to shore, it was a VERY LOOONNNGGG and slow walk back up those 30+ stairs! But, we made it and happily rinsed us and gear and headed for the yogurt shop.
Although it was difficult, especially for Mike, I consider it a success. I had my own goals for the day (scuba-stuff, like, not kicking when I'm trying to drop down. You can imagine why this is important to remember, but subconsciously hard to do. Also, just practicing my buoyancy. Not bouncing off the bottom of the ocean - an important thing not to do!)
Here are some pictures I took of our trip....
