On Anacapa

Today I got one of my wishes. Bryan and I went to Channel Islands. I have wanted to go here ever since I realized that it was where the girl from Island of the Blue Dolphins lived. My mother made me read that book when I was in elementary school. I made both my boys read it as well. I wonder if some day they will make somebody they love read it.

Bryan and I took off from Oxnard this morning for Anacapa Island, the closest of the islands. Anacapa comes from the Chumash Indians and it means mirage. The island is made up of three islets: east, middle, west. It is five miles long with steep cliffs. We had to climb 153 stairs to get to the top of the island.

There were several things we didn't know about this trip before we left. For example, when we arrived this morning the woman said, "Did anyone tell you that you would be sharing the boat with 40 fifth graders on a field trip?" The other thing we didn't know is that thousands of seagulls were hatching their baby chicks. The chicks are spotted.

So are the eggs.

I felt like I was in a scene from Hitchcock's The Birds. All these seagulls, trying desperately to protect their chicks and eggs, let us know that we were not wanted. We got dive bombed several times. At several points, it was all we could do not to run screaming.

We hiked out to Inspiration Point. It was inspirational but they were too many people there for us to find a quiet place to eat our lunch. There are a limited number of benches on the island and all of them are covered with bird poop....and I mean covered.

We hiked back to the other side of the island and ate lunch with a view of the lighthouse.

Then we hurried back down the stairs for a "live dive." They had divers in the kelp beds below us. There was a cameraman diving, as well. The divers were linked with us above them and with the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center in Ventura. It was very cool. Back on the boat we headed down to see Arch Rock.

Wave good-bye to the sea lions.

On the way back, I told Bryan that karma dictated that if you spent your day on a field trip with 40 fifth graders you didn't know, then surely a humpback whale would be sighted on the way home. Sure enough! It was a fabulous day!