February 12, 2008

Planned Trip L1 (see planned trips here)

Lunch time trip to Thousand Oaks and Ventura.  120 miles (from and returning to work in Van Nuys).

Michael and I got an 11:40 or so start on the road.  The first leg was just a dash down the 405 South, then the 101 North to the visitor's center for the Santa Monica Mountains NRA in Thousand Oaks.  We arrived at the VC around 12:15.  We looked around for a good place for a photo with the park sign, but there weren't any.  The only sign with the park name was on the VC, but that is below the parking lot, and a tree blocked part of the name from the parking lot.  I remembered that a parking/hiking area was on the other side of Thousand Oaks, and a sign was there.  So after getting our stamps in both the Cal Parks booklet and the regular NPS passport, we went off in search of the better sign.  In the NPS passport booklet, we also added the Juan Bautista de Anza NHT stamp.  Following Lynn Road to Potrero Road brought us to the Rancho Sierra Vista - Satwiwa unit of the NRA, and an overhead entranceway sign.

Then it was down Potrero Grade to the Oxnard Plain.  We raced across the plain on farm roads into Oxnard, and then hopped onto the 101 to cross the Santa Clara River, then exited at Victoria for the ride into the Ventura Harbor for the Channel Islands NP VC.  The VC is at the far end of the harbor drive.  We arrived around 1:30.  We took our pictures in the turn around in front of the VC.  After the pictures were taken, we then parked in the parking lot and went into the VC for our stamps.  When I collected stamps for my IBA NPT award in 2003, there also was a JBdA NHT stamp here, but the person at the counter had no idea where it was, or even that they had such a stamp.

Then it was south on the 101 to Camarillo, and lunch at El Tecolote, for their fried quesadillas.  Yum.  It was getting late in the afternoon, making this a very long lunch, so we quickly rode south the 101 and then north on the 405 back to work, arriving a little before 4:00.  Oh well, a 4 hour lunch is good for the soul, especially when one can ride.  We would have made it a bit sooner, but the traffic was heavy in the San Fernando Valley, which meant lane splitting on the 101 and 405.  Since it was unseasonably hot (mid 80's in the SFV), even in the Oxnard Plain, we were quite sweaty after the freeway grind.

All in all, a good start to our quest.

Now on to the next trip.