Visitors and vacation

We had our first visitors to the island. My Mom and Dad and Auntie N came for an exhausting time. For the visitors, the visit started with a flight to LAX and a stay overnight in a local hotel. The next day they caught the noon ferry to the island and we met them at the dock. That afternoon, we took a hike to the end of Catalina Harbor and looked at the ocean. Thing2 got tired on the way back and had to be carried partway.

The next morning we went kayaking over at WMSC. Thing2 was quite firm about being scared of going, so he and Sweetie stayed behind. Grammy and Grandpa took up one boat, Auntie N paired with Thing1, and I had a boat to myself. We paddled around the point, looking at the kelp beds and fishes below, to a place called Blue Caverns. This is a cave that runs through an outcropping such that, when the tide is right, you can kayak right through from one side to the other. There was a tall ship there as well letting kids (probably some sort of camp experience) paddle through in pairs. We had hit the tide just right, and paddled through both ways. Then we headed out to Bird Rock. Thing1 was gold-bricking pretty badly at this point and was told there was no lunch for those who didn't paddle. On our way out, we saw a sea lion sticking its head out of the water. Bird Rock was not as stinky as it sometimes is, which was nice. We went all the way around and then headed for the little cove next to Big Fisherman (I'm not sure what its name is) because sea lions often sun there on the rocks when it's low tide. But it was high tide, so we headed back to the boat ramp.

That afternoon we toured around the lab a little bit and then drove out to Middle Ranch. We did some sightseeing at the Shark Harbor overlook, and then stopped to see Tachi, the captive Catalina Island Fox. These foxes are thought to have been brought over by the Native Americans who lived on the island and have evolved to be very small. She was sleeping in one of her little hidey-holes when we got there, but very obligingly aroused herself and wandered around her enclosure checking us out. Grammy and Auntie N really liked the fox. We also stopped by the eagle cage. Both of these were good stops, because we didn't see any other foxes or eagles on our trip.

The next day, we drove to Avalon. We stopped at the Airport in the Sky for lunch (bison burgers - yum!) and then drove down into town and wandered over to the Casino (not a gambling casino - it used to be a large dancehall, back in the days of dancehalls). There is a little museum in the lower level. We met one of the docents, Jeannie, who was very enthusiastic about Catalina history. Next it was off to the botanical gardens. It's been around for about 80 years and has a great collection of Channel Island species and succulents (think big cactuses). We also climbed the William Wrigley Memorial, where his body was at one time interred. Then it was back across the island. We made one stop to hike out to an overlook above WMSC, and then it was back home.

We weren't exhausted enough, so the next day we went snorkeling. Again, Thing2 raised objections, so I stayed with him (looking around a little close to shore) while the others splashed around. I've always thought that in a wetsuit, everyone looks like a superhero. Unfortunately, everyone looks like a dork in a snorkel mask. But we saw lots of cool fish, some of which we were even able to identify! (Garribaldi.) For lunch we picnicked at Ben Westin beach. To get there, you have to drive to the trailhead and then hike 1.7 miles to the beach, but when you get there... We had the beach to ourselves. The surf was pounding, the kids were running around getting rolled by the waves. It was great. And to top it off, we only had minimal whining on the hike back to the truck.

Friday was our day of 'rest'. We packed up some camping gear and boarded the ferry for the mainland. We stayed overnight in a hotel so the boys could swim in a pool and took off the next morning for Joshua Tree National Park. On the way there we drove through a massive wind farm. And then the temperature began to climb. It turns out we once again planned our vacation during a heat wave. By the time we got to the southern entrance to the park it was 114°F. Not much chance of seeing any wildlife at that temperature. We drove north through the park, hopping out to read signs, walk through the cholla garden and climb on rocks. Thing2 turned out to be a great lizard spotter, finding a big collared lizard sitting in a crevice. That evening Grammy and Grandpa were smart enough to stay in a motel; the rest of us camped. We were, in fact, the only people, uh, brave enough to camp that night. The rest of the campground was empty. I think the temperature had dropped to about 100° by 9pm. We worked on the Things' Jr. Ranger badges. We made a small campfire and had s'mores. This was interesting because the chocolate bars had completely melted, so we cut off a corner of the wrapper and squeezed it out like toothpaste. It was hard to sleep in the heat. And then the full moon came up. About 4am it actually started to cool off, but I wouldn't say it was a restful night of sleep.

The next day, Grammy and Grandpa's rental car wouldn't start. They spent the morning dealing with that (they did get to go to Palm Springs...) while we did some more visiting in the park. We foolishly decided to take a short hike. I mean, hey, it was only 95°! Once we convinced the Things that climbing every rock in site was not a great idea in this heat, the whining from Thing2 began. We still had another 3 1/2 miles to go. It was a hot hike, made extremely tedious by intermittent tantrums. But the rock formations were quite striking. We decided that we had proven our toughness and left Joshua tree to meet Grammy and Grandpa for lunch.

But vacation wasn't over. Not yet. There was one final stop: Channel Islands National Park. We drove to Ventura and stayed overnight. The next morning we took a ferry over to Santa Cruz. Oh they tried to scare us off with talk of four foot swells at 7-8 seconds and unusually strong morning winds, but we were on a mission. The boat had a school group on it that was having a grand old time - for the first twenty minutes. Then it got quiet, and then the barfing began. Sweetie, Auntie N and I had all taken dramamine, Grammy and Grandpa have strong stomachs (or wills), and the Things have never shown any ill effects from the sea, so we were all alright. But we were all glad to get off the boat. We hiked one trail that took us up for a look over the channel. The water was rife with whitecaps. This is where I took a picture that must include whales. Then we hiked back down to the campground and had a picnic lunch. A passing ranger told us where we might see the elusive Island Scrub Jay, so after lunch we started another hike, but we misinterpreted the rangers directions. Sweetie and Thing2 turned back at this point (a wise choice). The rest of us continued the Death March. The trail started to go up. Then it went up some more. Then it really started to climb. I wasn't sure Grammy was going to make it. Thing1 was a real trooper, not whining one little bit the whole time. Finally we made it to the top. I took a picture of some distant valleys that I'm sure includes an Island Scrub Jay or two. From there it was all down hill. We got back to the beach to find Thing2 filling the ocean up with rocks. The ferry was back (a little late and noticeably empty). The winds had kicked up even more, but now we were traveling with them, so the ride back was much smoother.

We were barely able to stand up at this point, but we had a farewell dinner, and Grammy and Grandpa and Auntie N headed off. We headed back to San Pedro. Vacation was over. We all had a great time, but I'm not sure I could've taken another day of it.