So today I got up at the crack of dawn.. I don't even get up this early for work. Let that be my proof that you guys mean a lot to me.
I got to Redondo today and had nearly no trouble finding a parking spot, except for one stubborn diver whose name starts with M and ends with Crue, who wouldn't get out of my way! shoo fly! I was very excited to meet and greet both those folks whom I have met before, and those whom I hadn't. For my first dive of the day, I ended up going with Lavachickie (Amy) and Tammy, whose screen name escapes me. Lynn was going to go with us, but apparently one look in her car convinced her it would be a timeful tangle, and she got in on the next dive train. We went down to the carousel boat and swam around it for a bit. Dragons are totally my thing, so I have to approve of the stuffed dragon down there! It really made me laugh to see this guy tucked up in the dragon's wings, being all safe and stuff.
I got to see brittle stars again, and got my first shots of them.
One of the pieces of kelp had a pale patch. Guess we know what this little guy (gal) is doing. I feel like a peeping tom.
At the ladder boat, I saw the timid little baby wolfeel whose pretty picture Bob just posted, but he wouldn't pose well for me; I only got an orange snout. We headed to the metal ladder near the Science Museum, and there was a good sized GPO tucked under here. I had some fun checking out a few gunnels, including one which my buddies startled into leaving cover. This might not be a classically good shot, but I was enchanted by the glowing eye.
My second dive was with Michael (The_Geoduck) who is new to this website. He and I headed to the carousel boat, and I discovered my camera was having seizures or something, since it set itself to 1/2500 shutter speed, and wouldn't get off it! Ah, the joys of underwater cameras. As we came upslope, the buttons loosened up, and I was able to reset and take a couple of pictures. Then when putting the camera away, I noticed that the flash slave cord thingy had yanked loose, which meant several of the last photos did NOT have the strobe I thought they did. Sigh.
Decorator crab, but have the decorations TAKEN OVER HIS BODY??? dundun dun....
I had brought three tanks, two 95s and a 120. I used my 95s with my first two dives, then decided I needed a good long dive to do justice to the biggest tank. So I stalked Bob (Grateful Diver) and asked whether he'd be interested in a dive. He said he was spoken for on the next dive, but he'd be willing to hit it again if I'd wait. HECK YEAH I'LL WAIT! I spent some time admiring P-pants' new puppy and chatting with Kelly, et al. It was good to relax and have some talk time. When Bob was ready, we hit the water again. Since Redondo is his home stomping grounds, I told him he was in the lead. We headed toward the carousel boat again, then headed northish up the slope. I saw a diswasher and a stove, both of which I hadn't seen before. Bob's keen eye found several octopi, but I'm not sure whether these are GPOs or reds.
Crab of broken dreams....
While taking a slug photo, Bob scared the Horned Demon Fish out of cover.
I saw this massive Tube Worm sticking out and swam over, praying that I could get a shot in. Pretty!
Bob's photo of the same fish wins, but I submit that mine comes in a distant second!
Octo!!
And finally, this one made me shout out loud when I downloaded.... YES!!!
I ended up taking over two hundred photos today, and it was certainly a chore to decide which were my half dozen or so to share.....
Thanks Everyone who showed up and helped make me have such a fun and enjoyable day!
The student was ready.
it's nice to have low expectations, sometimes - lcf
I said keep going, not start whining -airsix
