Trips around California
Landing on Anacapa Island
We sailed to Anacapa again, although this time we actually went ashore. Not that this was necessarily the best course of action, as we had some trouble getting back to the boats. Still, Frenchy's cove (the only part of West Anacapa one can land on) is beautiful, and we definitely enjoyed the ability to explore it a bit.
Anacapa Island Again
I sailed out to Anacapa Island again with several friends, which was a nice trip. A bit cloudier than we would have liked, but a few nice photographs.
Around Anacapa Island
I've been going out sailing the last few weekends, and decided to take a group out to Anacapa. Of course, the forecasted winds kept falling as the day got closer, and we started out not even expecting to make the island. Instead, we hit 10-15 knot winds pretty soon after getting out of the harbor and started making 5-6 knot progress towards Anacapa. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and getting there earlier than we expected (and praying for good winds) we decided to round the whole island. Approaching the south side, we saw plenty of sea lions hanging out on shore, but had to ignore them while we dealt with the sudden gust of wind create by the funneling effect between the first two of Anacapa's islands. We reefed the main, rolled up the jib almost completely, and made 5 knot progress into the wind.
Of course, good winds never last and we lost the wind around southwestern portion of the island and ended up motoring for about a half-hour. Still, we rounded the island, saw a few whales between Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands, and got the wind back on the north side of the island. From there we sailed back home and made it in just before sunset.
A great day, both for sailing and seeing Anacapa! Plus, a lot of great photographs. I think at some point in the near future we'll do a whole day trip out to eastern end of Santa Cruz.
Joshua Tree National Park
I went with a group to Joshua Tree, where we did two somewhat long trails. We started off doing the Lost Palms Oasis Trail, which is in the southeastern portion of the park. It's a nice trail that leads down to one of Joshua Tree's oases, where there's a group of fan palms. Beautiful scenery both on the trail and at the oasis.
Afterwards, we decided to do a bit of off-trail hiking and did a loop in the northwestern portion of the park that's kind of a trail but not really. It was extraordinarily remote, and without GPS we probably would've gotten rather lost. But, it also let us see some gorgeous sites and to see Joshua Tree during sunset.
We also managed to see some wildflowers on the way, and stopped at the Chollo Cactus Garden. All in all, an amazing trip.
Santa Rita Hills
Today I went on a wine tour organized by Caltech's Graduate Student Council, where one of the stops was the Lafond Winery in the Santa Rita Hills, about 45 minutes past Santa Barbara. Apart from good wine, it also had beautiful views.
