Abalone Diving

Let me just start off by saying that the Bakersfield Abalone Association sure does know how to have a good time! We stayed at a place called Stillwater Cove Ranch. It is right across the street(Highway 1) from Stillwater Cove. There are 20+ peacocks that roam the premises and a whole slew of doves, roosters, sheep, etc. The highest head count I heard was 32 including the 14 or so pint-sized kids/toddlers/babies. There are 5 or 6 cabins which the families with small children stay in and then there are a bunch of us that sleep in tents. It sure ain't fancy but it is a total paradise if you ask me. 

We got there on Friday afternoon and went for a "pleasure dive" at Stillwater Cove. This was my first real snorkeling experience ever. I had the whole get-up; wetsuit, snorkel, mask, flippers, weight belt, hood, booties and gloves. It was pretty exhausting but it was good to get in a little practice. When we got back, we had an abalone feast! It was my first time trying abalone, too. Throughout the weekend we ate all kinds of abalone dishes; fried abalone, grilled abalone, abalone lasagna, abalone asian salad, abalone soup (I feel like Forest Gump!). 

On Saturday and Sunday, I did the real diving... for abalone! We woke up pretty early on Saturday, had a cup of coffee, and were off. We drove a few minutes south of Stillwater Cove, parked on the side of the highway, and made the journey down the side of the cliff to the beach. It was low tide(prime time for diving) and we had to swim out a few hundred feet. Within my first couple of dives I saw my first abalone. I pried him off as fast as I could(if you don't get them off imediately they will suck down on the rock). He wasn't much, but he was legal! I took a few more dives and then it was time to head in. I was completely drained. I asked one of the "veteranos" if I could borrow his inner tube to catch my breath. I rode it all the way in and stumbled to my clothes. I was happy to have made it back alive. I don't know if I would have made it if Matt hadn't given me his inner tube. That was one very important piece of equipment the "veteranos" neglected to mention to me. The next day I borrowed an inner tube and I did much better diving wise, but failed to get any more abalone. Oh well, I was just happy to have gotten one! 

Other than diving... we ate like kings, drank like John Belushi, cooked like Emeril, and enjoyed the beautiful Northern California coast. I've heard plenty about the scenic Norhtern California coast but it is really something that you don't realize the beauty of until you see it first hand. Parts of Highway 1 wind back and forth with one jaw-dropping cove after the next. 

I got a ride back to Portland with Joey and Kate. We left at 4:30 am on Monday. It should have been an 11 hour ride without stops. We took the most scenic route possible for the California portion; the 1 to the 101 to the 199(I'm even talking like a westerner now). This brought us up the coast and then through Redwood National Park and all of the state redwood parks. We stopped at the redwood tree that you can drive through. The gate was closed so we walked through instead. Then we drove through the Avenue of the Giants. It was my first time seeing the redwoods and it was simply amazing. Then the 199 connected with the 5 in Oregon which should have taken us right back to Portland until we broke down. It was a bit of a hassle but it gave us an opportunity to visit my aunt Marnie and uncle Mike in Eugene. We got the car towed to the dealership in Eugene and Marnie picked us up. They cooked us a fantastic dinner and we ate outside while the sun set. Then Mike let us borrow his car to get back to Portland. I got dropped off around 11 pm, 16.5 hours after we left! I fell asleep with my clothes on 5 minutes after I got in the door. What a trip!