September 18, 2007

• Stairmaster…went to do the Santa Monica steps.  It was a pretty good workout.  Did 10 of them.  It was nice watching the sunset although it
  was a little crowded.  There are actually
  two sets of stairs so you can do a loop if you want.  Not as many steps as Manhattan Beach but the steps seem steeper to me.

  Gym Membership…finally rejoined 24 Hour Fitness
  again.  I got a pretty good deal…I only
  pay $24/month and there were no initiation/set up fees.  I can quit anytime and I have access to all
  the active and sport clubs.  I’m going to
  start taking advantage of the swimming pool, racquetball courts, and the
  classes.  It’s nice to have somewhere to
  go work out late at nights now that the sun sets so much earlier.  Let me know if you’re also a member and want
  a work out buddy…I’m willing to drive to check out new locations.

  Sushi…went to Sushi Mon in Santa Monica. 
  Pretty cute place.  We had the
  rainbow roll, spicy yellowtail roll, spicy tuna hand roll, salmon, unagi, and halibut.  The chef also prepared us a special complimentary
  little dish.  The fish was pretty
  decent.  Washed the food down with a
  couple bottles of Asahi.

  New Toy…I finally went and bought my own
  kayak!  I got the Ocean Kayak Venus II
  from REI.  It’s only 11ft so it’s super
  light.  Not as stable but it makes up for
  it by being more maneuverable and faster to paddle.  I also ended up putting my roof racks on my
  car finally…yay!  I feel super outdoorsy
  now, lolz.  I’m going to get a fat dividend
  check this year since I dropped over $1k on buying stuff for this trip.

  Kayaking Santa Barbara Island

  Woke up at 5am on Friday to drive out to Ventura Harbor to catch the Island Packers ferry.  I don’t even get up that early for work so it
  was painful getting up initially but once awake I was pretty excited to be heading
  out.  The boat didn’t leave until 8am but you needed to get out there an
  hour early to load stuff onto the boat. 
  You can get a frequent flyer card and your sixth trip with them is
  free!  The ride over took 4 hours since
  they made a stop at Santa Cruz Island to drop off some passengers.  On the way over we saw blue whales, fin
  whales, and a pod of dolphins.
  

  
  Santa Barbara Island coastline

  
  Lots and lots of birds

  The
  campsite is about 0.25 miles from the dock but you have to carry all of your
  stuff so I packed like I usually do for backpacking.  The trail is all uphill with many steps.  We setup camp and for the rest of the
  afternoon we hiked all around the Island.  There are
  about 6 miles of trails and we did them all. 
  The island is pretty small.  For
  dinner that night we had rice with sausage, tuna salad, pita bread and hummus,
  tortilla soup, and brownies for dessert. 
  The stars at night were so amazing…you could clearly see the Milky
  Way.  My only complaint was that it was
  so windy in the afternoons and at night…made it seem a lot colder than it
  actually was.

  
  Our campsite with an ocean view

  
  Elephant Seal Cove

  The next
  day we got up early and made breakfast before starting on our paddle all around
  the island.  The trip was about 6 miles
  in length.  The highlight was definitely the
  Sealion Rookery where they go to mate and give birth.  The sealions were so friendly, jumping up and
  splashing us only a few feet away from our kayaks.  We also explored Sutil Island where the waves were a lot
  stronger.  There were times when the
  kayaks in front of us disappeared because the waves were so big we couldn’t see
  them.  There were also a lot of pelicans
  and cormorants flying around.  We even
  went through one big sea cave which was fun. 
  It only took us about 2.5 hours to kayak all the way around.  The rest of the day I just relaxed and hung
  out on the dock talking to one of the volunteer rangers.  We had another potluck for dinner on Saturday
  night and I made linguine with clams in a vodka sauce.  There was also a vegetable and hummus
  platter, tacos, and cookies for dessert. 
  We also had mangotinis and lots of red wine.

  
  Just kayaked past Arch point

  
  Sutil Island

  
  Kayaking through the cave

  For our
  last day we did a short kayak back to the Sealion Rookery where we did a little
  snorkeling as well since there was a small kelp forest there.  We saw a dive boat and I wished I had brought
  my scuba gear.  The visibility was decent
  but the water was so cold that even in a full wetsuit I didn’t stay in the
  water for long.  Next time I definitely
  need to bring my 7mm wetsuit with a hood and booties.  I did see some Garabaldi, bat rays, and some
  other fish.  It’s always fun to swim with
  the seals since they are so graceful underwater and curious to play with you.  Got back and packed up the rest of our stuff before
  getting picked up by the boat at 3:30pm. 
  It seemed like a long boat ride back. 
  Again ran into a lot of wildlife on the way as well…at this point I was
  feeling a little seasick from the rough waves so I wasn’t too thrilled about
  all the stops to watch the whales and dolphins. 
  When we got back we stopped at Soup Plantation for our traditional
  dinner.  I felt completely stuffed
  afterwards since I always get my money’s worth with buffets, lolz.  It was a great trip and I’m looking forward
  to checking out the rest of the Channel Islands.

  • 10:06 pm
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