island mallow

Malva assurgentiflora or island mallow is native to the Channel Islands. I used to see it all the time in the Salinas Valley, where I knew it as Lavatera (the former name of the genus until it was recently changed); evidently it has established itself on the mainland. It's a striking plant that gets my attention wherever I find it. While touring Anacapa Island it looked like it had been planted as part of a restoration project. Here it is at the native plant garden at the Channel Islands National Park visitors center in Ventura, where we went a few days after our excursion.

Anacapa Arch

Back on the boat, we rounded the point with the famous Anacapa Arch and got a glimpse of the south, ocean-facing side of the island.

Anacapa Landing Cove part 2

In some ways this kelpy cove was the most beautiful part of Anacapa. Some people use it for swimming, diving and snorkeling. Most use it for getting from boat to plateau and back again - in itself a workout.

Anacapa Landing Cove

After touring almost all of the barren plateau - approximately one square mile that probably contained more bird droppings than plants - we made our way back to Landing Cove and its 157 steps. To be fair, the island was in the middle of a drought and numerous restoration projects.

Anacapa lighthouse

This very photogenic lighthouse is located at the eastern end of the island. Since major shipping lanes go through the Santa Barbara Channel, this lighthouse serves an important purpose.

scenes from Anacapa

In some ways a very stark environment, these first two photos show the "settled" part.

Whereas most of the island looks like this...

Below, Inspiration Point at the western end of East Anacapa...

...and this I believe is the area known as Frenchy's Cove.

Anacapa approach and landing

The famous arch off East Anacapa Island and Landing Cove - the only way to access the plateau of this island surrounded by steep cliffs. Even that was only made possible by the construction of a 157-step stairway. The crossing from Channel Islands Harbor to this cove is about 12 miles.

dolphins

Sometimes while taking the boat to Anacapa Island, one sees dolphins - more dolphins at one time than one has ever seen before ever, both over and under the water.

Shearwaters

Sometimes while taking the boat to Anacapa Island, one encounters a group of birds called Shearwaters - lots of them.

oil rig

Sometimes while taking the boat to Anacapa Island, one passes an oil rig.

Chitalpa

The Chitalpa tree (X Chitalpa tashkentensis) that sadly fell victim to draught and Santa Ana winds. Chiltalpas are a cross between a desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) and a southern catalpa (Catalpa bignoniodes).

Mondo's Cove

The beach known as Mondo's Cove, and the bike path that runs between the ocean and the Ventura Freeway. The beach is swimmable and the bike bath is first rate.

Caffrodite Coffee

Caffrodite is another fine independent coffee shop within the Ventura city limits. The space is a bit small, but everything else is just right - especially this custom-made espresso I requested.

Hollywood Beach, Oxnard

It's not in Hollywood and it's not in Ventura, but just west of the harbor in Oxnard - also known as Channel Islands Harbor. It may be called Hollywood Beach because Rudolph Valentino, Clark Gable and Carol Lombard all had homes there. As did the creature below - another guitarfish?

Palm Springs from the plane

Perhaps the best thing about flying is looking down at the desert and reading it like a topographic map. I recognized Palm Springs nestled at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains and took this photo. If you look closely you can see the windmill farms between Route 111 and Interstate 10.

center pivot irrigation

I have occasionally pondered these green circles in the desert as seen from the plane, knowing that they were some form of agriculture, but not knowing that the correct term for them is center pivot irrigation.

Mystic

The next day we drove through Stonington, CT and stopped briefly at the Mystic Seaport - somewhere I had visited many years before - and then managed to find the nearest good independent coffee house - Vault - seen here.

Westerly

After exploring the full length of Cape Cod, we turned around and spent the night at a hotel in Westerly, RI - a place that at first seemed to lack the "New England charm" of the places we had just been. The view of Long Island Sound wasn't bad though, and after a while we started to warm up to the place. Dinner was cedar plank salmon - something I don't recall ever seeing before.

Marconi

We checked out many beaches on Cape Cod, including this very pretty one near Wellfleet. One of the most interesting historically was Marconi Beach, so named because it was where the inventor Guglielmo Marconi built a radio station that in 1903 transmitted the first wireless trans-Atlantic communication between the United States and Great Britain. That communication was between President Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward VII.

Provincetown breakwater

This breakwater that goes on seemingly forever through Provincetown Harbor was a highlight. Actually it's about a mile and a half long, and we walked along the first half of it and back. That would make our walk about a mile and a half long.

Provincetown

It sounds like a cliche, but they were having a gay parade in Provincetown, MA. At times we were caught in traffic, but that allowed us to appreciate some of the architectural highlights. It was our first time seeing the place.

Cape Cod National Seashore

We were impressed by the pristine beaches of Cape Cod National Seashore, in particular Herring Cove near Provincetown. The facilities and the food there weren't bad either. At an area called Race Point we were convinced we saw whales in the distance. There were also rumors of sharks (see flag below), which made me less inclined to heave myself in the water.