Diving Santa Catalina

Sheepshead

Took the ferry to Avalon from Long Beach in order to see how the fishes were doing. Once we got checked in at the Canyon Inn, I started off with a couple dives at Casino point.

It was a great day for diving. Slightly overcast but not too windy. There were lot’s of the usual Chanel Island critters out. Garibaldis, lobster, sheepshead even a large sheep crab aka spider crab, hiding in the weeds. There was an octopus but something had already made a meal out of most of it. Water temp was very pleasant at around 58F.

Afterwards I was very glad that the Inn offered a free shuttle as I wouldn’t want to hike back up the hill to my room.

More Pics: https://captnemo.smugmug.com/Places/California/Channel-Islands-Trips/Catalina-2023/

Painted Cave

Took a break from the heat by heading to the coast. Island Packers has a combo trip that goes to Prisoners harbor on Santa Cruz Island and then on around to Painted cave. We had a great trip out as the ocean was particularly calm so we were able to see even more dolphins then I spotted on previous trips.

The cave is big enough (approx. 1225′ long) they can drive the whole boat inside it! Dad spotted some interesting Dudlyea growing near the entrance.

Back at the Harbor, we got a little confused since I was used to landing at Scorpion bay and prisoners harbor is a completely different end of the island! We went for a short walk then ate lunch and watched an island fox sneak around looking for leftovers.

All too soon it was time for the trip home. We had a delicious sea food dinner in Ventura before heading back to the heat.

Return to the Road

After a year of staying at home, it’s been a relief to head out and see some of the world again.

Riding above Kernville

I did a couple of trips in June to escape the heat in the valley. Drove up to Tehachapi to see if my spark ev would make it -it didn’t, had to get towed the last couple miles to the charger 😦 . Next I took a ride up Kern Canyon. There was a slight delay in the canyon(I178) due to construction but otherwise lots of easy riding through plenty of twisties- went to Kernville for lunch then on to Sequoia and the lovely cool trees. Saw the sad aftermath of the fires near Camp Nelson. Then returned to the insufferable heat in the valley.

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https://captnemo.smugmug.com/Places/California/Kern-County/Tehachapi-and-Sequoia-June-2021/

Xin Nian Kuai Le

Little did we know what the year had in store for us in February. We hadn’t seen social distancing and the pandemic was still just a mysterious illness that was affecting a few people. In our blissful ignorance we made our way to what would prove to be one of the last large events we would attend for quite some time.

The drive down to LA was uneventful and we even arrived early enough to get a great parking spot near the center of all the days events.

Since we were early we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at a small bakery in the square and I read up about how Dr Sun had gone to school in Honolulu and had been financially supported by many supporters of the revolution in Los Angeles.

With breakfast out of the way we walked along the shops checking out the things for sale and tried to scope out a good place to watch the parade.

Bruce with Bruce, and Lora in the background

We even got to watch some dragon dancers perform while we waited.

Eventually we picked a spot on the sidewalk and prepared to wait for the parade. LAPD kept the crowd entertained while we waited.

Eventually it was time for the parade!

My favorite part is the dragons.

Afterwards we were pretty hungry so we made our way over to Hong Kong BBQ which served up a delicious meal. It was a great trip and we decided to head home afterwards since we were all pretty tired.

You can see the rest of the pictures here

 

 

 

Flight in the City of Angels

I rode my motorcycle to head out and escape the dust and heat of the valley. My first stop was near hungry Valley state recreation area to check out the wildflowers.

Next up was a brief stop at pyramid lake to enjoy the view.

Since it was such a nice day I decided to keep on riding and headed on to L.A.

I had been watching the tv show Bosch online and read some of the books as well, which mentioned the Angels flight funicular was running again. I had missed out on riding it years ago when I lived in Long Beach for awhile, so I decided to go check it out. I wasn’t able to park near the train as the Los Angeles Fire Department was involved in some sort of operations nearby. I found plenty of spots a few blocks away though and walked back.

The train cost a dollar to ride up the hill so I hopped onboard.

The view from on top was good and I walked around for a bit checking out the architecture of the nearby buildings.

Coming back down the hill I crossed the street and checked out the underground market.

I made my way back to where I parked the bike and rode on to another spot frequently mentioned in the Bosch stories- Echo park.

 

After dinner at a nearby taco truck, it was time to hit the road for the long ride home. Another great day out on the bike.