Sunday, September 19, 2010 by michelle.

The Catalina Experience recently gained two new employees to help us finish out the year.  Jesse and Kyle (nicknamed “the cabin boys”) are a couple of young (18) men who happened to be visiting Two Harbors on the same day Eugene was there.  They had come over on their 27′ sailboat that they live aboard to hang out on the island for a bit and by chance were looking to pick up some work.  Eugene offered to give them a try if they decided to come back to Catalina and wanted to stop by camp, and that’s just what they did.

They’ve been working with us for a few weeks now and they have been doing an excellent job.  They help out wherever they are needed, whether it’s checking out waterfront gear, doing dishes in the kitchen, cleaning bathrooms with Grant, or even holding baby Morgan (a.k.a., Mr. Wiggles) so mom and dad can get a quick bite in during lunch.

They still live aboard their sailboat and commute to work each day from the harbor, but Grant and Jeremy helped them out and got their boat anchored much closer to the pier (they were rowing in from Hen Rock each morning which took them about an hour each way!) and Eugene is letting them use an outboard motor to power the inflatable dinghy brought to them by Kyle’s mom and dad.

We are glad to have new staff that seem to be really enjoying themselves out here and we’re really relieved to have two more people to help us during these last busy months.

Posted in Staff Post | 3 Comments »

Monday, September 13, 2010 by Anna.

(Photo by Ken Keldsen)

We occasionally see one or two bald eagles flying around the cliffs on either side of our beach.  We saw some earlier this season (including one ripping up a big halibut on the beach), but I haven’t seen any in several months.  Today, we heard their characteristic call and noticed one perched on the cliff side on SDYC’s side.  They are always exciting to see, and I’m glad to have them back around again.  I hope they stick around for some of the campers to see this fall season.

According to the Catalina Island Conservancy,  there are currently about 8 breeding pairs on the island.  Bald eagles were common on the island until the 1970s, when DDT pollution (which accumulates up the food chain, hitting the eagles hard) made the eagles’ eggshells too thin, so that they either dehydrated or broke before they could hatch.  The Institute for Wildlife studies and the Conservancy began a recovery project in 2002, and now, finally, the eagles’ eggs are strong enough to hatch without interference, and the population is beginning to rebound.  If you’re curious about the project, or want to see a live web cam of a nest near Two Harbors, you can find it here: http://www.iws.org/bald_eagles/twoharborscam.html 

Posted in Staff Post | 1 Comment »

Tuesday, September 7, 2010 by Anna.

This past labor day weekend, TCX hosted its annual Family Camp.  This year was our biggest family camp to date, with about 75 people from over 14 different families.  It was nice to see several families that had been to our camp before, whether from previous family camps, youth camps, or weekend guest groups.

Our families arrived first thing Saturday morning.  During the day, they could choose from a variety of staff-guided activities, including snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, working through our low ropes course, or trying out our GPS Hunt, or they could just relax on the beach all day.  I think all of our guests did a little of both!  The families spent their nights watching a movie under the stars, completing a night-time scavenger hunt, or visiting around a campfire.  Unfortunately, our star gazing session had to be canceled due to all the clouds that came in Sunday night - too bad, because I was really looking forward to showing them some constellations you can’t normally see on the mainland.

Parents and kids left early Monday morning with full bellies (thanks to our kitchen staff’s tasty meals - homemade cinnamon rolls, pizza, and a luau dinner complete with roast pig, to name a few) and, I think, good memories.  We hope to see them return next year!

Posted in Staff Post | 1 Comment »