Back from Catalina

Well, we are back from Catalina Island and back to work. We had a great time on the island, and now we have summer fever! Only one more quarter left until summer vacation... woo hoo!

2009 Kinard CARES Catalina Crew on the ferry

Here is a quick recap of our trip to Catalina:

We left on Friday morning, bright and early (actually so early that it was still dark... we were up at 4:00 am). We flew out of DIA to LAX and stayed at a great hostel in San Pedro. We got to walk along the coast, had a great lunch and greeted California with open arms.

Our view from the hostel in San Pedro

We left San Pedro via ferry, and headed to the island. We then gathered onto shore boats (which broke down in the middle of the ocean, so we had to switch to a different one), and arrived shortly at camp. Only 1 seasick kiddo... someone's gotta feed the fish :)

Composting... no waste in nature!

We made it to the top... look at that view!

The crew learning about world population and resources with solar baked cookies!

Camp was awesome! We were busy from 7:00 am to 9:00pm. Our activities included:

- Hiking (beautiful)
- A day snorkel (freezing... 55 degrees)
- Ocean kayaking
- Composting and gardening
- Night sky and night hike (starts are beautiful on the island)
- Night snorkel (an amazing experience)
- Service work (the kids transformed a garden/mound)
- Sports
- Sang around a camp fire
- Getting up early for sunrises
- High ropes course
- Much more

The final outcome of the crew's service project

We had a great time. Two Harbors (where Catalina Environmental Leadership Camp is located) is one of our favorite places! It is so inspiring, a great experience and as usual, we learned so much.

What a way to end the trip!

Welcome home to us! We hope that everyone had a great Spring Break.