A combination of light offshore wind and clear skies made for a gorgeous morning at Coal Oil Point. A few surfers were out, but the waves were lackluster. As I contemplated what to do, a sudden light bulb went off in my head reminding me I had snorkel gear in my car. It may have been my only chance to get in the water that day and I didn’t want to go home dry.

At first I thought there wouldn’t be anything but kelp out there, so I expected just a relaxing swim. The water was clear but still lacked visibility when the sand got stirred up. I swam past the whitewash and slowly observed patches of kelp. About 50 yards out, I spotted schools of striped perch finding cover in the kelp. Around the point, surf grass completely covered the sea floor. As a wave passed overhead, the surf grass would drift back and forth, revealing what was hiding underneath for a brief moment before returning to its original position. I got giddy when I saw California spiny lobsters for the first time in the wild. I had a staring contest with a Calico Bass, then drifted with the surf perch through the surf grass. I love it here.