La Jolla Cove

With the recent and long lasting red tide we are experiencing here in Orange County, my buddy Jeff and I decided to drive to San Diego to dive La Jolla Cove. Neither one of us had dove there before so we had to formulate our dive plans on the fly.

When we arrived the water looked deceptively appealing. Standing at the top of the stairs at the cove we were able to see sand, rocks, and orange colored Garibaldi's through the blue-green water. There were no waves and the waves that did make it to shore were more like stray boat wakes. We watched as the swimmers made their way from the beach to the half mile buoy and back. We sighted a large patch of kelp out by one of the Scripps buoys and decided that this would our first destination. We suited up and made our way to the water.

The water of the interior reef was surgy and visibility looked about 10-12 feet. We snorkeled out a bit took a compas heading and descended in 15 feet of water. Underwater we were greeted by the usual suspects including kelp bass and garibaldi. Our first dive took us through the large beds of kelp and rock quarries split by valleys of course sand. We zig-zag our way to the reef looking for things to see. 63 minutes later I had successfully navigated underwater back to our exact entry point - pretty cool!

During our surface interval we meet the local game warden. The warden was a scuba diver and had dove the area often. He checked to ensure we had not taken any game and then gave us so reconnaissance on where we were diving next - La Jolla Caves. We switched tanks and made our way back to the beach. We again snorkeled out past the tourists and made our way east along the cliffs. We dropped in at 15 feet of water and continued east. This dive was exciting from the start. There were lots of nooks and crannies to find small critters. We found a couple of shovel nosed guitar fish resting in holes. We had a curious California sea lion do a fly by to check us out and blow bubbles at us. The visibility was poor so we decided to go deeper.

Unfortunately as we swam out towards the canyon we were meet by the very red tide we were trying to avoid. We did get below the red tide and swam through the kelp forest. The kelp canopy was thick and turned back the sun to create a dark eerie dive. We decided to swim out of the tide and back towards the caves. As we came out of the sea of red something to the left caught my eye. A very large giant black sea bass, requiring a double take, had caught my eye. It scared the *#%@ out of me. This gentle giant swam up to us to get a better look, just then and second an even larger giant black sea bass arrived on the scene. It was amazing. We stayed for a bit as the two large fish circled us to get a better look, coming so close as I could reach out and touch them - I did not however.

Mother's Day 2007

Mother's Day 2007 was a hit. I prepared a Mexican themed late lunch that consisted of Carnita's, Chicken Enchilada's, and Lamb with all the fix'ns. We had Margarita's flowing and everyone had a great time.

Johanna, Nicole, & Jenny

Moms and Kids

Mac, Ash, & Cam

Great Grandma Nelson & Cameron

Cameron 4 & 1/2 months

Google Test

Big Surf Pictures

Here is a link to a photographer that took some pictures of The Wedge in Newport Beach today.

Cool Widgets

I can teach you to blow bubbles...

It was just confirmed. I am now a teaching status PADI SCUBA Instructor. So if anyone wants to learn to SCUBA, I can teach you. This goes along with my Emergency First Response instructor rating where I can teach CPR & First Aid. Next I want to get my DAN instructor rating, this will allow me to teach more advanced diver first aid classes including O2, Advanced O2, AED, and Hazardous Marine Animal First Aid.

Me underwater

Cameron is 3 Months Old Today

Here are some pictures to celebrate. As you will see Cameron has an array of facial expression.

Todays Dive

Jeff, Whitey, and I went diving at Shaw's Cove today. Jeff took some pictures and here they are.

One more week left

I have completed three weeks of the four week IDC (Instructor Development Course). I have given micro teaching presentations, prescriptive teaching presentations, confined water presentations, and open water presentations. I have demonstrated the 20 basic skills required by all SCUBA divers, I have taken the same 5 general knowledge tests twice as well as 2 tests on the instructor manual.

Yesterday we went to Catalina to perform 2 of our 5 open water dives. It was cold, 57 degrees. Which if you are moving is not bad, but when you are sitting at 35 feet watching people do skills over and over again. It was cold!

So I have one more week of the IDC. The week after that I take my Instructor Examination with PADI. If I pass everything then I will be an Open Water SCUBA Instructor. Not sure what I am going to do with that, but at least I will have it.

The one thing that gets me with this whole process is how everyone I talk to that has gone through comments that it is hard, and that you don't get enough sleep, and how if they knew what the process was really going to be like, they probably would not have done it. What a bunch of wimps - it's easy, well maybe not easy, but not hard. Demanding, time-consuming, and at times confusing - it's all that!

So here is the question, what type of fish is a Garibaldi?

I must be crazy

I started the IDC today. The IDC stands for Instructor Development Course. So what is it? The IDC was created by PADI to teach potential instructors how to teach people to SCUBA. Starting today can going for the next 3 weekends (Saturday and Sunday) - 8 AM to 8 PM. Then I take the two day instructor exam. Crazy!

Yes I am still going to school, taking English and Trigonometry right now. Yes I still have my consulting company, and if that is not enough I am starting a new company. It is called EFR International and it is my CPR, First Aid, and AED (Automated External Defibrillator) training and sales company. I became an Emergency First Response instructor back in January. Since then I have created a goal of having an AED in every company in the US and to have every employee of those companies trained in CPR and AED - because the life that may be saved, may be yours.

So why did I start this endeavor? I am not really sure other than the fact that I had to bail out of the Red Sea trip I had scheduled and had available funds on the books at the dive shop. I was gonna go to Belize, but I am going to Mexico during the Belize trip. I was gonna go to Bonaire, but for some reason I could not do that on either. So I decided to go through the IDC.

Ashley at 5th Grade Science Camp

Cameron at 5 weeks

Numerous people have been asking for more posts of Cameron, so here are some more pics of "Everyone's Current Favorite".

I don't understand the problem

So I went in for a vasectomy yesterday. Prior to that I had heard all the horror stories about the pain and discomfort, etc. All you guys that whine about that are pussies! Sure there is a little discomfort when you doctor injects the pain killers into your ball sack, and yes there is some discomfort after the procedure - a mild form of the kicked in the nuts feeling. But look at the benefits, once this is all over you no longer have to worry about getting your wife or girlfriend or whatever pregnant - that's a benefit at twice the cost.

Here is how it went down. Two weeks ago I went into Orange County Neurology for a consult. They put all the guys in a room to watch a humorous video about the procedure and to go over some of the associated risks. Then you meet the doctor (Dr. Shuerke - not sure on the spelling) and he makes sure that you are physically able to have the procedure. The day of the operation I went into the office and was taken back to procedure room, similar to an operating room just less fancy. I had two assistants to prep me for the main event; both female , both young or younger than me, and both attractive. The only scary part is when they broke out the Bic razor. They shaved my balls and then clean with an iodine solution.

They ladies left and the doctor entered. He started with the local anesthesia, which was like pulling the hair off your nuts. Then a small incision was made. From there he grab one tube and spliced it, then cauterized and capped both ends. He said reversal is possible, but my thought is - Hell No! He repeated the process on the other tube, threw in a suture and I was done.

Now here are my recommendations: Eat before the procedure, a jock strap is a good idea so you can throw it away when you are done healing, and have someone to drive you home. I found that I was fine using a bag of frozen corn to help reduce swelling and add in the comfort, but I only needed it for a couple of hours in the typical on 15/off 15 minutes scenario. I also found that a couple of glasses of Makers Mark helped to take the edge off. I slept fine, but I did have a pillow between my legs to give room to the now swollen boys. My final recommendation is that this a great excuse to have someone wait on you hand and foot, especially your significant other - take advantage of it.

Cameron is 2 weeks old today

Incredible! Cameron is 2 weeks old today. It amazes me that something so small can be so consuming. I guess after 10 years you tend to forget the requirements of a newborn child.

Pictures of Cameron

Here are some picture of Cameron Ashton Nelson. Born 12/29/2006. 7 lbs 5 ozs and 18 inches in length.

Less than 5 mintues old
Cameron and mommy
Cameron and big sisters Mackenzie & Ashley
Cameron, Mom & Dad
Cameron, 12 hours later
Cameron and Big Sister
Cameron and cousin Devin
Cameron with cousin Devin and Ken
Cameron and Aunt Jenny
Cameron and Grandpa

There are more pictures from the hospital photographer Here and Here

Pictures of Cameron (Ultrasound)

Good Karma

My wife sent me this chain letter. Instead of forwarding it on as another email, I am posting it on my blog. This will allow the entire online world to view. I am asking the universe to share this blog entry or something better (more on that later).

Good Karma
This is a nice reading, but short. Enjoy! This is what The
Dalai Lama has to say for 2006. All it takes is a few seconds
to read and think over. Do not keep this message. The mantra
must leave your hands within 96 hours. You will get a very
pleasant surprise. This is true for all – even if you are not
superstitious… or of whatever religious belief… Faith…

I N S T R U C T I O N S F O R L I F E

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R’s:
1. Respect for self,
2. Respect for others and
3. Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for
    your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
    

What I did not include is how many people you have to send this to to improve my life. I believe that sharing this with everyone will improve everyone's life, mine included.

I think these pictures are great!