Santa Cruz Island, Ventura and Marina Del Rey

After spending 3 days exploring Santa Cruz Island we headed for Ventura. The Prisoner's Harbour anchorage was very rolly especially into the evening and night. We did get a good chance to look around. The island is very dry and the days were hot. One of my favorite activities was watching the pelicans dive fishing. They fly over schools of small fish then go into a dive attitude with wings close together, splashing head first into the water in an attempt to catch a fish. The hiking was good with many fine views of the island and Santa Barbara Channel. There is a great deal of fennel growing wild in the area. The trip to Ventura Harbour was an easy motor-sail. We found the harbour area unappealing, fortunately Ventura Harbour is a short bus ride away from downtown Ventura. There we visited the Patagonia store where the original forge of Yvon Choinard the man behind Black Diamond and Patagonia is located. Not everyone's idea of a holiday destination.

Another easy motor-sail put us in Marina Del Rey. This marina is huge, there are slips for 6,000 boats plus dry storage for countless more. The amazing thing is there were only 5 sailboats out in Santa Monica Bay when we arrived. It was sunny with a nice breeze. I think Americans work too much. There is a very nice spot next to a pubic park reserved for transient boats. A little bit noisy but nice. Saturday night was free concert night in the park with a symphony and Lorna Luft (Judy Garland's daughter) singing. A nice bonus. We took a walk through Venice and it's few canals. We took in the boardwalk at Venice Beach. It's a bit hard to describe Venice Beach and area. I'll try get some pictures posted next time we are at a fast internet connection. Quite the group of people, that's for sure. We also went to Santa Monica Pier and area. Our friends Steve and Kathy were at the same marina. We enjoyed a couple of BBQ's with them in the park.

We've moved again, this time to Catalina Island. We are on our way to San Diego where Emma (Nadia's friend) and her parents, Terri and Wally are meeting us for a visit. Unfortunately Pat and John, Brenda's parents had to delay their visit. Although we are all having a good time and experiencing a great deal everyone feels homesick about now.

Pete

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