j: Some of my favorite people in the world came over Saturday, bearing VIP wine tasting passes to the Steven Kent Winery in Livermore. We were hoping that VIP meant we’d walk on a red carpet, swim with some dolphins, and eat delicious vegetarian delicacies stabbed through with toothpicks, but none of that was included. The wine was good though, and Sharyn, our tasting guru, was so much fun we invited her to go on vacation with us, either to Italy or into outer space (we could not quite reach a consensus).
This painting was hung on the tasting room wall and it stole my heart and my imagination. I love its vibrant color, texture, sensuality, life. I couldn’t afford its $1850 price tag, but I did want to share it with you.
jb: This weekend, after an 8 year hiatus, I returned to my favorite sport ever – scuba diving. All week while preparing for the trip I was anxious and excited and uh, anxious — would I still be able to do it? Would my ears clear? (That’s always been an unpredictable and intermittent problem for me and caused me to miss out on a lot of dives.) But I could! And they did! And even though the dive conditions were just so-so by most standards, for me watching the kelp sway in the ocean waves, seeing the sun rays streaming through the kelp forest, swimming along with kelp fish, finding starfish clinging to their hiding places, breathing underwater and watching my bubbles float to the surface — it was perfect. And the next day, I took my son tide-pooling (another favorite activity of mine) and I got to share the ocean’s treasures with him. All-in-all, a wonderful weekend at the ocean.
I didn’t have my underwater camera (this time!) so I’m sharing a picture from our tide-pooling adventure instead.
j – that picture is stunning, not only the picture but the picture of the picture turned out beautifully! I also love your account of the experience, you are such a word guru :^)
Jill, I commend you on the scuba dive – I am not comfortable at all in the water so the thought of being submersed in it scares the bejesus out of me :^) Picture is lovely and getting to share the ocean’s treasures with your son – priceless!
Thanks, Christie, although Chad took the picture with his phone camera so I can’t take credit for the excellent shot, only credit for the excellent decision to shoot. 🙂
JB, yay you! How exciting. And now that I know EXACTLY how screwy ears can cancel a dive, I totally appreciate what a momentous event it was!
I knew you’d appreciate that , ss.
Love your picture – wow! (It looks like you were the model for the painting; they should have given you a serious discount.)
Hi Christie, a lot of people have that reaction to diving – so know that you are definitely in the majority! I’m one of those rare people who feel most at home in the water, especially the ocean. I wish I could dive without ever running out of air. 🙂
When I first tried diving, I was hooked and surprised to realize that diving is like being an astronaut – weightlessly visiting an underwater world that is as different from our world as outer space. And diving in the Monterey kelp forest is a very unique experience. Floating through the kelp “trees” with the sun rays beaming through the “branches” makes me feel like a hawk, flying through a redwood forest.
If you ever want to have a fantastic diving experience without getting wet, watch “Secrets of the Ocean Realm” (PBS video). Most of it was filmed in California and the footage is just amazing! (We own them and my son has them memorized and still asks to see them again – not that I mind a bit! :-D)
Wow Jill, to hear you describe diving makes is sound so lovely! I will definitely check out the video – thanks so much!
It really is lovely, Christie. I know if more people had the chance to experience the ocean the way I do, we would stop destroying it. And if they ever had a dolphin stop and look them in the eyes while diving (as I have) they would know we are not the smartest animal on the planet by a long shot.