Sorry folks, it's been awhile since I last posted but life has been.....life :)
Here I was all amped up to get home and return to "normalcy" and what do ya know...normal is not what I remember....or getting back to normal was much harder than I thought it would be. The climate is very dry and the roads are busy and loud. The wildlife is tucked away in the hills and mountains and the smog....ohhh the smog. Then my every day activities are much different than how I spent my summer; I'm restricted to rigid schedules and deadlines and there are many late nights and too much time spent indoors and away from the open skies. It's kind of funny because this was normal life just 3 months ago and after only 8 weeks living in the forest it now feels slightly foreign and uncomfortable...a month of being home has lessened this feeling but not significantly.
Something that I came away with from my experience in Virginia was that it really matters who I choose to spend my free time with. It's important to my goals and happiness to be with people who embrace the same passions and lifestyle I have chosen. Those who would fuel my unexplainable love for wildlife and devotion to conservation.
Fortunately, I have made and kept quite a few friends who fit this need in my life. The same weekend I returned to California I drove to San Diego, CA to see a good friend of mine, Trevor, and we did some kayaking and snorkeling in La Jolla. La Jolla Cove is a gorgeous beach with so many available activities and a cute little town to shop and dine around. The area is an ecological reserve meaning it is protected and fishing/scavenging marine life is prohibited. This also makes it a valuable research resource for Scripps' Institution of Oceanography, which owns its own pier north of the cove.
Scripps' Institution of Oceanography - Dec 2012
Scripps' Institution of Oceanography - Dec 2012
Within the protected swim area there are numerous activities that the general public can enjoy including, kayaking, snorkeling and diving. This is such a wonderful (and inexpensive) way to enjoy such a wide variety of local marine wildlife. I hadn't been kayaking or snorkeling in quite a long time so this was a pretty exciting experience to, quite literally, jump into.
Paddling out to the cliff/cave area of the cove was tough work and took some team work (aka me just sitting there enjoying the ride while he did all the work haha)
Once we got to the cliffs, it was all about fun in the sun and exploration! The sea lions were putting on quite the show and I had been aching for some major Vitamin D absorption ;) The cliffs themselves were breathtaking and covered in Cormorants!! Sea Lions were swimming leisurely between the numerous kayaks and divers and the water was clear enough to see some of the brightly colored and highly protected state marine fish, the Garibaldi.
Photo Credit: Trevor Adler
The water was pretty chilly but not uncomfortable, either way I chose to snorkel right at the surface...not trying to freeze if I don't have to. Trevor, on the other hand, transformed into a fish, diving down and pointing out schools of fish and such.
Photo Credit: Trevor Adler
It's indescribable how the world simply slips away once you immerse yourself in the ocean. It might as well be another planet. I floated near the surface enjoying the muffled noises from above and getting lost in the rhythm of the endless amount of life directly below me. We swam to a nearby rock and enjoyed the sun for a little then hopped back on the kayak to continue our exploration of the cove. We rounded a bend and headed out to more open waters where we saw kayakers and swimmers getting pretty close to some basking sea lions!! I wanted in!!!
After working with bears all summer I guess I was a little overly enthusiastic about getting closer to the sea lions. haha They were so relaxed and faintly curious about our presence so I kept telling Trevor "Get closer!!! Cmon!!!" hahaha He was not as enthused... ;) And rightly so ...maybe. California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) give birth in early summer and care for their pups for atleast five to six months so if any of these sea lions were younger offspring of a female in the "raft" and she chose to get a little protective, well we could have been in for a surprise! haha We (meaning just Trevor) were concerned for the phones we had with us so we didn't get as close as I wanted. But I was confident that we had nothing they would want (specifically fish) and simply craved interaction with some animals!! Nevertheless, I've never been able to enjoy watching sea lions so closely and it was an experience I will not soon forget.
Photo Credit: Trevor Adler
We spent about three hours paddling around the cove and enjoying the abdundance and close proximities of the native wildlife. The cliff face that surrounds the cove is peppered with cave openings and they are supposedly, really fun to snorkel through. While we didn't snorkel into these caves, we did kayak into one of them. Interestingly enough, if you get caught by the lifeguards while kayaking into any of the caves, there is a fine that's about $300....so ofcourse Trevor took us in there.
I take zero responsibility for this!! When we entered the cave we were able to get pretty close to good sized rookery (group of sea lions). On the other side of the cave there was a small beach which would be cool to snorkel/swim to next time :) Heading back to shore we even caught sight of numerous leopard sharks which was especially exciting!
My very capable and quite good-looking kayak operator, Trevor :)
All in all, it was an amazing day out on the ocean. One I desperately needed. I was taken aback by the wealth of wildlife and adventure so easily accessible to not only those who live here in So Cal but anywhere near the California Coast. It became apparent to me how privileged we are to live right next to such vast biodiversity, ready and waiting for us to learn and explore.
Another observation I made (as a growing scientist I observe everything) was that all of the kayak tour guides and operators were college kids, close to in age to myself, and I thought..."what an amazing summer job this would be!!" I'm pretty sure Trevor even pointed out a tour guide and said something to the effect of... "that could be you" And it is true, not only is an ecological reserve, such as La Jolla Cove, a wonderful resource for diversion and education...it's helping to create jobs for college kids like myself and contribute to the community in the form of revenue as well as environmental awareness and appreciation. What a wonderful opportunity it would be to educate the general public about local wildlife while enjoying the day out on the water!
That day opened a whole other avenue of possible study while I pursue my education in biology. Hopefully, I am able to get back onto the water and further explore this burgeoning curiosity into marine creatures and the vast world they live in.
More to come people! Stay tuned! In the meantime, perhaps take a day on your weekend to explore your nearby ecological reserve and learn a little bit about the exquisite world that exists in your own backyard :)
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