Home again

Heading for the FastTrack lane and home.

I hate traffic

To be expected I guess. San Rafael Sunday afternoon traffic.

Cala lilies in full bloom

A bumper crop. Bringing a few home for Mother's Day.

Last dinner.

Abalone ceviche and grilled abalone jalapeno cheese rolls for appetizers in prep for Kobe steaks, baked potatoes, salad, artichokes and a '94 Hafner Cabernet.

Picture by HDW. More extraordinary food porn from the ab weekend can be found at HDW's mobile blog.

New abalone experiment

Jalepeno cheese abalone rolls to be grilled for appetizers.

More abalone sashimi

The only way to get it any fresher, is to eat it underwater.

Abalone sashimi on the bluff

Enjoying abalane sashimi brunch at the bluff top. HW and MW limit out. Great conditions. Z did not dive due to alcohol poisoning.

After the climb out

HDW catches his breath after the climb out.

What lies beneath?

Great conditions, permitting some interesting underwater shots.

We waded in among thousands of what looked like small minnows...

... but this close-up does not help identify just what these critters might be.

Then worked our way through the kelp and seaweed...

... to find the objects of our desire.

Low tide in 30 minutes

Cove looks good. Good viz, calm conditions, and sunshine. What's not to like?

Reload

Dive Day 2

Low tide at 10, surf appears down from yesterday.

Alert the New York Times!

Zach picked a 10 inch plus Ab. For real this time.

UPDATE:
More trophy pics from HDW & special reply to the anonymous commenter on this post. Unlike some previous sloppy reporting by the New York Times, your loyal blogger has double checked all sources and independently verified all claims made in this post

It is hard to see in this picture,as the tape measure is not laying across the longest line, but after careful inspection I can confirm this is a 10 3/16" Abalone.

Zach proudly shows what he's got.

Abalone sashimi on the beach

The sushi chef at work


Add some wasabi and soy sauce


Yum

Abalone landscape

Sonoma abs and Mendocino brew.

Group shot on the beach

Well. this was supposed to be a group shot, but HDW cannot both aim and operate the self-timer on his camera. Zach and I limited out, HDW got his first AB, and Zach got a trophy 10 3/16 inch ab. A good day to dive.

MW and HW on the beach.

HDW's first Ab

Took some work to dig this guy out from a rock overhang.

Gearing up and going in

Minus tide

Z climbs down the bluff

Filling the tube

It floats better with air.