Last week I was in Los Angeles, CA for SIGGRAPH, and though I discovered that I far prefer New York to LA (sorry, Angelinos) I did get something great out of it – a trip to Channel Islands National Park.

About 30,000 visitors step onto its shores every year, making it one of the least-visited national parks. It consists of five islands of varying sizes, and we stayed on one of the larger ones. There were a few dozen other campers we saw, but the vast majority of people on the boat were day-trippers.

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We “set sail” at 8 am with Island Packers, who were fantastically efficient and a pleasure to travel with despite their apparent monopoly on service out to the islands. Upon landing, the campers were required to get a brief orientation from the live-in park ranger describing their pack-in pack-out policy and the fact that we should never leave zippers exposed as the island’s ravens have learned to unzip backpacks.

With wetsuits rented from Ventura Dive and Sport, plunged into the icy waters (ok, they’re not icy, but they’re pretty frigid compared to the warm Red Sea). The kelp beds were amazing, stretching below beyond visibility and then tangling at the surface, creating an enormous labyrinth of giant leaves. Their bases covered in sea urchins eating away at the tendrils. On the second day we saw a couple of stingrays, and a school of fish thousands strong trolling the area. I had hoped to swim and play with the local sea lions, but they weren’t particularly interested in us apparently.

While not freezing in the water, we hiked the many trails, perching atop the various cliffs overlooking the many harbors. And when not hiking, we ate and watched the chihuahua-sized island foxes looking for food and fending off the comparably-sized ravens.

It was a fun excursion, and I hope to go back for more diving and exploration of the islands. During the year they see countless whales and dolphins, and organize dive trips. Oddly enough, I found out about it two years ago from an in-flight magazine on my way to a KAUST orientation meetup. Chalk one up to the in-flight magazine!

I must admit, at times, looking down at the bright blue water, and ships coming into harbor, I felt a little bit like a pirate.