There are only a couple of things that freak me out about going in the ocean. One of them is sewage and I steer clear when the water gets polluted. The other thing is a certain form of sea animal. In So Cal, the water is full of fish. There's the basic grey fish in small and medium size varieties, there are dolphins and seals that usually stay away from the shore, there are even small sand sharks and rays, both of which disappear when they see a shadow. All of these are okay to swim with. Even the disgusting seaweed can be dealt with. Only one animal keeps me from the water and it has arrived in numbers - the jellyfish! 
The normal jellyfish looks like this guy. It's white with red veins along the tentacles. When we were kids, "other brother" managed to get stung by one while he was out in the water. He ran back to shore screaming jellyfish! and spent the next few minutes hopping up and down in pain before my parents hustled him off to the lifeguard station. You only need to show me the results of a jellyfish sting once. I don't need to experience it firsthand.
The normal jellyfish looks like this guy. It's white with red veins along the tentacles. When we were kids, "other brother" managed to get stung by one while he was out in the water. He ran back to shore screaming jellyfish! and spent the next few minutes hopping up and down in pain before my parents hustled him off to the lifeguard station. You only need to show me the results of a jellyfish sting once. I don't need to experience it firsthand. 
This is why I'm staying out of the water right now. First off, it just looks gross. There is a ton of kelp in the water and it's churning up the sand so the water looks rusty. Along with the kelp, jellyfish are in the water and washing up on shore. Normally we have just the clear or white variety but this year I've seen something new. A red jellyfish that looks like a beef heart.
Here are two of the red jellyfish! One has been stranded awhile and the other just came in with the tide.
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