West Coast Farewell Tour

May, 2021, Mother’s Day weekend we embarked on our West Coast Farewell tour. Unlike other tours, this one would focus on only one national park: Channel Islands. Joined by Sarah’s husband, Jarad, and their four month old son, Peart, it would also be our first time taking the baby on an airplane, or, in my case, first time in 30 years. Moreover, it was the first time any of us had stranded ourselves on an island for the day so we set off with some trepidation. Again, Sarah’s preparation paid off, and between the baby and our cousin Dan who joined us on our trip, we were in for a boatload of fun!

I should note Channel Islands wasn’t our last west coast national park as we still had to “officially” visit Olympic National Park in our home state of Washington. But we thought having a farewell tour before we were actually done sounded rock and roll. Like Motley Crue. Rush, of course, would never do such a thing.

For our flight from Seattle to Los Angeles we purchased first class tickets. In fact, for Peart’s first two years as a lap infant we would purchase first class tickets whenever it was affordable as we found it to be worth the extra room. Another perk was the preflight access to the first class lounge. On this trip we flew Delta, who did not have a lounge in Seattle, but we found a table in the food court and made the best of it. Peart was wide awake looking around and taking it all in with his calm, quiet manner. On the flight he barely made a peep and peacefully slept even when we landed early and had to sit on the tarmac for an hour waiting for a gate. This greatly impressed our first class neighbors. We didn’t know yet about all the stigma surrounding babies in first class. Peart woke up as we disembarked into the crowded terminal but remained in his usual good spirits while we maneuvered through LAX to baggage claim and then the rental car terminal where we had to wait in a long line for our car. Our hotel was only fifteen minutes away, and we quickly checked in around 2am only to find there was no crib waiting in our room. Once it arrived Sarah and Jarad hurried to set it up. I waited holding a very happy Peart and suddenly, in a last burst of energy, he attacked me kiss after kiss. The more we laughed the more he continued. Eventually they got him down for bed and without crying he closed his eyes and went right to sleep. This greatly impressed us and we were soon settled in ourselves, albeit for a very short sleep.

Tell me you are from Seattle, without telling me you are from Seattle — I’ll start. We woke up early the next morning, quickly got ready, and then discovered the coffee shop in the lobby wouldn’t open until 7am. It wasn’t that there weren’t plenty of people up and moving around Marina Del Rey at this hour. But somehow they were doing it without coffee. We wondered about that as we waited for the valet to bring up our car. And for the coffee shop to open, only to find out they only had one size — 12 oz. Not large enough for our less than 4 hours of sleep. 

[Small] coffee in hand we headed to Ventura Harbor to the Channel Islands Visitor Center. The main purpose of our visit today was to obtain the coveted passport stamp. We would be leaving by boat from the marina next door the following morning and didn’t know for sure if there would be a stamp available (there was) or if the visitor center would be open after our return in the late evening. We spent a little time looking at the exhibits and shopping. I bought a copy of “Island of the Blue Dolphins,” by Scott O’Dell, for my daughter Angie. She read the book several times in elementary school. The historical fiction story is based on the lone woman of San Nicolas Island who was stranded on the island alone for 18 years and finally discovered in 1853. Although San Nicolas is not one of the national park islands, in researching for our trip the story started coming back to me, and I discovered sure enough it is one of the Channel Islands. Not a comforting story when you are about to be dropped off on an island yourself, but Angie always loved it. Passport stamps and paperback in hand, we headed back on Highway 101, then west to Malibu and along the coast thru Santa Monica to Marina Del Rey where we would meet up with “The Dan Erickson,” for lunch at Killer Shrimp. Dan and Sarah are second cousins and great friends and he happens to be one of the funniest people we know. Our hotel in Marina Del Rey was conveniently located just two blocks down the street from his new abode. After lunch we took Peart back for a nap and then when Dan was off work we met up again at his apartment. Dan would spend most of the rest of the weekend entertaining us with his numerous, hilarious stories and wild tales of fun and frivolity. Indeed we would add a few of our own before the weekend was over. When Peart got fussy Sarah and Jarad took him back to our hotel and put him down for bed. Then Jarad stayed and watched him while Sarah picked up Dan and I and we drove to the Santa Monica Pier to ride the roller coaster before returning to have dinner with Jarad at the hotel. Sarah had one glass of wine with her dinner, her first glass since before she was pregnant with Peart and needless to say she has not had a glass since. 

The next morning we were up early again, long before the coffee shop opened, Sarah sick to her stomach, and the five of us headed back to Ventura Harbor, Dan squished next to Sarah in the back seat with a bag in hand. You can imagine he was thrilled but they laughed about it. At the harbor we were happy to find coffee but dismayed to find that it too only came in 12 ounce cups. Sarah got two. Inside the marina we happily stamped our passport books again and then lined up for our charter to Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island.

Channel Islands is made up of eight islands off the southern coast of California. Channel Islands National Park includes five of those islands: Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel and Santa Barbara. It is our nation's 40th national park. 

Our charter held about 80 passengers. We found a big table in the main cabin for the 45 minute ride, 25 miles off the coast of California. The water was pretty rough with large rolling waves the entire way. We heard later that many people on the earlier boat had gotten sea sick. Dan and Jarad ordered a beer and we made it across unscathed, Sarah a bit miserable for the first part but distracted by keeping Peart happy. Jarad admitted he may have thrown up a little bit in his mouth. The boat ride over was fun. The crew were friendly and nice. The captain stopped to point out wildlife and we were very excited when he stopped to show us a small pod of dolphins jumping in the waves. Later he delighted everyone aboard, stopping for another enormous pod of an estimated 2,000 dolphins jumping all around us. The babies looked like little gray footballs. 

The first stop on Santa Cruz Island was at Scorpion Cove where all but about twelve of us got off. This stop offers campgrounds and kayak rentals and was clearly the more popular choice. The rest of us continued on to Prisoners Harbor passing by natural caves and kayakers on the way. At our stop we climbed up a ladder to the pier. Once we walked the long dock onto the island we were greeted by a Ranger who gave us a quick safety talk. Part of the island is a national park and part is a preserve. For those intending to hike into the preserve paperwork was signed and collected. We, of course, chose to stay on the national park side. On the shore were a few picnic tables and bear boxes where we were instructed to leave our food and belongings and anything shiny else they may be stolen, not by bears, but curious birds or the island fox. Just down the way was a large, clean primitive restroom. Another old brick building and corral were also part of the harbor.

We opted to hike first and eat lunch later so we left our things in one of the bear boxes and set off. We followed the Navy Road, a dirt road running around the perimeter of the island and climbing high on the banks above the surf. We took our time stopping to enjoy the view or take a quick rest. Out on the road with no shade it was hot even in early May. As we climbed higher the world became still. It wasn’t entirely quiet. We could hear the wind and the birds, but there was no sound outside of nature. We could see the waves crashing below, but couldn’t hear them from that far up. The feeling of isolation was at once overwhelming yet somehow comforting and certainly calming. 

When Peart got tired, hungry, and hot, Sarah and Jarad headed back down. Dan and I continued along thinking the road was heading towards the center of the island but it actually curved back around and continued up. As Dan waited at the top for me to catch up he was greeted by a man and woman coming over the hill. They had left a few hours earlier from Scorpion Cove. They chatted for a few minutes and reported the campgrounds on that side were nice and had running water. When they continued on, Dan and I followed a short trail to the top of the island where we were surprised to find a picnic table. We were happy to sit for a few minutes and enjoy the view before heading back down the way we came.

Back at the pier we all had lunch then spent the rest of the afternoon walking on the beach, taking pictures, and alternating between the sun, which was quite hot, and the shade which was quite cool. We had fun observing the other members of our party, especially an enthusiastic group of bird watchers, and chatting with a threesome who arrived in a private boat. We spotted the indelible Island Fox, only found on six of the Channel Islands and nowhere else in the world, but we never, knowingly at least, saw the elusive Island Scrub Jay. Sometimes called the Santa Cruz Jay, this species is  found exclusively on Santa Cruz Island. Perhaps the bird watching group caught a glimpse. Standing on the pier visiting with another group we spotted sharks and bat rays in the water below, both harmless we were told. Dan decided to cool off by jumping off the pier cheered on by us and the private party in their boat below. Before we knew it, although it had been five hours, it was time to pack up and get ready for our charter back to the mainland. The ride back was crowded and we had to sit apart from each other. The other passengers looked tired and many slept. The captain stopped at the same pod of dolphins, with only slightly less enthusiasm from the passengers. 

Neil Peart first visited Channel Islands in May, 2009. His experience was much like ours and is detailed in his book “Far and Away” in a chapter titled “Under the Marine Layer.” Like us he traveled by charter from Ventura Harbor on a Saturday in May, past the dolphin pod to Santa Cruz Island, also opting to disembark at Prisoners Harbor. There he hiked, with a friend, up the Navy Road and enjoyed a picnic lunch. Being an avid bird watcher, the purpose of the trip was to look for the Island Scrub Jay. Like us, he was unsuccessful in spotting the species on that trip. Also, like us, it seems he was impressed because he would return, a couple more times in fact. In October, 2017 he became a member of the exclusive All Eight Club. Founded in 1994, the All Eight Club is for those who manage to set foot on all eight of the Channel Islands. This includes the five aforementioned islands, which are part of the National Park, in addition to the remaining three: San Clemente, San Nicolas, and Santa Catalina. At the time that Neil Peart became a member he was one of less than 200 people who had attained this honor. The exclusivity of the club is due to the difficulty in gaining access to all of the islands. Each requires specific travel requirements while San Clemente and San Nicolas are controlled by the US Navy with access generally denied. In short it helps to know someone, or perhaps to be the World’s Greatest Drummer. Neil writes about this feat in “Magnetic Mirages Part 1” and Part 2 which can be found on neilpeart.net.

Back at Ventura Harbor we loaded up the car and headed to Marina Del Rey. We dropped Dan at his apartment then went to our hotel and freshened up. Later Dan brought over hamburgers and fries. Once again Jarad stayed at the hotel and watched Peart while Sarah, Dan and I drove to Diddy Reese, an ice cream shop. For $2.25 we could pick our favorite flavor of ice cream to sandwich between any two cookies of our choosing.

The next day was Mother’s Day, Sarah’s first. We rented a boat at the marina and Dan toured us all the way up the coast to Santa Monica while we dined on a delicious brunch. As soon as we returned the boat it was time to head for the airport. Peart behaved impeccably all the way home, once again greatly impressing our fellow first class travelers. We had been to the LA area dozens of times before this but never realized what a fun adventure we could have away from the city. We all still talk about that weekend as one of our favorites ever.