May began on a continuation of our Santa Barbara and Channel Islands trip. Later in the month I did a bike ride and Big Rock Hike to train for our upcoming European biking and hiking trip.
Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands (continued)
Late in April and into May we took a driving trip to Santa Barbara and a short National Geographic Linblad cruise to the Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Santa Barbara. Early May was the end of our trip where we visited Catalina Island and stopped in Coronal Del Mar to visit Jon's sister Jane and husband Scott.
Catalina Island
We woke up off Two Harbors on Catalina Island. The place is called Two Harbors because there are two harbors on either side of Catalina Island connected by a small ithsmus. We spent an hour kayaking in the harbor - in beautiful clear water, then did a guided tour of the isthsmus with a Catalina Island Conservancy Guide. Over lunch, the ship repositioned to Avalon where we went ashore to visit the tiny touristy town and botanical gardens. Here is the Daily Expedition Report.
Corona Del Mar
After our cruise, we went over to Corona Del Mar to visit Jane and Scott. While there we hiked Bucks Gully and had dinner at the Farmhouse with David and Kathy.
Photo courtesy of Jane Sussman
Photo courtesy of Jane Sussman
San Luis Obispo
As we headed back to Marin County from Southern California, we stopped at the High Street Deli in San Luis Obispo, for lunch. This was recommended by my sister Sara and had great sandwiches.
Giro Vigneti Ride - Healdsburg
In mid-May, Jon did the Giro Vigneti bike ride in Healdsburg. This is sponsored by the Healdsburg Rotary Club and is a nice ride through wine country. Jon opted for the "intermedio" ride which was 40.7 miles and 1401 feet in elevation. The route was from the Bachhus Landing Winery in Healdsburg to Geyserville, across the Anderson Valley through Jimtown and up Chalk Hill (major hill climb), then through Windsor and back to Healdsburg. It took about 3½ hours. Fortunately, Jon was riding his e-bike. This was training for our June Bordeaux Backroads trip.
Big Rock Hike
I did my annual hike up the Big Rock Trail - partially to train for our upcoming Mountain Travel Sobek Swiss Alps hiking trip. I did 7 miles and 2000' vertical and hiked all the way to the radio towers with a spectacular view of Novato.
