National Parks and Recreation

This was a bittersweet trip for James and I. We were traveling to California for the first time for my best friend’s wedding, so we were obviously very excited! However, this was also the first trip we took that we had planned to take with my mother. In fact, it was the plane ride out to this trip where I wrote about my mother and continuing on after heartbreaking loss. My mom was telling doctors until her final days that they needed to make sure they healed her in time for August because she had a wedding in LA that she had to get to. This made me sad at the time, but in retrospect I think it’s kind of nice that she always had the next thing to look forward to. She never gave up and was always looking toward the future.

Traveling is such a gift. There’s nothing better than the feeling of booking your next trip and the hum of anticipation you have in the months leading up to the day, especially as they start barreling toward you faster and faster until the departure date impossibly arrives. So we kept all our plans for this trip and decided to just make the most of it.

And part of those plans included checking out the nearest National Park. Of course.

So we arrived in LA a few days before the wedding festivities began and booked our ferry ride out to the Channel Islands.

We booked our excursion through Island Packers and chose to do Santa Cruz island, the largest. The Channel Islands are a group of eight islands off the coast of Los Angeles, but only five of them are a part of the national park: Santa Cruz, Anacapa, Santa Rosa, Santa Barbara and San Miguel. The famous Catalina Island is one of the not nationally-protected islands.

This particular ferry leaves from Ventura Harbor, about an hour and a half drive from LA. So we got up at the crack of dawn and made the sunrise drive over. And it was absolutely beautiful to hang out on the beach at sunrise as we waited for our boat.

And we got to meet this cool little guy.

Then it was time for us to take off to the island!

And the ride out was ROUGH. They warned us well beforehand and told people where they should sit if they’re prone to seasickness. What should have been a 75 minute ride ended up being over 2 hours because there were multiple times the captain had to come to an almost complete stop because there was a HUGE swell coming our way. I thought it was great! I spent a good amount of time hanging out on the bow, hanging onto the railings, and having a fun ride. Until they finally had to shut it down and force everyone back inside.

It continued getting even worse as we got closer and closer to the island, but at least the views got better as Santa Cruz Island finally came into focus.

And Anacapa Island off in the distance.

Finally, we arrived to island in one piece.

And then immediately set off for our kayak excursion for the day. We did a quick orientation, got our gear, and set off on the water.

This was a cave exploring kayak tour so we were really excited to get down and dirty under some rocks, thus the helmets.

We started here at Elephant’s Belly Cave, if you look to the right you can see what looks like an elephant dunking his trunk into the water.

Our guide would go into the caves first to make sure the water levels were safe (especially because of the rough seas) while we hung out on top of the kelp and held on to the roots to keep us in place. It actually did a good job of holding us in place while we waited.

And we got to chill with these really cool plankton that like to hang out in the kelp. They looked like they were glowing on their own and they were all around us. It was pretty neat!

Below is a video of how tight of a squeeze some of the caves were. This isn’t the best quality because I needed to prop it up on my lap (while still using both arms to kayak) in its waterproof case that was strapped to my life vest. Not ideal conditions. But I wanted to show just how low the ceilings were, we literally had to tuck our oars in and use our hands to push ourselves off the roof and push us the rest of the way through the cave. It was really cool! For a girl who loves rocks and the ocean more than just about anything else, I was in heaven.

And here’s where things got even more fun. After about an hour or so on the water, having explored several caves, our guide asked us if we were up for a challenge. A lot of tours that day were turning around at this point because of how rough the waters were, but she was willing to take us to one last cave if we were up for a tough paddle out. Luckily, everyone in our group was on board so off we went!

And it was rough! We were paddling directly into the waves on the way out and had to use all our arm strength just to pull ourselves up and over these 6-10 feet swells. It was epic. Luckily, once you get to the caves, there are coves you can “pull into” where the water is protected and calm again so we were able to get some rest and relax in the large cave for a bit.

And we got to see this cute little guy! The guide had mentioned that seals tend to hang out in this cave, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to see one right away. And he was so chill and unbothered by us being there.

And then the real fun started. We had to go back the way we came. Our guide gave us a big ol’ pep talk, reminded us that we would now not be fighting those 10 foot swells, but rather riding them back and to make sure we kept the kayak perpendicular to the waves and just keep paddling paddling paddling until we get around the rock face and back into calmer water. I was excited. And cocky.

And it was SO MUCH FUN. We were basically kayak surfing and it was so much fun. And then I’m still not quite sure what happened, but we came off a wave at a slight angle and we weren’t able to turn the boat the right away in time for the next wave to hit and overboard we went.

Honestly, I was SWEATING by this point so it actually felt really good to go in the water (and I felt secure in the knowledge that everything was tied down to me and waterproof). I would pay anything to have a video of this whole affair, but I think James and I did a very good job of remaining calm and our guide was AMAZING. She immediately saw us go in and hurried over to us (how she managed to not get dumped too is beyond me). We had trained on land what to do in this situation so we flipped our boat back and got in the proper position as we waited for her to come help us back in. In retrospect, it was a little scary because we weren’t not close to the rocky cliffs that the waves were POUNDING against. But we did what we were told and both slid back into the boat on our second try and she shoved us off on the next wave to pull us the rest of the way toward our waiting group.

I think these smiles say it all. Even soaking wet and shaking from all the adrenaline, I was PUMPED. Our guide had to help a couple people in another tour group that was trying to follow behind us before meeting back up with us. Needless to say, I think we were the last and only group that day to make it to that specific cave. Weather conditions were just too crazy. But I’m SO glad we did it! Listen to your safety instructions, folks! It quite literally could have saved our lives and ensured that this excursion would go down as probably the most fun excursion we’ve ever done in any national park.

We got back to the island and did a partial outfit change to get ready for the rest of our day at the park. We draped our stuff out in the sun to dry as we ate our packed lunch and mapped out our hike. The plan was to walk through the campground before doing the steep ascent up to the North Bluff Trail and hike the 2+ miles to Potato Harbor.

Luckily, our clothes dried QUICK in the sun and heat, and whatever wasn’t already dry after lunch was dry by the time we got up to the ridge.

And EVEN THOUGH I REAPPLIED, I was extra cautions with a nearly strapless dress at the wedding in a few days and did my best to hide from the sun.

The hike out to Potato Harbor was almost as nice as the harbor itself. (Peep that sailboat in the distance.) The trail followed along the cliff’s edge the entire way and offered up some beautiful viewpoints!

Also, I was FASCINATED by this ginormous dandelion. It was the size of my hand. I had never seen one so big before. James was less than impressed, but did humor me and agreed to point so I could get some perspective in the photo.

And then finally we came around the corner and Potato Harbor emerged before us.

It was beautiful. And of course, I had to hang off the edge:

Even if I can’t send the pictures to my mom to freak her out anymore.

We made our way back, continuing on to the Cavern Point Loop Trail back to the Visitor Center, and got another nice view of Anacapa Island in the distance.

And then the trail basically came out right on top of the dock we arrived on. It was a quick descent down to the Visitor Center.

It was one of the most unassuming visitor centers we’ve seen, but we were still able to get a stamp for our national park passport!

We still had about an hour left until our ferry so we finally got fully changed into some warmer clothes and let our swimsuits air the rest of the way out on the rock beach as we watched the boats and kayaks come and go. It was quite pleasant.

And the ride back to Ventura was MUCH smoother than the ride out. I almost fell asleep from all the sun and all the paddling for my life. It was the perfect day. And every perfect day should be capped off with:

In-N-Out dinner!

The rest of the week went by in a blur of tourist and wedding activities. We tried to do the most we could in Los Angeles for our first time. I had heard a lot of mixed things about LA from friends over the years, but I had a feeling I would love it and I was right. I mean, come on. I love the mountains, I love the ocean, and I love driving. Of course I’d love it! Also, I think LA traffic is WILDLY over exaggerated. If you drive in Boston, LA won’t be horrific. We barely got stuck in traffic and we were routinely on the 5 at rush hour. (I’m aware we could’ve just gotten lucky, but still.)

So, goodbye for now, Los Angeles. I’m sure I’ll be back soon and often. And we’ll definitely be back to California soon to check off the remaining 8(!) national parks there. Slowly but surely.

I leave you with this beautiful picture of an absolutely PERFECT wedding.

2024 certainly had more downs than ups, but I got to see so many friends and family, travel far and wide, and we’re ringing it out surrounded by the Losada clan who have been through so much this year, but who have gone through it all together. Happy New Year, everyone! Hold your loved ones close and I hope 2025 is your best year yet!