More from the Channel Islands

A couple of things to keep in mind...
1. Even if you are not feeling queasy and the ocean is calm, it doesn't mean that you won't be in the midst of a puking festival (ask Soph and Margie about it, there was no where to go that someone wasn't vomiting in a bag, cup or over the side of the boat).
2. When they say "strenous hike' maybe they mean it. The hike from Prisoner's Cove to Pelican's Cove was incredible. We didn't see any of the edemic foxes but we did see a ton of lizards (to be id'd later), the edemic scrub jay, a bald eagle and a junvenile eagle, tadpoles (plus all sorts of tidepool creatures). The trail was up and back..."just five miles" , but we weren't sure we were going to make it back in time to meet up with the boat that would take us back. Laurie guided us on the way out (Nature Conservancy rule, very knowledgeable), but we were solo on the return. The views were stunning, the climbs up and down a bit nutty. We even saw a feeding frenzy of pelicans and dolphins (from a cliff top). Water's heavy to tote and, as usual, we brought more clothes than we needed (but you never know what the weather will bring:))
3. Pay attention. The boat ride back brought us into a pod of common dolphins that followed us for a looong time and we saw a Mola mola sunning itself.
4. Throw your trash away. The boat stopped on the return trip to pick up a deflated balloon. And on the trash note, we had to pack our trash out (no trash cans or toilets on the trail).
5. On the fifth we went back out. The boat was smaller but the ride was smoother. We toured around Anacapa Island. Not sure how we lucked out on great ocean weather, but we'll take it!
6. Even on gray days when it is drizzling, you can get burned. Wear that sunscreen!
7. Gray day was more than the color. We did get to see a blue shark briefly at the surface, but besides it and a few sealions and two dolphins, we struck out on the 3 hour cruise. On the geology front, the island is magnificent (great arches and caves). The landing stairs were rusted, so no landings this summer.
8. Camping on 4th of July weekend in California is like camping in a big city.... LOTS of people and REALLY close together (we'll try it again when it's less crowded).
9. Our kiddos are troopers. Only one sitdown strike by Margie and Soph lead the way for a lot of hike back.
10. And on July 6, we rested. We have vowed to do nothing this whole day (even had a contest to see who could sleep the longest (Margie won). Okay, we might go down to the beach to fly a kite (but we did make it to after 5pm doing NOTHING!