Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park | Norte Coast | wreck diver | COASTAL

5 Diving Off The Kona Coast
Hawaii's Big Island is famous for many things; swimming two miles offshore is not one of them. A shame. Certainly the inshore waters of, say, Kealakekua Bay, are the deep blue of dreams, but there is an annoying bottom to deal with. When one plunges into 6,000 feet of water with fins and a mask, finning 20 feet down, all sensory markers are suddenly flicked off. Up is down, down is around, and the world's a warm and serene continuum of naught that's the loveliest purplish blue. It soothes and startles in the same instant. (800) 345-4807, www.jacksdivinglocker.com

6 Descend To A Shipwreck
The soothing silence of water is magnified inside the confines of a wreck. Within the vessel's hold, tiny currents furrow sand into a miniature Saharan sweep and schools of silver fish flicker just above the sand. Happily, in water you can fly. Vault like Peter Pan to the conning tower, and flutter on high in the warm current as you watch butterfly fish and angelfish stroll the deck far below. The waters off Miami and Fort Lauderdale are a wreck diver's dream. (954) 788-0208, www.lighthousedive.com

7 Watch Night Come To Northern California's Coastal Redwoods
Stepping into a redwood forest is like plunging into a shadowy pond; the sense of submerging is deepened further at twilight. Child-size ferns glow in the falling light as you roam amid the gentle giants. It's like walking through a Polaroid print, only instead of developing, this one goes dark. Nothing moves; there is no sound. The coastal redwoods are made of nearly indigestible tannin, so there are few bugs and birds, no song and twitter. Just you, the gradual darkness, and the press of the trees. Any of the state parks north of Humboldt will enchant you; Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park and Del Norte Coast Redwood State Park are great options. www.parks.ca.gov