Travel
Give the Airlines the Finger. Drive and Dive Florida Instead.
First the airlines reduced the checked baggage allowance from 70 pounds per bag to 50. Then they started charging for that second bag. Then the first. Recently, one airline attempted to start charging for carry on bags. Could it get worse? Yes. In Europe, some airlines will charge you a whole euro if you want to go to the bathroom on flights under one hour. Then there is the hassle of having to check in hours early, and waiting in endless lines at security — while a TSA employee stands by menacingly with a machine that is all too reminiscent of one of those alien probes from science fiction.
Trawling Through St. Augustine's History
Plodding up and down the coast with their outstretched arms, the shrimp trawler has become a seaside icon throughout the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Painters, poets, writers, and musicians have recorded shrimp trawlers to feed our nostalgic interest in harvesting the sea, but little has been done to record the history of shrimping, the boats, and the families who built and operated them. St. Augustine doesn’t claim to be the birthplace of modern shrimping, but for much of the 20th century St. Augustine was the shrimp boat capital of the country.
The Bridge
Local divers simply call it The Bridge. It is the span at Blue Heron Boulevard that crosses the Intracoastal Waterway from the mainland in Riviera Beach, Florida, just east of Dixie Highway (US-1), to Singer Island. The bridge is south of the Lake Park town line. It is a high fixed bridge to allow navigation without opening. At the east end, before reaching Singer Island, is Phil Foster County Park. There is plenty of free parking and a no-charge boat launching ramp in the park on the north side of Blue Heron Bridge. There are restrooms, showers, toilets and picnic tables.
Diving Catalina's Casino Point
If you live and dive in Southern California, we don’t really have to tell you about Casino Point. If you didn’t get certified there, odds are it’s one of the first places you headed shortly after certification. This article is for those of you who don’t live in Southern California, but may be headed there for business, family or vacation. Casino Point is a great place for traveling divers to get a good introduction to California diving, experience good visibility and a wide variety of plant and animal life, and generally have a great time.
Diving With Whale Sharks in Downtown Atlanta
Diving with whale sharks and manta rays represent the pinnacle of big animal encounters. Divers often spend thousands of dollars traveling to destinations such as the Galapagos or Socorro island just just to have the possibility of seeing these creatures. There is an alternative, however, that costs just a little more than $300 and guarantees you will encounter not only whale sharks and manta rays, but hammerhead sharks, giant Napoleon wrasses and countless other species. And it is in downtown Atlanta, at the Georgia Aquarium.
