Visiting Santa Cruz Island, the Largest of the Eight Channel Islands of California

East Santa Cruz Island Scorpion Anchorage, viewed from the Cavern Point trail.

Santa Cruz Island is 22 miles long and ranges from two to six miles wide, making it the largest of the eight Channel Islands at nearly 62,000 acres. It is one of four islands that are located in Santa Barbara County (the others are San Miguel, Santa Cruz and the smallest of the eight islands, Santa Barbara Island).

The island has been occupied for over 9,000 years, including thousands of years by the Chumash Indians. In 1769, the expedition of Don Gaspar de la Portola reached the island. He and two Fathers traveling with him brought a staff with a cross on it, were well received, but realized they left the staff on the island. The Indians realized this and brought the staff to the ship the next day via canoe. The Spanish were so impressed by this that they called the island, the Island of the Holy Cross (Santa Cruz).

After Mexico became independent of Spain in 1821, the island became Mexican owned, then California became a state in 1950 and the island came with it. Sheep were brought to Santa Cruz Island in the 1850s and by 1864, 24,000 sheep grazed on it. Sheep operations continued on the island until the 1980s. Today, the National Park Service owns and operates 24% of Santa Cruz Island as part of Channel Islands National Park.  The remainder of the land is managed by The Nature Conservancy, the University of California Field Station and the Santa Cruz Island Foundation.

Access to the island is primarily through private concessionaire, Island Packers, from the Ventura Harbor and Channel Islands Harbor. The two island destinations open to the public are East Santa Cruz at Scorpion Ranch (also referred to as Scorpion Anchorage) and Mid Santa Cruz at Prisoners Harbor (so named as a result of a short-lived occupation of the area by convicted Mexican prisoners in 1830).

Views of the Scorpion Rock area of Santa Cruz Island

It takes roughly an hour to an hour and a half to get to the island, where activities including hiking, snorkeling, exploring the beach, kayaking and learning about the history of the island. 

Whatever you bring to the island, you must bring back with you. There are no trash receptacles, stores, vending machines, eateries, so be prepared when you visit with food, water, sunscreen, etc. There is also year-round camping available at both locations on Santa Cruz Island, with water available only at the Scorpion Anchorage campground.

Campground at Scorpion Anchorage

Kayaking is of particular interest at Scorpion Anchorage, as you can explore the nearby sea caves. Guided tours are also available from third parties like the Santa Barbara Adventure Company.

Kayaking is quite popular at Santa Cruz Island

We also saw wildlife at Santa Cruz Scorpion Anchorage including an island fox, otters, all sorts of bird and more. The moderately challenging, two mile Cavern Point Loop hike provided magnificent views of the coast.

There is also a small, yet quite informative visitor center where you can really learn a lot about the history of the island. I was shocked actually to learn that to the south of Santa Cruz Island is a 150 million year old sedimentary rock and that the world's largest collection of sea caves populate the volcanic rocks of the north shore of the island. Also, during the last Ice Age, the sea level was lower and the four northern Channel Islands (San Miguel, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, Anacapa), were joined as a single island known as Santa Rosae.

This timid island fox swung by our picnic spot at Scorpion Ranch. National Park Service asks the public not to feed the wildlife for a variety of reasons, and we obliged.

Channel Islands National Park is comprised of five of the eight Channel Islands; San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa and Santa Barbara. Learn more about Channel Islands National Park at www.nps.gov/chis. Learn how to get to the islands via Island Packers at islandpackers.com.

Visit the Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center at Channel Islands National Park, located at near Ventura Harbor Village, for a wealth of information, video and displays regarding the Channel Islands.

My First Encounter with the Impossible Burger at Umami Burger Thousand Oaks

When I first heard about the new the Impossible Burger, a meatless burger that is supposed to look and taste like a real hamburger, I had to give it a try.

While I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, I do try to minimize my red meat consumption for health reasons. and tend to go with burger alternatives like fish and veggie burgers. But a burger that actually tastes like a burger but is not made from a cow or other mammal sounded too good to be true.

The Impossible Burger is the first product of a Silicon Valley startup called Impossible Foods. The initial question addressed by the company in 2011 was, "Why does meat taste like meat?"

With scientific research, the company created a non-meat version of ground beef using wheat, coconut oil and potatoes, augmented by "heme." Heme is a naturally occurring protein in meat that gives meat its flavor when it is cooked. Heme is also a naturally occurring protein in plants in a different protein. This protein is taken from soy, attached to a yeast strain and grown through fermentation. The heme is then isolated and added to the Impossible Burger.

You don't have to know the science behind it, but I found it fascinating because this burger does taste quite a bit like a meat-based burger.

I know because I tried the Impossible Burger at Umami Burger at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks yesterday. The Impossible Burger recently launched on a very limited, dine-in only basis at nine Umami locations while Impossible Foods ramps up its production facilities.

I did a taste comparison - I tried the Impossible Burger side by side with the Manly Burger.

The Impossible Burger at Umami comes decked out with two 2 1/2 oz. patties, caramelized onions, American cheese, miso-mustard, house spread, dill pickles, lettuce and tomato. The Manly Burger comes with cheddar cheese, bacon, onion strings, ketchup and mustard spread.

The Impossible Burger looked and tasted quite a bit like a regular burger! It was good! So was the Manly Burger. There are definitely some subtle taste differences between the Impossible Burger and regular burger, but less than you would expect from a meatless alternative.

Gourmet burgers at Umami Burger run from $11.50 for a Throwback Burger to $15.50 for a Royale Burger (braised short rib, truffled aioli, truffle cheese, truffle glaze). The standard Umami Burger is $13. The Impossible Burger currently is priced at $16. Definitely not priced to compete with the In-N-Out Burgers and Habit Burgers of the world. But a unique treat.

Impossible Burger patties are 100% vegan but do contain gluten as they are made with wheat protein. The Impossible Burger as prepared at Umami is not vegan.

Learn more about Umami Burger at www.umamiburger.com. Learn more about the Impossible Burger at www.impossiblefoods.com.

Toppers Pizza Tops the List of CVG Facebook Followers in Recent Drawing

In a recent drawing on the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Page, we asked folks to comment on their favorite local pizza place in the Conejo Valley and surrounding areas. 

Over 50 pizza places were mentioned in 380 responses to the half-day drawing. There was a clear top choice - Topper's Pizza Place. 

Operating for over 20 years, with Ventura County locations in Thousand Oaks, Oxnard (3), Camarillo, Simi Valley and Ventura, Toppers clearly has a huge fan base. It received 143 votes, nearly 38% of all votes cast.

Toppers all the way! Love their combination pizza and salad bar! Plus their turkey and bacon sandwich is pretty darn good too. - Maria D.

But the beauty of this survey was to learn about other local places to expand our collective pizzeria universe. I for one have not tried all of the 50+ pizzerias called out.

Rounding out the top 10 most mentioned pizzas:

• Tony's Pizza (Newbury Park) (28 votes)
• Pieology (Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village) (14 votes)
• Winners NY Pizza (Agoura Hills) (12 votes)
• MOD Pizza (Simi Valley, Newbury Park) (11 votes)
• Fresh Brothers (Westlake Village, Calabasas) (11 votes)
• Ameci Pizza (Newbury Park, Agoura, Camarillo, Fillmore, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Ventura) (11 votes)
• D'Amore's Famous Pizza (Thousand Oaks, Camarillo) (11 votes)
• Rock & Roll Pizza (Moorpark) (10 votes)
• Lamppost Pizza (Westlake Village) (10 votes)

Fresh Brothers in Westlake Village! Pepperoni, pineapple and jalapeno! Their pizza is cut into smaller squares so I don't feel so guilty eating more squares ;) -Meredith J.

This next group of a dozen local pizza places had a solid showing, receiving between five and seven mentions.

• 7 mentions: Costco (for those looking for a value priced pizza)
• 6 mentions:
  • Parma Pizzeria Napoletana (Thousand Oaks)
  • Numero Uno Pizzeria (Agoura Hills)
  • East Coast Pizza Company (Simi Valley)
  • Greco's New York Pizzeria (Thousand Oaks)
  • Chi Chi's Pizza (Simi Valley - since 1958!) 
• 5 mentions:
  • California Pizza Kitchen (Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Ventura)
  • Pitfire Pizza (Westlake Village)
  • Round Table Pizza (Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Simi Valley)
  • Urban Pizza (Westlake Village, Simi Valley)
  • PizzaRev (Thousand Oaks, Camarillo)
  • Barone's Pizzeria (Westlake Village)

After consuming all this pizza, you might think about training for an upcoming 5K, 10K, half marathon or marathon around town at THIS LINK.!

But there were dozens of other pizzerias mentioned that may be worth a look. Or taste.

Receiving 2 to 4 mentions: BJ's (deep dish pizza), Custom Pie (Moorpark), Butler's Pizza (Thousand Oaks), Tony's (Oak Park), Al Mulino Eatalian (Westlake Village), Draughts (Thousand Oaks), Farfalla (Westlake Village), Papa Johns (various), Jax (Moorpark), Pizza Man Dan's (various). Allegro Pizza (Thousand Oaks), Pizza Nosh (Agoura Hills)

I love the gluten-free pizza at Pizza Man Dan's in Moorpark. So good! -Chelsee D.

Other mentions included Spumoni (Newbury Park), Roma Deli (Newbury Park), Tonino's Place (Westlake Village), Palermo (Simi Valley), Little Caesar's (various), Tony's (Camarillo), Marcello (Thousand Oaks), Valentino's (Camarillo), Santino's (Ventura), Whole Foods, Stonehaus (Westlake Village), Guido's (Simi Valley), Boney Mountain Tavern (Newbury Park), Chuck E. Cheese's, Blaze Pizza (Oxnard), Pizzeria Bianca Russo (Camarillo), Blue Table (Thousand Oaks), Pizzeria La Piccola (Thousand Oaks), Brick Oven Pizza (Moorpark) and Domino's.

Titanic Exhibit at the Reagan Library May 27, 2017 to January 7, 2018

Original deck chair from the Titanic

Titanic at the Reagan Library is a fascinating look at Titanic, combining real artifacts with the real stories of the people on board the ill-fated ship. This new exhibit tells the story of the unsinkable ship in a way no museum has done before. Artifacts from passengers, dispersed over time, will be reunited in this exhibit for the first time in over 100 years.

This brand-new 10,000 square foot exhibition, reuniting hundreds of Titanic artifacts that have not been together since the ship’s fateful night in 1912 with material and artifacts from the 1984-1985 discovery of the Titanic as well as with items from the 1997 movie, is a first-of-its-kind exhibition not seen anywhere else before. The exhibition was made possible through the generous support and assistance of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Cedar Bay Entertainment, parent company of The Titanic Museums of Pigeon Forge, TN and Branson, MO, and Lightstorm Entertainment/20th Century Fox.

Found in 1985 during President Reagan’s administration, the Titanic quickly became a dive site for many different companies and explorers trying to get a piece of her history.  To protect the historic site and preserve it for generations, President Reagan issued the 1986 RMS Titanic Memorial Act to designate the wreck as an international maritime memorial.

None of the artifacts displayed in this exhibition were salvaged from the wreck itself – a sacred final resting place.

A historic collection of real artifacts from the Titanic alongside items used in the discovery of the famed ship, Titanic at the Reagan Library combines real stories and real artifacts from the real people onboard the ship. Dramatically set with props, sets and costumes from the blockbuster movie about the RMS Titanic, it is a must-see collaboration of secrets, cinema and artifacts!

Highlights include:

• “Alvin” – the titanium submersible sphere that brought Dr. Bob Ballard down to the wreckage of Titanic; the first such submersible to do so
• Sheet music for “Narcissus” which was found on the body of Wallace Hartley, the Titanic’s bandleader who refused to stop playing, even as the ship began to sink
• A deck chair from the Titanic, one of only eight known to exist, as well as the only known “widow’s seat” deck chair from the Carpathia
• The only known complete set of boarding documents and tickets from the Titanic
• John Jacob Astor IV’s pocket watch, found on his body days after the Titanic sank, and his wife’s life vest she wore to her safety
• The claim form from Margaret Brown (otherwise known as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”) and the Egyptian Talisman she carried off the ship
• Marion Wright Woolcott’s wool coat; the one she wore when she escaped in lifeboat 9, then later wore to her wedding; then later cut strips of fabric from to make Bible covers for her three sons as they served overseas
• Pocket watch and pocket knife recovered from the body of Oscar Woody, one of the five mail clerks onboard the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) Titanic
• Original film footage of the Titanic’s maiden voyage and the Mackay-Bennett’s recovery mission
• Movie sets, props and costumes from the blockbuster movie about the RMS Titanic, including a full-size life boat and Rose and Cal’s Suite
• And so much more

This is not a traveling exhibition.  To see the story of the Titanic told in such a unique way, visitors must come to the Reagan Library.  Whether you are a fan of genuine history or larger-than-life Hollywood, this is truly an once-in-a-lifetime exhibition that sheds light on the Titanic in a first-ever way no museum has attempted before!

Learn more at www.reaganfoundation.org.

The Pond at Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens in Santa Barbara

Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens is located within the entire city block of Santa Barbara, Micheltorena, Garden and Arrellaga Streets in Santa Barbara, adjacent to the two city block Alameda Park (which has a great kids' play area).

Formerly at this spot was the El Mirasol Hotel, which was purchased by an anonymous donor and donated to the city in 1975. The donor was subsequently revealed as Alice Keck Park, daughter of William Myron Keck, the founder of Superior Oil Company (now part of ExxonMobil).

The Memorial Gardens is a beautiful botanic garden with over 75 tree and plant species. There's also a large pond with ducks and turtles, picnic area, gazebo and walking paths.

Visit the City of Santa Barbara website at www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/parksrec/parks/features/horticulture/alicekeck.asp or call 805.564.5418 to make reservations.

Cisco's, 3 Amigos and Los Agaves Top List of CVG Followers' Favorite Local Mexican Eateries

A random, delicious looking burrito combo plate from an unnamed Mexican eatery (from the Conejo Valley Guide archives).

In a recent drawing on the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Page, followers commented on their favorite Mexican eatery in the Conejo Valley and nearby Ventura County areas. There were nearly 300 responses in less than a day.

We tabulated the responses and it was quite a horse race. But in the end, Cisco's, with restaurants on Westlake Boulevard in Westlake Village and Avenida de los Arboles (at the 23 freeway) in Thousand Oaks, was mentioned the most, a total of 32 times.

Close behind with 30 mentions was 3 Amigos, with locations on Avenida de los Arboles (at Moorpark Road) in Thousand Oaks and on Reino Road (at Borchard) in Newbury Park.

In third place was Los Agaves at The Shoppes at Westlake, with 29 mentions...oh so close to 3 Amigos. Coming in at #4 was The Alamo in Newbury Park, with 24 mentions. And, amazingly, but not surprisingly, Lupe's Restaurant, which closed its doors on August 29, 2016, garnered a 5th place sentimental vote with 20 mentions.

Here is a rundown of all of eateries mentioned by Facebook followers in order of number of mentions (when more than one eatery was listed, we tabulated only the eatery mentioned first).

• Cisco's (33 votes)
• 3 Amigos (30)
• Los Agaves (29)
• The Alamo (24)
• Lupe's (20) (closed in August 2016)
• Yolanda's (Camarillo/Simi Valley) (12)
• Sabor (Westlake Village) (12)
• Latigo Kid (Agoura) (11)
• Los Dos Amigos (Thousand Oaks) (10)
• Habanero Mexican Grill (Newbury Park) (8)
• Bad Ass Tacos (Thousand Oaks) (8)
• Don Cuco's (Simi Valley) (8)
• El Sancho Loco (Newbury Park) (8)
• Money Pancho (Camarillo) (6)
• Sea Casa (Westlake Village) (6)
• Plata Taqueria (Agoura) (5)
• Margaritas Mexican Grill (Oak Park) (4)
• Taqueria Jalisco (Moorpark/Simi Valley) (4)
• Lalo's Mexican Food (Moorpark) (5)
• Manny's Mexican Grill (Thousand Oaks) (4)
• Patron Mexican Bar & Grill (Newbury Park) (4)
• Snapper Jack's (Camarillo) (4)
• Others mentioned 3 times: El Tecolote (Camarillo), Mariscos Cancun (Thousand Oaks)(closed in Feb 2018), Establos Meat Market (Thousand Oaks), El Tapatio (Moorpark) and Tacos de Mexico (Simi Valley)
• Mentioned 2 times: Adobe Cantina (Agoura), Burger Express and Mexican Grill (Simi Valley) and Chipotle
• Also mentioned: Somis Market, Antonio's Mexican Food (Port Hueneme), Taqueria Tlaquepaque (Santa Paula), Rosabella's (Ventura), Baja Fresh, Rubio's, El Pollo Loco, Cinqo, Ay Chihuahua (Fillmore), Tito's Mexican Food (Simi Valley), Mercado Guadalajara (Newbury Park), Campos Famous Burritos (Simi Valley), Luna Llena (Simi Valley), Los Toros (Chatsworth), Vallarta Restaurant (Fillmore), La Fiesta Mexican Grill (Moorpark), Sharky's and Los Arroyos (Camarillo)

Enjoy exploring this list of nearly 50 popular Mexican eateries in Thousand Oaks and neighboring cities.

El Tecolote opened its doors in 1948 and moved to its current Camarillo location in 1952.

What to Do When Someone Appears Suicidal on Facebook

Someone connected to me as a friend in Facebook posted a single word on her page tonight. The word was "Suicide."

The actual post

To be honest I don't recall why this person connected with me as I don't remember her from high school decades ago. But I am connected with her and, like others, her post caused me concern. I couldn't ignore it.

The first 10 or so comments were pleas to her. "Can I help?" "Are you ok?" "??" "What's going on?" "We're all concerned" "Where are you?"

There was no response from the woman and the comments changed: "Can somebody message her daughter?" "Has anyone contacted her?" "Do you know her?" "I tried messaging her" "Her voicemail is full"

I took it upon myself to call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 to ask for advice. The problem was that no one really knows where this person is.

After about a minute, I spoke with someone on the Hotline and she indicated in this situation, that Facebook has a "Report Suicidal Content" function at www.facebook.com/help/contact/305410456169423 that allows users to report direct threats of suicide. I did so. As did others.

Facebook's response was "Thanks for reporting this to us. We take these situations very seriously. We'll review the information you provided and may contact the appropriate authorities to follow up on this matter. If you encounter a direct threat of suicide on Facebook, you should contact your local law enforcement or suicide prevention agency right away. If possible, you should also encourage the person who posted the content to contact their local suicide prevention agency. Please rest assured that these reports are kept confidential."

Thankfully one of the individual's friends knew the address she had moved to and contacted law enforcement. An officer is currently checking on her. No word as of yet.

As a product of the pre-smartphone days, I find it maddening to see messages like "I texted her" "I messaged her" " I sent a friend request to her daughter" etc.  Sometimes you just have to get on the phone and call. And that's what one of her friends did.

But the good news if Facebook has provided a platform for several dozen friends of this woman to work together in real time, share information and take an action.