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My home bud and I have been diving that spring fed volcano vent off and on for almost a decade so the new has long since wore off, but it's the best site around for practice dives prior to a trip to the sea so we threw a trip together. We try to make it as much of a full dress rehearsal for the real show as possible, preparing more accessories and gear than we would actually need for that pit, along with extras like a tailgate tarp and folding chairs we don't take on trips so it amounts to a pretty good pickup load between the two of us. Crawling into 7 mil jumpsuits is more work than the 1 mils we'll dive in Cozumel next month, but overall the practice is good for reducing the first day klutz factor on the next trip as well as giving us a few weeks to deal with discovered equipment needs. Not many screw-ups or problems this time, but that's good to know at this stage.
We timed our Saturday morning departure from Plainview well enough to take a couple of stops along the way and arrive at the truck stop just as the Subway was opening at 10, then headed over to the famous Blue Hole featured in "The Grapes of Wrath" for the usual and/or any surprises. Gawd but it was packed! We're down to one parking lot now thanks to the stalled building project, and while we did luck out on a parking space in the second row - there were very few spaces to be had. There were big groups, lots of smaller groups, a Boy Scout group, and the usual weekend locals. Stella's fill shack is still in the temporary shed twice as far from the lot as her old place of course, where it probly will be for years to come - but she was there with warm hugs and pretty full tanks, quickly filling my pony for me while we set up camp. She doesn't expect payment for pony fills nor tips, but she'll accept the extra monies if you insist - arguing is not her thing. It took a while but we finally mounted up for the first cold dip.
The Land-Owners had the area in front of the hole well covered with their tarps and gear so that no one else could get to it easily of course - just them. I don't know if it was accidental or a weak moment of decency that lead them to leaving a narrow walkway between the two huge groups, but they managed to finally block that with closely parked cars and wider spreading gear. About the only way in is to go to the end closest to the creek, walk around the cars parked in the No-Parking area, then ask the people standing on the only flat ground between the creek and the groups if they will let you thru. It's a bother to them, but they eventually give in. Once at the stairs cluttered with stalled sightseers, chatting divers, playing kids and swimmers, what seems to work best is to shout "Dangerous diver coming down" and as shaky as I look with my Michelin-man suit, pony in one hand, fins and camera in the other - they eventually find someplace else to be.
I asked my bud to shoot 20 pics on the first dive and I'd try to do the same. Not much to shoot at really but some nice divers have left a few objects here and there, we shot each other a lot, and there's actually a lot to learn from shooting rocks! We wanted to practice shooting whatever, then see what we could do to enhance the pics in photoshop - even playing with contrast, gamma, blues, reds, greens, etc. and if you learn to shoot there, you can shoot anywhere in the ocean! Good practice and we didn't screw up too badly. We've been trying to work on our frog kick so we don't stir up the bottom with our long legs and fins, and well - we tried, and then I shot my safety sausage from 40 ft with my new finger spool. A few of the pics - but I am one of the members unable to upload attached pics for thumbnails so I'll embed large ones in the spoiler...
Yeah that's me before I lost the right glove someplace...
Jumpers viewed from their impact zone...
Jer...
End of dive and they're still jumping...
Dive 1 done, we worked our way up the stairs in spite of the crowd, zig-zagged back to the open area behind the Land-Owners, took a nice break with out Subways, changed tanks and headed back around the cars in the No-parking area to work our way in for a second dive and attempted video shooting. The 50% chance of rain was headed to 100% and the sunlight greatly reduced but I gave it a try. I don't have much of a camera for such but it's all I am going to have for a while, so - doing my best in the conditions in practice for the sea...
The rain really cleared the crowd out by the time we exited and it was nice having an easy climb and walk straight to the pickup. We turned our tanks into Stella, threw our wet gear in the camper and cameras up front and headed for our favorite Best Western still in our wetsuits. I'd booked online at the AAA rate but in special requests added that I really wanted the Scuba-rate, which worked out well - saving $10 including taxes. One of the manager's grandkids was working the desk and I mentioned remembering her when she was a little tyke running around the lobby. She gave me a funny look: "So how old are you now?" "16" "Yeah well, we started coming here in 2001 when you were 5 and you've been here since, huh?" I bet grandma never forgets the time I was there for two nights and the maid took my tip the morning between but forgot to clean the room; it's been several years, tho; still like the hotel.
We were soon taking turns at hot showers and dressing for dinner, well to the extent that we bother to dress on dive trips. Jer wanted to try someplace different so we headed for the "Silver Moon" I think it was. The sign says they've been in business for over 50 years, maybe someplace else in town? I dunno? Whatever, it was the worst Mexican food of any type either of us had ever had. It may be your favorite place in town, but you can have it. Then back to the room to edit pics, download dive computers, and a good hard sleep before Sundays dives, later check-out with finishing hot showers, and the trip home to wash gear.
We timed our Saturday morning departure from Plainview well enough to take a couple of stops along the way and arrive at the truck stop just as the Subway was opening at 10, then headed over to the famous Blue Hole featured in "The Grapes of Wrath" for the usual and/or any surprises. Gawd but it was packed! We're down to one parking lot now thanks to the stalled building project, and while we did luck out on a parking space in the second row - there were very few spaces to be had. There were big groups, lots of smaller groups, a Boy Scout group, and the usual weekend locals. Stella's fill shack is still in the temporary shed twice as far from the lot as her old place of course, where it probly will be for years to come - but she was there with warm hugs and pretty full tanks, quickly filling my pony for me while we set up camp. She doesn't expect payment for pony fills nor tips, but she'll accept the extra monies if you insist - arguing is not her thing. It took a while but we finally mounted up for the first cold dip.
The Land-Owners had the area in front of the hole well covered with their tarps and gear so that no one else could get to it easily of course - just them. I don't know if it was accidental or a weak moment of decency that lead them to leaving a narrow walkway between the two huge groups, but they managed to finally block that with closely parked cars and wider spreading gear. About the only way in is to go to the end closest to the creek, walk around the cars parked in the No-Parking area, then ask the people standing on the only flat ground between the creek and the groups if they will let you thru. It's a bother to them, but they eventually give in. Once at the stairs cluttered with stalled sightseers, chatting divers, playing kids and swimmers, what seems to work best is to shout "Dangerous diver coming down" and as shaky as I look with my Michelin-man suit, pony in one hand, fins and camera in the other - they eventually find someplace else to be.
I asked my bud to shoot 20 pics on the first dive and I'd try to do the same. Not much to shoot at really but some nice divers have left a few objects here and there, we shot each other a lot, and there's actually a lot to learn from shooting rocks! We wanted to practice shooting whatever, then see what we could do to enhance the pics in photoshop - even playing with contrast, gamma, blues, reds, greens, etc. and if you learn to shoot there, you can shoot anywhere in the ocean! Good practice and we didn't screw up too badly. We've been trying to work on our frog kick so we don't stir up the bottom with our long legs and fins, and well - we tried, and then I shot my safety sausage from 40 ft with my new finger spool. A few of the pics - but I am one of the members unable to upload attached pics for thumbnails so I'll embed large ones in the spoiler...
Yeah that's me before I lost the right glove someplace...
Jumpers viewed from their impact zone...
Jer...
End of dive and they're still jumping...
Dive 1 done, we worked our way up the stairs in spite of the crowd, zig-zagged back to the open area behind the Land-Owners, took a nice break with out Subways, changed tanks and headed back around the cars in the No-parking area to work our way in for a second dive and attempted video shooting. The 50% chance of rain was headed to 100% and the sunlight greatly reduced but I gave it a try. I don't have much of a camera for such but it's all I am going to have for a while, so - doing my best in the conditions in practice for the sea...
[vimeo]13666558 [/vimeo]
The rain really cleared the crowd out by the time we exited and it was nice having an easy climb and walk straight to the pickup. We turned our tanks into Stella, threw our wet gear in the camper and cameras up front and headed for our favorite Best Western still in our wetsuits. I'd booked online at the AAA rate but in special requests added that I really wanted the Scuba-rate, which worked out well - saving $10 including taxes. One of the manager's grandkids was working the desk and I mentioned remembering her when she was a little tyke running around the lobby. She gave me a funny look: "So how old are you now?" "16" "Yeah well, we started coming here in 2001 when you were 5 and you've been here since, huh?" I bet grandma never forgets the time I was there for two nights and the maid took my tip the morning between but forgot to clean the room; it's been several years, tho; still like the hotel.
We were soon taking turns at hot showers and dressing for dinner, well to the extent that we bother to dress on dive trips. Jer wanted to try someplace different so we headed for the "Silver Moon" I think it was. The sign says they've been in business for over 50 years, maybe someplace else in town? I dunno? Whatever, it was the worst Mexican food of any type either of us had ever had. It may be your favorite place in town, but you can have it. Then back to the room to edit pics, download dive computers, and a good hard sleep before Sundays dives, later check-out with finishing hot showers, and the trip home to wash gear.
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