We really enjoyed Santa Barbara and now it is time to leave. Rather than hopping down the coast to San Diego we are going to Santa Cruz and Catalina part of the Channel Islands. We would love to sail around all of these islands as each one offers something different. All of these have a feeling of being a remote environment , yet there are millions of people within 15/25 miles.
Our sail is a really nice beam reach for 15 miles. We caught a small tuna, the first fish in quite awhile. This made dinner first class and easier to figure out.
We have come to Frys Cove which is a slot anchorage. We have to test our anchoring skills using a stern as well as the forward anchor. Another boat comes in and we help them out to make sure we all have a peaceful night. The book says this can be a crowed anchorage in high season, we are happy to only have 2 boats.
We watch the sea lions pull them selves up to the shoreline and beyond. Amongst the rugged island and the beautiful sea we watch as California condors soar by looking for their dinner.
The next day we pull anchor and sail to Smugglar’s Cove. We are on the East side of the island as the weather is more favorable. This is the second place (1st place Half Moon Bay CA) we dove into the Pacific Ocean from our boat. This swim is much warmer and we enjoy this so much. The anchorage is marked by the olive grove on the island. 
We are still pinching ourselves that we are really here.
The next morning we are on our way to Catalina (about 60+ miles) . This has an entirely different vibe. This is a busy island and we make our way to Twin Harbor. There are empty mooring balls neatly in rows and rows as far as you can see. We can only guess what a hot July weekend would look like. We do find the only small anchoring area and spend a quick night.
We have decided at this point to sail on to San Diego (70+ miles) rather than another anchorage on Catalina. We pass by Avalon the famous city on Catalina. 
As we pass the southern tip of the island we are amazed at the amount of excavation going on. It seems to encompass this entire end of the island.
We are now about 15 miles East of Catalina and hear and feel reverberations (booms). We realize it is the excavation but it was spooky none the less. We are also keeping a wide berth of San Clemente Island which is a naval base.
We motor sail most of the way to San Diego. I was on watch as we got into the area. It is 04:30 am and a bit foggy. We are just drifting and waiting for 🌅sunrise as we don’t want to enter a busy big harbor for the first time in the dark. There are fishing boats and cruise ships doing the same thing. I look on the chart plotter and Tijuana is shown the “wow we are here “feeling happens again!
As the sky lightens up we make our way into this long channeled harbor. We pass a 330 foot mega yacht anchored in the bay on our way into Cabrillo Isle Marina.