We set the alarm for 6am and each had a muffin that we had previously purchased at Ralph’s. Nicole suggested this because the Hampton Inn’s breakfast buffet was predictably sad looking and unappetizing for people about to get on a boat on the open ocean. We checked in with Island Packers, the only operator that takes people to the Channel Islands and then sat around for a while before they boarded.
I thought it was a fairly smooth crossing over to Anacapa, our chosen island for the day. We made a few brief detours for some marine life sightings enroute as well. We spotted a few humpback whales, but they didn’t give us their tails, just a few blowhole spurts along the surface. Still, kind of a cool chance encounter to see on a boat that isn’t even a true whale-watching cruise.
It took a little over an hour to reach Anacapa, the closest of the Channel Islands. While that is certainly an appealing detail for two kids who get a bit anxious about boats, we also chose Anacapa because it had some interesting looking sea cliffs and rock formations. Each of the islands is unique in its formation as well as biodiversity. The Channel Islands are sometimes referred to as the Galapagos of North America due to their 145 species of endemic wildlife that are found nowhere else on the planet. With that being said . . .the unique species are various types of rodents, skunks, the island fox, a few lizards, some giant sea bass etc. Nothing that would stand out on nearly the same level as the actual Galapagos that have such creatures like the marine iguana.
Our first obstacle was docking. There is not a proper dock on Anacapa, so the boat has to time its approach with the waves to a ladder that extends from a staircase leading up the side of the cliffs. Every ten seconds or so, one of us could get off the boat. It took a while for all fifty or so of us to finally get off. A park ranger gave us a quick briefing about what we could and could not do on the island, and we were off. The island itself is not that big and we had about two hours to explore on our own. It was about a twenty minute walk on the trail to the far end of the island — Inspiration Point.
There are quite a few birds on Anacapa — primarily seagulls and pelicans. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many pelicans in one spot. They liked to fly in formation, scouring the shoreline for a little snack perhaps. They’re all about that bass (except not really because I looked up the Channel Islands giant sea bass just now and apparently they’re 700lbs…maybe the pelicans could work together though). There were a lot of good viewpoints along the paths including one called Cathedral Cove.
I would say two hours was just about the right amount of time to spend on the island. After making a brief stop to check out the island’s lighthouse, we returned to the landing zone to time our jump back onto the boat. As we waited for everyone to get back on, we were pestered by kelp flies — a seasonal pest that doesn’t bite but is incredibly annoying. We assumed that they would disperse once the boat got going, but this was not the case. They followed us all the way back to Oxnard. Nicole and I moved toward the front of the boat where it was a bit windier to try and dissuade them.
It was otherwise another smooth crossing back to Oxnard. Some bottlenose dolphins playfully swam along us, but the crew essentially said we weren’t going to stop for seals or dolphins because there are just too many of them to make a fuss over. Despite the wind, I was wearing just a t-shirt on this February day and felt pleasantly warm. We grabbed a few snacks before getting back in the Hyundai and driving up to Santa Barbara. This was a much faster drive — only 40 minutes along the coast, and we made a stop in Summerland because Nicole likes a quaint bookstore. In this case, we went to one called Godmother’s. They had an impressive array of coffee table books and Nicole spotted an actor, Jacob Elordi, browsing the shelves as well. I wouldn’t have been able to pick him out of a lineup, but the girls working the attached coffeeshop were quite excited about this sighting.
I had to keep telling Nicole to play it cool. He seemed to actually be following us, and ultimately sat down in the coffeeshop as well. Everyone is always trying to catch a glimpse of Bricole, everyone’s favorite celebrity couple. After relaxing with a couple of refreshing iced teas, we continued on to the Santa Barbara Inn. We checked in and went to the pool to regroup and relax for a spell. We both feel like we’re still on a boat, a feeling which I don’t love, but will eventually go away . . .we hope.
We had dinner at Bettina, a pizzeria in Montecito. We ate outside and didn’t even require heat lamps. I tried a Sake Spritz, a locally canned grapefruit-infused something or other. The waitress gave me a posh glass so I could feel appropriately fancy drinking it. Montecito is after all a very affluent area of Santa Barbara home to many celebrities ranging from Oprah to Prince Harry — and for a few nights Bricole. We made a quick stop at Trader Joe’s on our way back, where we got some brookies and a bottle of local wine (necessary as we are in wine country…or one of California’s many wine countries anyway) to enjoy back at our room.
We were debating driving up to Solvang tomorrow (think fake Dutch town in a mountain valley), but I reckon we’ll save that for a later trip and just stick around the Santa Barbara area as that will presumably be more relaxing. So far, Harry and Meghan haven’t reached out, but we didn’t give them much notice of our arrival. Maybe tomorrow they’ll find my number.
passports & pepto bismol 