Soon, we'll ALL have blogs!

A couple of years ago, my brother was visiting and we took his nephew to the Ventura Harbor and there was a live sea animal display and information about the Channel Islands and its unique habitat. All five islands are protected National Park and camping reservations have to be made three months in advance. Because it's an island chain, it's home to many unique animals including the cutest little red fox that lives only on these islands. There are fantastic photos of the islands on this photographer's site.


So it was with great enthusiasm that I asked about my co-workers trip there last weekend and was delighted to hear that it was highly eventful. She stayed on a boat, setting foot on land for only about ten minutes out of three days. They cooked on a stove suspended by the ceiling that swung with the boat so pots and pans wouldn't slide off. Does it work I asked? "Kind of."

Her Sierra Club group took rafts into sea caves and were stampeded by a herd of sea lions who appeared to be trying to sink them. She and a friend discovered a 26-foot shark carcass on the beach and later returned to the sea caves in scuba gear to explore the pitch black water. She then made reference to other trips like a shark diving expedition in which she threw up in the ventilator (apparently it's made to handle that, somehow) and I was just so amazed at her level of adventure.

Turns out, she has a blog! She promised that the Channel Islands trip will eventually be posted and I can't wait.

Grazing goats, stolen bait and a pedophile

I'm thinking about creating a regular post called "What's wrong with people?" It's a phrase I use (probably way too) often when I just don't know what else to say. People do such stupid and horrible things that can't be explained by any kind of logic. Things that just make you think there isn't enough love in the world if these people don't know what's wrong with their actions.

Here are three examples that prompted the phrase this weekend:

1) While visiting the Bay Area this weekend, a guy in a bar (who I think was trying to hit on me) told me this story: A herd of goats corralled after a hard days' work trimming the grass in Oakland to prevent fires (a technique used all over including around the Getty Center in L.A.) was shot at in the night by an unknown assailant. Someone shot and KILLED 15 little goats while they were penned up. Some of the bodies were mutilated although police don't know if it was from the shooter or wild animals.

2) My friend was talking about Newport Beach in Southern California and how nice it was. I Googled it to find photos and information and the first item was about a man, fishing off the pier, who repeatedly stabbed and KILLED a sea lion that had stolen his bait. Apparently several times a year seal lions are found killed by humans. This attack was in broad daylight so several people called the police and he was arrested.



3) After clicking on one of those enticing "news" headlines that turns out to be a stupid story that I don't care about, I read that some British actor who I don't know, is being prosecuted for having a sexual relationship with and taking indecent photos of an under aged girl. He was her acting teacher and HE calls HER a liar because she claims they had sex for years starting with a kiss at 14. He admits that he had sex with the girl, who's young enough to be his granddaughter, but only AFTER she was 18 (because then it magically becomes okay and normal and totally kosher, right?). HE says SHE's sick and needs help. Apparently she couldn't handle being rejected after he took advantage of her.