January 12, 2013

It’s been pretty damn cold here and it’s been raining on and off for the last couple of weeks, so I’ve been out of the water.

I also have to sell some blood so I can buy this year’s fishing license and lobster report card.

One of my old friends invited me to the “Travel and Adventure Show” at the Long Beach Convention Center; both of us like travel and I’m still looking for my next diving adventure.

Professional Debriefer Paul came along to stockpile free pens and other giveaways.

It was crowded, and there were a lot of California spots represented – Kern County, Napa Valley, San Diego and others.

There was a big diving section at the Malaysia booth…

I ended up stopping at the American Association For Nude Recreation booth…

I asked the guy, “So if I go to your resort, is it going to be like the Bally Fitness commercials?”

“What do you mean,” the guy asked.

“I see a lot of young women in their 20’s in your ads, but if I go there, I’m assuming it’ll be filled with fat women in their 40’s and 50’s?”

He laughed, “Well, all types of people show up, come and see.”

I didn’t inquire about diving there.

Jordan was represented, which is another country on my bucket list…

The King of Jordan in an avid SCUBA diver, who even sunk a few tanks as artificial reefs, and I was assured that this Muslim country does have beer.

The Philippines booth also showed many dive spots…

My Albanian friend Idit has recommended diving the Philippines because it is beautiful, and cheaper than Albania.

I was also told by a travel company, who asked to remain nameless, that they could “refer me to a third party” if I wished to dive in Cuba.

Tethered surfing on an artificial wave.

Lots of kiddie rides…

Floating hamster balls.

The bungee bounce.

There was also a zip line and rock climbing available.

The Malaysia booth put on a show…

Young hot chicks in barely any clothes entertained the adults.

Many lectures were offered, too…

I was wearing my “Albania” baseball cap; a couple people asked me where the Albania booth was.

They were disappointed when I told them that Albania wasn’t represented.

Also, stopping by the Ethiopia booth when I inquired about diving, I was told “Ethiopia no longer has a coast, so there’s no diving in Ethiopia.

No longer has a coast?

Seems that the coast is now Eritrea – it is it’s own country and as the guy in the Ethiopia booth told me, “Somaliland is safer, Eritrea is shit.”

I was surprised to see Tijuana represented, and was told, “Many things have improved and it is very safe there.”

It was an interesting exposition, but didn’t have any great travel deals.

Diving in Poland is still my goal this year.

Since the regular divers at Veterans Park have exclusive rights to the name “Pagan Dive,” we’ve had to rename this dive the “Christmas Dive.”

It was a really light turn out, probably due to the rain the previous day.

Dr. D., Nice Bob, Donna The Hot Biker Chick, TwinDuct, me and Lars (Yes, Lars is still alive and in town) were the only participants.

Nice Bob and Lars had to split early, so they geared up and headed down without delay.

Dr. D. and I waited for Donna The Hot Biker Chick; TwinDuct decided to stay dry and provide kitchen support.

Once Dr. D, Donna and I reached the shoreline, we had discovered that Lars had problems with his air.

Nice Bob and Lars decided to cut the dive short; just for fun, Lars spent a good five minutes playing around in the surf zone with one fin on and one fin off.

We entered at the sandy part of the beach, near Pigeon Shit Cave.

The sandy part made it an easy entrance; the big waves crashing against the rocks made it a macho entrance.

All made the entrance with no problem.

Logged SCUBA Dive #429

Dove with Dr. D (aka Dennis G.) and Donna The Hot Biker Chick, Ended dive solo

120 Reef
Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, USA

In With: 2900 psi
Out With: 1200 psi
Max depth: 42 feet
Waves: Waves going to shore with one big ass wave
Visibility: Eight to 10 feet
Water Temperature: 62 degrees
Air Temperature: 55 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 32 minutes

We swam out and submerged.

Visibility wasn’t that great, but at least I have the satisfaction of yet another dive before year’s end.

While taking a picture of this weird, tropical looking fish, I got separated from Dr. D and Donna.

I looked for them and even surfaced, just to see if they’d be waiting for me.

Of course they weren’t, so I continued my dive without them.

A bed of uni.

Visibility sucked enough to where I started heading in after 20 minutes; I sort of mis-navigated and accidentally ran in to the old pier pilings.

I surfaced to get a fresh heading and went straight to my entry point – the sandy part of the surf zone.

Again, the sandy part made it an easy exit, but if you didn’t time it right or weren’t quick enough, a wave could slam you into the rocks.

I made it out, Donna made it out, Dr. D. was not so lucky; he got smashed a couple times to the point that he was pretty winded by the time he made it to shore.

About five minutes after our exits, a huge 15 foot rouge wave pounded against the cove.

We were lucky – that could have been for us, and someone would have gotten hurt.

Thank you God!

By the time we made the macho walk up to the parking lot, TwinDuct had the ghetto Grill fired up and Professional Debriefer Paul had joined us.

TwinDuct passed out shot glasses to toast Christmas with some Jameson Whiskey; I’ve sworn off the stuff since our Kern trip.

2012 has been wrapping up well for me.

It’s been a good year, an adventurous year, and I think my psychological wounds from Psycho Bitch have almost healed.

Speaking of Psychos, one topic of conversation was that Donna The Hot Biker Chick and Wrinkles are the only normal (normal as far as being female, that is) women that semi-sort-of dive with the group.

They have professional jobs, and seem to be emotionally and mentally stable; the other regular women seem to be bipolar or schizophrenic.

That was someone else’s observation, but I tend to agree.

Me, Donna The Hot Biker Chick, Dr. D and TwinDuct