Kayaks

Team Brenton really did enjoy kayaking. So much so that we are considering buying some for Christmas as a family gift. I have been doing a little research. If you have some info to share I would love to hear it. From what I can tell recreational kayaks are what we need. Do you now how much I hate the word recreational when it is applied to gear. It generally means that it is designed to do a little of everything, but none of them well. Every time I have bought beginner/recreational gear I have ended up replacing it shortly thereafter. When trying to trade it in it's usually "that is a beginner model. It's not worth much." "I just bought it a week ago." "There's no market for them." Then if you try to sell it outright everyone wants a deal on it since it is a beginner model. I don't do anything recreationally (except maybe work). If I'm going to do something I want to do it properly. Properly, that words causes me more trouble. Maybe that will be my next post.

First of the Year

My first rattlesnake of the year. Saw it this morning while out riding the mt. bike. His skin was very dull. He needs to shed. About three feet long, and not happy about being moved off the trail.

Ventura, Last One, I Promise

I know I've just about beat this dead horse to death, but we had such a great time that I wanted to post a few more pictures. We took the kids to the beach on Wednesday so they could Boogie Board. The water was cold and the wind was blowing hard. We rented boards for an hour and that's about all they could stand to be in the water.

Wednesday morning we rented kayaks. None of us had ever paddled before so I told the guy who rented them to us that I had, and that I would watch out for the rest of the family. Just like I thought, it wasn't hard to pick up the basics. Kayaking and surfing were the two things I had put on my list of things to do while in Ventura so I was happy to get to do one of them.

They just had us paddle around the Channel Islands Harbor. Lots of boat slips and very expensive boats. We spent some time paddling through a very expensive neighborhood. They had a street entrance on one side and a boat dock on the other. Most of the places had a small boat for getting around the harbor, and then either a big sailboat or cabin cruiser tied up to their docks. The houses were huge, and the lots were small. Like 5000 sq ft houses on 2500 sq ft lots. The kids got to see how the other .01% lives.

This is a sea cave at Potato harbor on Santa Cruz Island. This is the type of kayaking I had in mind, but I'll take what I can get. Kayaks are definitely on the Team Brenton Christmas list year. (Yes, I know we live in Arizona.)

Four days no shower, sleeping on the ground, too much sun, way too much fun. Taken right after we got to the hotel from the boat.

This may have been the highlight of the trip for me. Great Pacific Ironworks is located in Ventura. What is it some of you might ask. It is only Yvon Chouinard's home base. You know, the founder of Patagonia and Black Diamond. It is actually a Patagonia store. There is a little museum with some of Chouinard's pitons, and Chouinard/Frost ice axes.

I was geeking out anyway just being in such a cool place, but then I heard one of the employees say to another that Chouinard had told them to quit bringing sweets into the office. Those guys actually know him.

Chouinard's son shapes surfboards somewhere close by too.

The front of the Patagonia store. It used to be a slaughter house. It was really cool inside. Hardwood floors, exposed rafter roofs, no AC, they just opened the windows. How novel.

This was where to buy gear though. Patagonia half off. Maybe last year's model, or a funky color, but cheap. Like Steve says "My favorite color is whatever is on sale." Lots of other brands there too. I had to be physically removed, in a straight jacket.

OK, the ambiance, well, kind of.............SUCKED. The pizza was great though. That is the dining area. All three chairs. Believe it or not this was our second choice. The first was smaller and more run down. If a friend hadn't told us about these places we would have never even tried them.

The day we left Santa Cruz Island we were hanging out by the boat dock playing Uno in the shade because we had all been exposed to more than of our fair share of UV radiation. We heard someone say "snake". I knew exactly what it was (there is only one snake species on the island). We went over to take a look. The guy who found it was trying to take a picture of it. The snake was making tracks. I told him if he caught it he could get a better picture of it. He said "I don't think I want to get that close." He found it so I didn't want to take all the fun from him. When I finally figured out that he was going to let the snake slip under a bush I picked it up. He seemed glad to get an up close picture of it, and his little boy got to touch his first snake. I got to catch my first Island Gopher Snake.

We spent some time taking pictures of all of the abandoned machinery from the ranching operations that used to decimate the island.

An old ranch house at Smugglers Cove. The sundial over the front door was very accurate.

This was an old road grater that they pulled behind a Caterpillar dozer. I think it looks like the machine that It one and It two drove in The Cat In The Hat.

Amy and the kids on the boat ride back. We saw flying fish and a large pod of dolphins. The captain of the boat said there were over 1,000 dolphins in that particular pod.

Ventura

We spent the last week in Ventura California. Technically, we spent the first four days camping on Santa Cruz Island.

Just before we departed for the island. That is the boat in the background that would take us the twenty miles to the island. We had been up since 1:30 and had driven for eight hours to make it to the boat on time.

Lots of views like this on the island, but they all required a nice hike.

These island foxes were everywhere. They were constantly trying to steal food. They are more rare than Panda Bears. The island is the only place they are found.

I found lots of flotsam and jetsam (not the band) to take pictures of on the beaches. While preparing for this post I picked way to many pictures for one or two posts. I will continue with follow up posts.

Pictures

I haven't posted any of my pictures lately. I figured my readers (if I have any left at this point) may be getting tired of text with no images. Here are some pictures of a couple of climbing trips to the Mt. last week.

Hitchcock Pinnacle with a rainbow. Rainbow over rocks at the Practice Wall. Why I should wash my rope.

Irish Blessing

“Let those that love us, love us. And those that don't, may God turn their hearts. And, if He cannot turn their hearts, May He turn their ankles so we may know them by their limping!”