We find our heroes on their first adventure of 2026. With a week off before Nicole has her next school commitment, we had our eyes on a few different places, but everything is really cold this year. Ultimately we ended up settling on a more local trip up the central coast of California, where the temperatures will still be a comfortable 65-75 degrees. So no standby flights for us this time around — just a trusty 15 year old Hyundai Elantra with recently replaced steering coupler that no longer makes rattling noises. You’re welcome future passengers!
Part of the focus of this trip is a trip to the Channel Islands, a protected national park of offshore islands stretching from Catalina up to Santa Barbara. First we had to put ourselves into position to board an early morning boat from Oxnard. While only 50-something miles from Los Angeles, some construction on the 405 and a lot of beach traffic meant it took two hours to get to Oxnard. Avoiding the main freeways did give us a mostly scenic drive, however. Nicole has us staying at the Hampton Inn at the Channel Islands Harbor, well-situated to get to the boat early tomorrow morning.
We took a brief walk around the marina before getting dinner at Dave’s Hot Chicken. It has become famous with the influencers because they have a sandwich that is allegedly so spicy that you have to sign a waiver to eat it. We did not get the super spicy one, but their chicken was underwhelming nonetheless. We settled back in to the Hampton for the evening with some free waters and snacks courtesy of Nicole’s Hilton Honors Gold status.
It is expected to be just over an hour crossing to Anacapa island tomorrow, and we have been monitoring the marine forecast. The dock on this island is just a ladder or some such thing, so they can’t always stop. Hopefully it all works out.
passports & pepto bismol 