Santa Cruz Island, the largest island in Channel Islands National Park, is located off the coast of California. We boarded a ferry in Ventura, CA early in the morning and spent the 1-hour boat ride whale watching, gawking at dolphins, and toasting breakfast beers to my birthday. After a bit of a rocky start transporting our gear from the dock to the campsite, we set up our tents, stored our food and picked a trail to explore.
The 3.5 mile hike to Smugglers Cove is mostly a blur. The birthday beers on the boat hit me a bit too hard, and I remember sweltering in the midday heat. When we finally reached the rocky beach at Smugglers Cove, I think we were all eager to put on our bathing suits and play in the waves of the Pacific Ocean.
When I look back on my twenty-fifth birthday, I'll remember spending it with three friends on a tiny spot of land in the Pacific. No cell reception, no running water: just miles of trails to hike, oceanfront to explore and hours of giggling around the campsite (and later in our tent) after the sun went down. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment