Well not alot of dive ops in Nor-cal except for Monterey and points South. Most stuff North of there is shore diving unless you know someone with a boat. I could be wrong on that so please don't fillet me if I am wrong. Some of these walk in sites can be rough, and that's an understatment. It's mostly cliffs North of SFO area.
I would highly recommend Monterey though if for nothing else, to be harrased by a seal.. They love to swim up and get right in your face, and open thier mouths WIDE.. Scares the crap out of you if your not waiting for it.... Or the tug at your fins.. you think you been gotten by a shark for a second. It's all in good fun according to them though. Great stuff to see to besides the seals. There are dive boats that go out daily.. I prefer the dive boats, for... one, no sand in your skivvys at the end of the day, and two, you dive more remote spots that shore divers don't normally get to. OH, and there's the aquarium, which is a must see stop IMHO. Forget about Big Sur.. What access they have is sandy beaches, and surf. Pretty up top but not to many places to get to the water at all And I think they are all pay to park now a days, which sucks. The beach is free, but you got to pay to park, and with parking very limited, it is the same as charging to use the beach. most of the road side stuff is taken early in the day,(as it is free) or it is posted, "NO PARKING"
But after telling you all this negative stuff. California ROCKS!! it has every type of enviroment you could imagine, all within a days drive.. It's all here. Desert, Forest, Sea, moutains, Old , new what ever, it's here. Hit the missions of your into history kinda stuff or the mining areas in the foothills. Good uck. Keep us posted. And there is always Catalina diving with Dr Bill
