Spectacular: The Channel Islands of SoCal

We have just returned from 7 days on the water off the coast of Santa Barbara and LA. We had visited both on our voyage into Mexico in 2019. Santa Cruz Island was one of the highlights of that voyage. Andy and I met Barry and after a quick provision, we headed for Santa Cruz island from Ventura Harbor. I helped Barry purchase his boat in SF and then last September we sailed to his home port in Ventura. She is a beautiful 2003 36' Catalina. We motored most of the way to Yellow Bluff with some sailing late in the day. We had a nice chicken dinner and then some drinks in the cockpit. The next day, Barry was not in a hurry and we lingered thru lunch with swimming and napping. We moved up the far side of the island to an anchorage named Alberts. One other boat and we set two anchors (front and back) and that worked out just fine. A steak dinner saw us hit the hay early. I brought my Starlink and Barry requested an episode of the Twilight Zone before bed. We were very isolated and it was great to have connectivity. The next morning we headed to the beach for a game of bocce. Each of us had the lead and Barry came out on top. Then it was back to Yellow Bluff to set us up for the return home. A spagetti dinner put us into a sleep coma and to the bunks. We had a great sail back to the barn and quickly headed out to Marina Del Ray. After a 2 hour drive we arrived at the hotel. We had an early morning coming up so we went to bed about 9:30. Our next sojourn was to Catalina Island and Avalon. There are 8 islands in the Channel Island chain. We met Jody and his crew at 8 and were on the way by 9am. Jody was my skipper on the last Haha. He invited me down for a sail to the island. This time we were on a Catalina 32'. It was a 7 hour sail to the harbor but it went quick. After a tie up, we headed to shore for a memorable dinner on the beach overlooking all the boats. Avalon is a very European type village with about 7000 residents. And lots of tourists on this September evening. Back at the boat we had a lively conversation about our favorite movies. I had just finished my 25th viewing of North By Northwest (an Alfred Hitchcock thriller and my favorite) and that was our starting point. We hit all the classics and one movie my friend Andy and I will never forget is Blazing Saddles. We laughed so hard we wet our pants back in 1974 (we were 14 at the time). The next day was spent wandering the town and having a nice Mexican lunch. In the evening, Andy and I headed to the Lobster Shack for football and a fine meal. On the way home it was a motor sail in about 10 knots of wind. We made good time and another 7 hour run. We are hanging out at a nice hotel on the beach in Santa Monica and relaxing. We depart Monday for the drive home. Great to see my friends and I love these islands. If you ever have a chance to visit the Channel Islands, donot pass it up.