My Visit to stay with my Mother in California - Oct 30 thru Nov 9, 2021© Photos Posted by Mark Primo Miller © Hi-Res Source
My sister Teresa planned a trip to Switzerland to visit her daughter Mia and new grandson AJ. My 86 year old mother lives with her and has lymphoma, probably due to Round Up use. Anyway, Teresa wanted a family member to come stay with her while she was on her trip. I told her that it would not be easy for me but that I would do it if nobody else stepped up. So as it got closer and nobody else volunteered, I looked into some flights and booked the period October 30th thru November 9th. Her trip ran from October 31 thru November 10th so I would get there a day before she left to go over things but would leave a day before she gets back. My mother was used to her going to work and I could not go to California without doing a little bit of diving. On Nov 1, I drove down to Dana Point which is the closest port to Coto de Caza where I was staying. I visited a nice little dive shop called "Lost Winds" in San Clemente which had lots of Riffe Spearguns but did not give me much info on beach diving. I then caught some nice Sunset photos at Dana Point Harbor. I called my Facebook Friend Hobie Ladd who advised me to checkout Beach Cities Scuba in Dana Point. I went there on Nov 2 and they were very nice and referred me to their shop in Laguna Beach. The girl showed me her favorite dive spot on a map which was Shaw's Cove, right down the street from the Laguna Shop. So I went there and rented a 16 pound weight belt and a tank. I had borrowed my son Luke's 7mm farmer john wetsuit and did not realize it's buoyancy. I was way under weighted. Luckily there were a lot of rocks at Shaw's Cove to pull myself around cause I was not making the hike back up the hill all wet to get more. On Nov 3, I went to Newport Beach to checkout where I was going to leave from to go to Catalina Island on Nov 4. I found a whale watching boat to hop on while there, however we did not see any whales or dolphins, probably due to the thick fog. On Nov 4, I made the journey to Catalina Island on the Catalina Flyer. Information showed you can beach dive right off the Casino Building at Avalon's Underwater Park and that is what I did. In the future, I would recommend staying a few days on the Island and do some boat dives. Avalon Park was a very nice dive, especially for a beach dive. This time I used 25 pounds of weight and it worked out well. After the dive, I started my walk back to town and saw a guy on a Golf Cart and asked him for a ride back. Roger and I hit it off and he took me up the mountain and showed me Mr. Wiggley's home (Wiggley Gum) and a great view of Avalon. I bought him some fuel for the cart and some drinks for both of us. I then headed back to Newport Beach on the Catalina Flyer. On Nov 6 I went on a mission to find some caves which had eluded me. I came accross a surfer on the cliff checking out the waves. He was a local and told me where to find some caves down at Dana Point and hiking north. I did that and came across a photography shoot going on so I stole some photo poses before working my way up the coastline to look for these caves. It was comical as I got to the end of the hike and did not see a way around the last cliff protrusion. I stayed there a while and some people came, went around this rock and disappeared. Apparently it was right there and I did not see it. Dana Point Caves were pretty cool though with the entrance leading into a large cavern with a 2nd entrance/exit going out the other side. On Nov 7, I took my mother up to Palos Verdes to meet up with her brother Carl, my aunt Didi, and cousins Eugene & Victor. We had a wonderful dinner and caught up on lost time. Unfortunately my uncle Sesto was in the hospital ICU due to a terrible fall he took and was not allowed visitors (CoVid risk), so I never got to see him. On Nov 8, I wanted to go see some elevation or desert. I narrowed it down to be either Big Bear, Santiago Peak, or Indian Cove. I decided on Santiago Peak which was the closest mountain to Coto de Caza. The last 10 miles of road were dirt and the last mile got pretty sketchy but I did not want to turn around. I was successful getting to the peak and coming back down the other side of the mountain but at the expense of getting Teresa's vehicle pretty dirty and at one point a rock flipped up hitting the under carraige. I went to find a car wash but was only finding those that have guys washing it for you. I went ahead and had that done, but they did not open the doors and wipe the areas behind the doors. I was also going to meet my cousin Adam and checkout his homes and figured I could finish the wash job afterwards. However we had a really good time and he kept me busy till late so I never got the car detailed like I wanted to. Needless to say, Teresa was angry with me when she got back and saw the vehicle but time heals. I headed back home on Nov 9. The pictures did not upload in order because of the Camera rolling over it's counter past 9,999.
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