Beautiful Whales Spotted off San Diego Coast

Adventure Rib Rides saw its first whale off the coast this past weekend marking the start of the summer whale watching season.  The whale population in San Diego is growing, and people coming on the tour are more and more likely to see these beautiful whales as they swim around in their families.

If your bucket list includes seeing the world's largest animal, it's time to check the box.

Adventure Rib Rides, a local ocean tour company, reported its first blue whale sightings of the year off the San Diego coast over the holiday weekend, launching the summer viewing season. Capt. Ken Manzoni found four blues about four miles offshore of Point Loma on Saturday.

The company said 2011 was a banner year for blues because San Diego hosted five pods of blues during the summer and fall and passengers commonly saw more than 20 in a trip. In all, Manzoni figures about 50 blues made San Diego their summer home last year and a few thousand pass through local waters on their way elsewhere.

 

"Our local population does appear to be growing and growing," Manzoni said. "By mid-June, that is when we generally will have a good couple dozen that will set up shop."

He said he recognizes some of the blues by sight and can track their ocean wanderings close enough to often predict where they will surface to gorge on shrimp-like krill.

Southern California has become a top spot to see blue whales, which can be spotted in local waters into the fall. They are the largest creatures known to have lived on Earth; they can weigh more than 300,000 pounds and grow more than 100 feet long.

Based on acoustic and whaling data, federal fisheries officials believe the eastern Pacific stock of blues winters off Mexico, Central America and elsewhere. It feeds during summer off the West Coast and to a lesser extent in the Gulf of Alaska. 

NOAA estimates blue whale abundance in the eastern Pacific is about 1,700, and the agency said the population has been increasing over the past two decades off the California coast. 

"The magnitude of this apparent increase is too large to be accounted for by population growth alone and, therefore, it is assumed that a shift in distribution has occurred," said the agency's web site. "Although the population in the North Pacific is expected to have grown since protection began in 1966, the possibility of continued unauthorized takes, incidental ship strikes and mortality, and serious injury in fishing gear makes this uncertain. Also, the evident scarcity of blue whales in areas of former abundance (e.g., Gulf of Alaska and near the Aleutian Islands) suggests that the increasing trend does not apply to the species' entire range in the eastern North Pacific."

The San Diego Natural History Museum starts offering blue whale sightseeing cruises on June 17.

In Orange County, Newport Landing Whale Watching has documented eight of the giant creatures this year.

For those interested in venturing farther afield, the American Cetacean Society's Los Angeles Chapter is planning a daylong "Summertime Blues" tour out of Santa Barbara on June 30. 

Of course, there's no guarantee that blue whales will show up on any given day, but tour operators said fin whales, minke whales and dolphins are regularly spotted this time of year.

Learn more about the whales at U~T San Diego.

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USS Carl Vinson returns home to San Diego

The USS Carl Vinson strike group will return home today after a six month deployment.  The 6000 plus crew were in charge of lose air support missions, airborne electronic warfare missions and airborne command and control missions.

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill and guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey are scheduled to return to San Diego Wednesday after a deployment of nearly six months.

  Friends and family will gather for joyful reunions at Naval Air Station North Island for the Vinson and its 6,000-plus crew, and at Naval Station San Diego for the Bunker Hill and Halsey.
However, for nearly 1,000 relatives of sailors, the reunions came early when they flew to Hawaii to board the Vinson for what's known as a Tiger Cruise. During the Tiger Cruise, relatives lived aboard the carrier as the sailors do during the final leg of their journey home, from Honolulu to San Diego.
Air crews aboard the Carl Vinson flew nearly 1,100 missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan during the deployment, including close air support missions, airborne electronic warfare missions and airborne command and control missions, according to the Navy.
Pilots compiled around 6,600 flight hours during three months of operations in the North Arabian Sea earlier this year.

"This was the ship's second deployment in 18 months, and the crew performed superbly," said Capt. Kent Whalen, the Vinson's commanding officer. "I could not be more proud of my crew."
Their operations took place at a time of increasing tensions with Iran, which threatened to close the narrow Strait of Hormuz after economic sanctions began to affect its economy.
The vessels sailed through the strait without incident. During a previous deployment, however, a sailor aboard the Halsey went missing, and her body was recovered in the Gulf of Oman. Petty Officer Dominique Cruz, 26, of Panama City, Fla., was found dead a day after she was reported missing in January 2011.

During the latest deployment, the sailors also took part in exercises with Singapore, Britain, India and Australia and participated in humanitarian operations in several countries.
The Bunker Hill's commander, Capt. Michael Ford, said his crew was excited to be coming home after serving as the primary air defense vessel for the Vinson Strike Group.
Various squadrons from the air wing aboard the Vinson are also returning home to various bases across the country.

The vessels left San Diego on Nov. 30.  The Navy has 58 surface ships in San Diego, plus a half-dozen submarines. The Vinson is San Diego's sole aircraft carrier until the USS Ronald Reagan returns early next year. The Reagan and its 2,500-person crew pulled out of San Diego in January and headed to Washington for maintenance work. By 2016, a third yet-to-be-named-carrier is expected to move into town.

Last month, Rear Adm. Dixon Smith, the commander of Navy Region Southwest, said the Navy has a $30.5 billion annual economic impact on San Diego, and that 26 percent of all jobs in the region are Defense Department-related.

The Navy estimates that growth could result in 8,100 more sailors stationed in San Diego in the future, bringing with them 6,700 family members.

For more information go to CBS8.

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North Park Festival of the Arts

On Sunday May 20th, the Festival of the Arts will be held at North Park from 10am-6pm.   Visitors can explore over 100 specialty booths throughout the park.  Live music, vendors and the Craft Beer Block are just some of the exciting events happening throughout the day.
    

   This Free festival has grown into a local tradition embracing a diverse line-up of bands, dancers and artists into one marathon day of performances spread across six stages.
Being on forefront of the art scene, the North Park Festival of the Arts celebrates all types of art forms in its Juried Arts Area with over 40 artists showcasing everything from elaborate paintings to metal sculptures and the creativity and talent continues with an array of over 50 specialty and food booths featured along University Avenue. There will be something for everyone including the kids as the Hands-On Arts area returns offering children the chance to participate in free, interactive activities designed to stimulate and inspire their imaginations to create their own masterpieces. Festival goers come thirsty to the Craft Beer Block and experience ten 4 oz.
Samples from San Diego's favorite breweries for $30 in advance or $35 the day of. Mark your calendars to come experience a day where music meets art at this year's 16th Annual North Park Festival of Arts! All proceeds benefit the North Park Main Street.



For more information check out either of these websites: North Park or San Diego

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Decorating a Small Apartment

Sometimes less is more. Whether you're in a small apartment, or want to make the best use of the space you have, knowing how to cater to a smaller space can work to your advantage. Over at HGTV.com, Anne Krueger gives us her advice for furnishing small apartments. Here are her top three, but be sure to check out all 10 at HGTV.com:

Go Curvy

Because most apartments are box-like, it's fun to add some curves. Libby Langdon, a small-space consultant on HGTV's Small Space, Big Style, sees this trick a lot on the show. She suggests round tables, chairs with a curve and rugs that are either in shapes or adorned with shapes like spirals and dots.

 Lighten Up With a Rug

'A light rug can open up your room and make it feel larger,' says Langdon. A carpet remnant that you have bound can work great. If your apartment came with stained or dark wall-to-wall carpeting, cover that up with a rug in a lighter hue.

 It's Curtains for You

You don't have to live with those standard-issue apartment Venetian blinds. Add a touch of drama and create a more comfortable feel with curtains, and consider the tricks you can do with curtains to make your space bigger. Hang them outside the window or even where there are no windows. Hang them floor to ceiling to create height or have them flow from a cornice that hides the curtain rod.

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