Channel Islands NP, CA
We decided to take a trip out to the Channel Islands National Park, specifically to Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island - known to be less crowded, which I love! We booked a day trip through Island Packers ($59 round-trip per adult) for 9 A.M. We packed 4 sliders (made with scrambled eggs, mayo, lettuce, salt, pepper and ketchup), SumoCitrus oranges, Cheezits, water and chocolate covered berries.
The boat ride took us a little over 1.5 hours due to the frequent stops we had to admire the sea creatures like Basking Sharks, Grey Whales and Dolphins! Once we arrived to Prisoners Harbor, we hiked up the Douglas trail and headed straight to the area I had planned for us to have our lunch. There are Ravens that fly around here and they're extremely clever. We were advised never to keep our bags unattended because they know how to open it up, steal some snacks and fly away. Once we arrived to our destination, it was SO peaceful. No cars, no airplanes, no sirens zooming by. All I could hear was the sound of water slowly hitting the rocks on the shore and a few buzzing here and there from the bees.
After finishing our lunch and taking in the views, we decided to continue heading up the mountains to do some exploring. I heard there were foxes on this island and I was determined to come across one. These little foxes have plenty to eat on the island, so there is no feeding allowed. When the thought of searching for one slipped my mind and I was fixated on all the beauty around me - The universe answered my wish!
We spotted this little cutie sniffing around and was able to watch it for about 5 minutes. I was lucky enough to have captured its' face when it heard my camera and ran away. We continued to hike our away around, but needed to head back to our boarding dock before our boat arrived to pick us up. It began to rain while we explored the shore, so we took cover beneath a tree near a bench full of bones and shells collected by the rangers and past visitors.
On our way back, I drank 2-3 cups of hot cocoa. The salty sea air does bring up an appitite because it tasted like the best hot cocoa I've ever had. I think the only regret we had on this trip was not bringing a bathing suit. Until next time...
- Jules
