12/21/2008 - Winter Solstice At Marineland

From the way I felt after hauling two sets of gear up the hill you wouldn't know it's officially winter in SoCal. It was already getting hot as we began gearing up around 8:00. At least it was "refreshing" under water. The conditions were even better than yesterday with very nice visibility all the way to the point.
Cadlina limbaughorum nudis blanketed the reef. It seems that in certain times of the year, one specie dominates the reef. As usual, we spent too much time here and had to make a rushed swim back to the cove. We found a mantis shrimp along the way but didn't stop to take pictures. There are times I miss diving doubles here.
The parking lot was full of divers. The usual Sunday crowd was joined by divers from as far away as Santa Clarita and Oxnard. I'm happy they had good conditions after their long drive.