Who Turned Up the Heat?

As we continued to head north there were two major changes. One was that the wind seemed to completely die out. The other was that it got hot! I mean really hot! And did I mention that there was not breeze. Yeah that did not help either. Daytime temperatures were always in the mid to upper 90’s and nighttime brought the total result of 5 or 10 degrees of relief. Did I mention that there was no cool breeze blowing?  So with the long hot days AND NIGHTS Ashley and I began looking ahead. It seemed impossible to imagine that this was only June and that it was not even hot yet. And the fact that it was so hot during the day and that there was rarely ever a cloud in the sky for any sense of shade we found ourselves not wanting to leave the boat except for very early in the morning for about an hour or just before it got dark in the evening. That means less than 3 hours of the day to get out and explore, play, exercise or have fun. That does not work for this active family. So began our change of plans for the summer.

We arrived in the Bay of LA and found a beautiful and extremely protect hurricane hole just as was described in our cruising guides. We spent a few days in this bay exploring the cliffs and arroyos and trails. We also spent one of the days cleaning up a beach that was littered with debris, most of which was plastic. We then made our way to the small fishing town of Bay of LA. Here we found a restaurant that had Wi-Fi so we ate dinner and lunch there as we made plans for the summer. After our plan was hashed out and the details ironed out we picked up anchor and headed to an anchorage that is reported to be visited by whale sharks.

We anchored right off a beautiful sand beach that separated the Sea for a glimmering blue lagoon. At high tide we kayaked into the lagoon. We brought our snorkeling gear and paddleboard so we could explore and sea all of the wildlife taking advantage of the nutrient rich lagoon. It was truly magnificent. The water was warm and clear. There were fish everywhere along with rays and terns flying over head. The sun overhead made it all shine thousands of different colors as the shallow water reflected the light. And 4 hours later all the water was gone as the tide went out and left the lagoon land locked until the next high tide. It was such a beautiful place. One day as we were getting ready for another trip into the lagoon Ashley spotted what appeared to be a mirror floating on the water. We were told early from some people that we met that that was how you recognize a whale shark. So we all rush to the dinghy and went out to investigate. Now the whale sharks frequent this area but not usually until July and August and it was only June. So we were not overly confident we would see one before we had to leave. As we got closer in the (10 ft long) dinghy we saw right away that it was indeed a whale shark and its mouth was wide open and swimming directly for us! I drove us out of his path and we watched as he swam passed us. It was a small whale shark but it was still at least 15ft long. We followed him at a safe distance for about 5 minutes and then he was gone. Sorry for no picture but neither, Ashley or I, wanted to miss one moment of this awesome creature. Later that day we visited the house of some part time residents who were isolating from covid in a small neighborhood across the bay from the small town. This neighborhood consisted of about 30 homes all off grid and self sufficient. They all got together and made a small golf course and park out of their shared desert backyards. They welcomed our family to explore the neighborhood and play a round of golf. We had a great time looking at the houses, checking out the homemade park and playing a little golf.