Though summer 2015 was a very busy summer for me what with vet school applications and commuting between Sacramento and the Bay Area to my summer session classes/ work/ volunteering, I was able to fill my two-week summer break to the brim. It started with abalone diving in Mendocino with my boyfriend, Nathan, and ended in San Diego with my best friend, Brendan. Read more for information about abalone diving in Mendocino, and all sorts of fun things to do in SD like salsa dancing, snorkeling and SCUBA diving, gay bars, and more.
Ab diving in Mendocino Nathan and I have been abalone diving several times, all in Mendocino. This time we brought his friend Erik who was visiting from San Diego. We really enjoy the challenge of ab diving. Legally, you are only allowed to hunt abalone by freediving (use of SCUBA gear is illegal), and you can only take abalone whose shell measures at least 7 inches across. These rules are created and enforced by the DFW to regulate abalone hunting. Some of these rules include that hunting is only legal in California from San Francisco to the CA/OR border during certain times of the year. You need to buy both a fishing license and an abalone license, and comply by all the regulations listed on the license. Ab divers must have a pry bar and a 7-inch abalone gauge. You must research the proper way to pry an abalone off the rock. There are many dangers associated with abalone diving on the Northern CA coast, and several people have lost their lives doing it. It's important to have experience and comfort in the water, and be fully equipped for freediving in 50 degree Farenheit water. We camped at the Mendocino KOA. It's a great family campground with tons of activities and amenities. Nate and Erik caught their day limit (3 per person per day), and I caught 2. The year limit is 18 abalone per person per year. We cooked up our abs in a few delicious ways, and noticed another diver who had also collected sea urchin. We hope to go out for urchin next time! We stopped at Point Arena to check out the surf break, pier, geology and tidepools. There is a great little coffee shop/cafe there called Cove Coffee and Tackle. Lots of great gift items for purchase. On the wall, there are the shells of record-size abalone, some impressive 10-inchers on there. Turns out the coffee shop owner's name is also Nathan! So of course, my Nathan had to get the "Nathan's Special" for breakfast. We always enjoy stopping at the Elk Store in Elk, CA. It's a neat little market with delicious deli counter and a variety of crafted goods. The beaches in Elk are popular spots for abalone diving. | SCUBA diving in San Diego Brendan and I spent a few days in SD full of nonstop activities. Nathan's sister Rachele and her husband Rocky were super generous in hosting us at their house. On the first night, no time to waste, Brendan and I hit up a salsa night at a bar in La Jolla. Apparently there is a salsa night on every day of the week (at a different bars around SD)! The next day, we started out by hiking at Torrey Pines, and ran around Torrey Pines State Beach and made the newspaper (the online San Diego Union Tribune- see photo above!!) Then we went snorkeling at La Jolla Cove and scouted out places to dive. The next day we SCUBA dived in La Jolla Cove and saw tons of sea life, including the fun garibaldi, a bunch of California spiny lobster, and an abalone. La Jolla Cove is a great dive for beginners! Easy shore entry with TONS of sea life at pretty shallow depths. Then we went to Blacks Beach in the evening to watch the sunset. It was a pretty steep hike down to the beach! I was impressed by the surfers who hiked up and down carrying their surf boards. The fourth day we dived at La Jolla Main Shore. We did not make it as far out as the canyon, although we went down to 50 feet. We mostly went over sand beds and saw a bunch of sand dollars and cool snails, but the highlights were definitely a round stingray, and a small swell shark. After diving, we got lunch at Caroline's Seaside Cafe and sunbathed on the beach by Scripps Pier. We walked to the rocks at the end of the beach and looked in the tidepools there, and then we boogie-boarded for like two hours. That night, we went to Hillcrest for some drinking and dancing. We stopped by Babycakes, a bar that also makes delicious cupcakes. Then we went to Flick's, which was a fun dance venue. After a totally action-packed vacation in SD, we drove back home to get ready for Fall Quarter at UC Davis. We can't wait to go back for more diving! Brendan is considering applying for grad school at SD, and I hope to spend time at the UC Davis veterinary extension hospital in La Jolla, be assigned to Camp Pendleton, or even be lucky enough to extern at the Navy's marine mammal program in San Diego during vet school. Any which way, we felt SD would be a great place to live! |