Category: Travel

Road Trip – Seaside Gardens and Zookers Restaurant (Carpinteria)

American/New American Restaurants, Beer, Dog Friendly, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Travel

On the way back from Summerland, I decided to make one more stop. The Missus is really into Her plants these days….and I had read about Seaside Botanical Gardens right outside Carpinteria. Yes, it’s a nursery and plant shop….however, it spans three-and-a-half acres featuring plants from various regions around the world.

It’s also dog friendly……and plants are separated by region. The folks working here are so very knowledgeable.

It was so relaxing and yet overwhelming at the same time…….it just went to point out how little we know!

We’ll be stopping here whenever we’re in the area!

Seaside Gardens
3700 Via Real #3050
Carpinteria, CA 93013

When we got back to the downtown area, we decided to do some shopping…..the Missus had fun with some of the thrift stores….some of which had fun items…..

And no….that’s not a “real” goldfish!

Walking down Carpinteria Avenue we passed this huge tree.

This is the Wardholme Torrey Pine, standing at 126 feet tall, it is the largest Torrey Pine in the world!

After a short respite in our room, we decided to head on out for dinner. I had chosen a place a short walk away, named Zookers. Located in the Casitas Shopping Center, Zookers also has a meat and seafood market…so I thought the food might not be too bad.

Plus, they had a large patio area…perfect for JJ!

Service outside was a bit slow….we noticed this for others who sat al fresco as well. Very nice and friendly folks though. The Missus enjoyed Her glass of a White Blend from Paso Robles and I got a Island Brewing Blond, made locally in Carpinteria, fairly clean and refreshing, with a hint of hops.

We ordered one starter and an “entree” salad.

First up were the Duck Confit Tacos ($22).

Man, this was not very good. The tortillas were waxy-mass produced stuff. The duck “confit” was dry and chewy; really lacking in flavor as well. Not enough cheese to have an affect on the tacos as well.

What was good was the Dry Aged Rib Eye Steak Salad ($33). I think I need to put salad in quotes since the only representative “garden green” in this was the very crisp and refreshing Romain Lettuce. It was quite good and we were told it’s locally grown.

The rib eye, while a bit overdone for our requested medium rare was very tender in spite of the looks! It was perfectly seasoned and man, it was so beefy and earthy.

Since Zookers had a meat market; in spite of the Missus’s reservations, I wanted to order some red meat and I’m glad we did! This was our favorite meal in Carpinteria and nowadays, the Missus will order a steak now and then! It was a nice way to end our little road trip.

Zookers Restaurant
5404 Carpinteria Ave. (in the Casitas Plaza Shopping Center)
Carpinteria, CA 93013

Breakfast was provided by the hotel. And the next morning, before checking out I took JJ for a short walk where he managed to meet a “cousin”, named Louie…..who it turned out was also staying at the same hotel!

It was a rather short, but fun road trip…..the 11th week took in 2025! Crazy, huh?

Road Trip – Carpinteria Bluffs Trail, Tar Pits Park, Feast: The Cafe at Field + Fort (Summerland)

Road Trip, Sandwiches, Santa Barbara County, Travel

We slept in a bit during our one full day in Carpinteria. At around 7ish we decided to head on out. Like I mentioned in my previous post, we were staying about three quarters of a mile from downtown Carpinteria. On this morning we decided to do sort of a loop……we headed down what we thought was the strangely named Dump Road. At the end of the road is a lovely view of the ocean and the Carpinteria Bluffs Trail. Turns out that there was an actual garbage dump here until the mid-1950’s! Before that there was Asphalt Mining done.

I know….you look at this and think “what the heck”?

Well, Carpinteria is home to natural asphalt seeps….otherwise known as tar pits. Earning the name Carpinteria Tar Pits. One of five asphalt lakes in the world and second in size to the La Brea Tar Pits!

We could see traces of it during our walk along the trail and also in Tar Pits Park.

Though we weren’t going to do any intense “hunting” for tar…..

Use of the tar goes back to pre-European times as the Chumash people, some of the original inhabitants of the area had many uses for tar.

We kept walking along the trail, finally coming to a parking lot, road, then an RV Park…all along the shoreline.

We crossed over Carpinteria State Beach which ended at Linden Avenue which we consider “main street” of the town. We then headed up to Carpinteria Avenue passing all the little businesses…most of them closed at this time, along the way.

I was sad to note that one of the few businesses that I had heard about in Carpinteria, Robitaille’s Fine Candies had closed at the end of 2024.

We made our way back to our room freshened up for a bit and then headed out. I know of a few people whose family had property or would always go to Summerland during the winter. So, I thought it would be interesting to take the drive up there. We took the short drive up and parked on Lillie Avenue. The street is full of little boutiques, shops, and some charming buildings.

The Missus enjoyed stopping in and doing some shopping. Things seemed quite mellow, if a bit gentrified.

We decided to stop at Field + Fort and have lunch at the Cafe there named Feast. Field + Fort had some pretty upscale and expensive stuffs to sell…..it was fun to browse and of course, the Missus got JJ some stuffs from here.

The Cafe is right next door. The Missus looked over the menu and had a seat with JJ…..

While I went in to order.

The menu seemed quite “hipster – upscale” in offerings……

Anyway, I ordered a sandwich and one of the salads from the very nice young lady and we sat…and waited…and waited….20 minutes in, the Missus went and did more shopping….She came back out and I was still waiting. 45 minutes later our order was ready.

The Broccolini and Romesco Sandwich ($16) sounded interesting.

This place loves their pickled onions…the actual salad was our favorite thing about this…though the bread….a simple levain was nicely toasted, though it really lacked the flavor of a decent sourdough.

The “crispy” broccolini was just roasted and while slightly crunchy not crispy…and there were two stalks lying in the middle of the bread for the whole sandwich. This was more like and arugula, crisp broccoli leaf sandwich with a overly sour Romesco sauce.

The Missus does enjoy Her cauliflower; so we got the Roasted Cauliflower Salad ($15).

This was fine, though the cauliflower seasoning was on the bitter side. It’s like something I could make at home.

Well, the food Feast was nothing to go out of the way for. Things looked pretty simply put together so that 45 minute wait? But at least it wasn’t a overly heavy lunch! And the Missus enjoyed shopping at Field + Fort.

Feast: The Cafe at Field + Fort
2580 Lillie Ave.
Summerland, CA 93067

We headed back to the car. And there was one more stop I wanted to make on the way back to Carpinteria!

Road Trip – Hayashi Vegetable Stand (Oceano) and Rincon Brewery (Carpinteria)

American/New American Restaurants, Gastropub, Markets & Grocers, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Pubs and Pub Grub, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Travel

Since we had decided to stop at the Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove on the way to our next destination, I decided to head south in Highway 1 instead of the 101. There was one place I had always wanted to check out; Hayashi Vegetable Stand in Oceano.

It’s a nice and fairly busy shop…with an interesting variety of items for sale…not only fruits and vegetables.

We ended up getting some of our favorite almonds here…..it was even cheaper than what we pay for them in Paso Robles and some other stuff!

I think we’ll make this a regular stop when we’re back in the area.

Hayashi Vegetable Stand
2876 Cienaga St.
Oceano, CA 93445

Back on Highway 1, we just had to stop here in Arroyo Grande….just because….you can see why, right?

From here we got back on the 101 South. Our destination for two nights was the town of Carpinteria, which was just South of Santa Barbara and Summerland. It was recommended to me by one of the folks who often goes to Bay Hill Tavern.

We settled into our accommodations which were a bit out of the downtown area. After settling in, we took a nice 30 minute stroll to the end of Linden Street…basically the main street of the town and got a view of the lovely sunset at Carpinteria City Beach.

We strolled back up Linden to Carpinteria Avenue to our dinner destination. The same fella’ also recommended Rincon Brewery for simple pub grub.

Which had an abundance of al fresco seating…and was dog friendly….

The service was pretty slow….I basically had to go inside to place our orders and such. Still, we enjoyed our brews.

The Missus got the Cetacean Rice Lager, which was quite refreshing, while I got the Dos Arboles Pilsner which was perhaps a bit too light for my taste.

Since it was early, we got two Happy Hour items…one of which was recommended.

We started with the Potato Skins.

These were really dry, the bacon hard, and super salty.

And the Crispy Cauliflower ($9.25) which the fella had also recommended.

These decently spicy, though the “panko” breading really wasn’t too crisp. At least the cauliflower were on the tender side.

Overall, pretty basic pub grub. Which was pretty much all we needed on this evening.

Rincon Brewery
5065 Carpinteria Ave.
Carpinteria, CA 93013

We took a nice leisurely stroll back to our room. We even saw this cat sleeping in the window of one of the businesses on the way back!

We’d have a full day in the area ahead of us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Galapagos – Gianni Arismendy Environmental Interpretation Center (San Cristobal) and Heading Back to Quito

Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Buffets, Ecuador, Galapagos, Travel

We spent our last evening in the Galapagos heading from Puerto Ayora back to San Cristobal where everything started just a week ago. Though we had seen so much in that time…it was such an epic trip, and yet it was only half of what could be done!

Dinner that last evening cracked us up as it was totally kinda Asian fusion!

From the sushi rolls to the seared tuna….it seemed a bit cliche, and yet we got a kick out of it!

Those won ton strips in the salad!

The langostinos…more like lobster tails were actually quite good!

And morning found us back in San Cristobal.

And after breakfast, we boarded the ferry to take us to the dock.

Several folks were headed back from San Cristóbal Airport fairly early, so they had one of the vans take those folks, while the rest of us had a noon flight. This meant that there was one other stop that could be made. Just a bit out of town is the Gianni Arismendy Environmental Interpretation Center.

The most interesting part of which was the inhabited history of the Galapagos.

The one that I was really interested in; was about a book I’d read and several podcasts I’d listened to about the Galapagos Affair, which has also spawned a documentary.

Floreana is actually on the Southern Itinerary along with Española Island (to perhaps visit Diego??), so perhaps this gives me reason to want to return!

But for now; I could just look at the map of the Galapagos and see all the wonderful places we’d been!

We were then dropped off at San Cristóbal Airport for our flights back to Quito. Unlike our trip to the Galapagos, we had a short, 45 minute layover in Guayaquil before getting to Quito.

Our flight back to San Diego was not until 1130 pm on the following day. I planned things that way on purpose to give us a buffer “just in case”. We stayed at the Wyndham at the airport, which featured an interesting buffet dinner. They had several types of ceviche at the buffet!

Along with some interesting soups….

We had read that the yellow dragon fruit is endemic to Ecuador and though we had seen it at Mercado Santa Clara, we hadn’t had a chance to try some. So, the Missus was happy to be able to sample some…..and actually had “thirds”! She enjoyed it so much.

And since we had almost an entire day…I had booked an day trip for the Missus and I….where we’d have a very memorable experience on a trip full of them!

Stay Tuned!

Galapagos – Charles Darwin Research Station and Fausto Llerena Breeding Center (Puerto Ayora)

Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Ecuador, Galapagos, Travel

After lunch and a short break we headed back to Puerto Ayora. This time we were in the town of Puerto Ayora itself. With a population of over 12,500 Puerto Ayora is the most populous town in the Galapagos. Our destination was the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Established in 1959 by the Charles Darwin Foundation, it’s basic function is that of research and conservation.

There are several areas that are open to visitors. We were first led to the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center, whose purpose is to restore endangered tortoise and land iguana populations. The center collects hatchlings and eggs of the 12 unique species of tortoises, raising them until they can released on their respective islands.

It was quite amazing to see!

There are also adult tortoises that are endangered and are being preserved to keep the species going.

I also got to chat with our guide about Diego. You know that story, right? Back during one of the expeditions in 1934 several tortoises from Española Island were sent to the San Diego Zoo. In the 1960’s, the rather new Galapagos National Park Service from the Charles Darwin Research Station did a survey of the island and found only 14 of this species of tortoises left on the island! The 12 females and 2 males were sent to the Charles Darwin Research Station to start a breeding program. It was then that a male of the species was found at the San Diego Zoo and in 1977 returned to the Galapagos. The rest is history as the breeding program released over 1,800 hatchlings back in Española Island. According to this post by the Galapagos Conservation Trust, genetic testing revealed that the tortoise, now named Diego “fathered almost 60% of all the captive-bred hatchlings”. In 2020 Diego along with the other 14 were returned to Española Island to enjoy their retirement! And according to this Diego is still enjoying his retirement! So there you have it, a San Diego connection!

We were told that over 200,000 tortoises were taken from the Galapagos for food and other purposes.

And then there’s the story of Lonesome George, who was the last of the Pinta Island Tortoises.

Tortoises were taken as food and then goats were introduced to Pinta Island. And by the mid 60’s Pinta Island Tortoises were thought to be extinct. And then in 1971 George was discovered and in 1972 was moved to the Breeding Center. Further expeditions were done and inquiries were made around the world, but no other Pinta Island Tortoises were to be found. Attempts to have George mate with Volcán Wolf giant tortoise which are the closest match genetically to Pinta Island Tortoises failed. And in June of 2012 George died, the last of his kind.

After his death he was sent to the American Museum of Natural History and their team of Taxidermists went to work. He was then on display there until 2017 when we has returned to the Galapagos and the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center where he now resides.

On the panel outside the display are these words: “Whatever happens to this single animal, let him always remind us that the fate of all living things on Earth is in human hands.”

We spent a bit more time checking out the displays and things at the research center.

We then walked back to Puerto Ayora where we did some shopping and explored a bit.

We noticed that folks used cones to mark off where the sea lions were located.

And we headed back to the port at our assigned time for the ferry back to the Evolve.

Back on board we had a nice cocktail hour.

And got to watch the sunset over Puerto Ayora.

Then freshened up before meeting everyone on deck for a lovely farewell cocktail with the crew.

Hard to believe that this was out last evening in the Galapagos!

Road Trip – Revisiting Blue Moon Over Avila and Checking Out Some Other Places

Dog Friendly, French Restaurants, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Travel

After hitting up some of our favorite places the day before, then spending the night in Solvang we headed up the 101 to a stop that we had enjoyed a few months before; Avila Beach.

On the way up, we stopped in Los Alamos. The Missus had always enjoyed shopping at Los Alamos Gallery.

As there were always things that She never knew She needed!

Los Alamos Gallery
515 Bell St.
Los Alamos, CA 93440

Still running a bit early, we made a stop in Pismo Beach, so that the little “crazy guy” could run around on the beach.

With a stick he found of course.

We got to Avila Beach and was able to score an early check in.

And after taking a break, we went to our favorite restaurant in Avila Beach; Blue Moon Over Avila.

Which is open all the way thru from 1130am….so we did a late lunch-early dinner kind of thing. The place is totally dog friendly and we got seats at the rail so we could see what was happening on Front Street.

Since we had a fridge, we ordered more food than we needed.

Like this huge Charcuterie Board.

Nothing fancy mind you; but quite satisfying; I enjoyed that cheese that seemed like Manchego which was nice and milky. We saved a good amount of this to have as an evening snack.

We also got the Beef Bourguignon, which was just as good as on our last visit.

Not overly “winey”, it was quite savory, with the mushrooms adding the perfect earthiness, the lardons saltiness. We saved some of this for later as well.

And I was glad to know that our favorite item from our previous visit; the Croque Monsieur was just as delici-yoso!

That perfectly crisp layer of Gruyere makes this for us. It’s a bit milky-savory, with a hint of what seems like sweetness.

Buttery Bechamel, rosemary ham, and a nice yeasty sourdough completes the set. Man, I wish this place was in San Diego. Totally our favorite Croque Monsieur!

Blue Moon Over Avila
460 Front St.
Avila Beach, CA 93424

Sadly, my favorite stop for a local brew, Locals Taproom was closed because it was a Tuesday, but because it was early in the week; all the kids from SLO and other visitors weren’t around. So it made a nice afternoon; then evening stroll really nice.

Of course we took a walk down the pier with J.

This little town of about 1,600 is quite mellow during days like this. And JJ even met a “cousin”!

We then headed on back to the hotel…relaxed. They had a free wine tasting during the evening which the Missus enjoyed. I had also gone to the little market and got myself a brew to have with the leftover Beef Bourguignon. We enjoyed a nice night of sleep and of course JJ got me up at 430am!

The beach is open to pups before 10am and after 5pm daily. So once the sun was up, we took JJ for some fun on the shore.

And there’s always something “new” to notice!

Our accommodations serves breakfast which is nice. We checked out and then headed back South.

We made a couple of stops on the way to our final destination for the road trip. Since this was in early December, I decided to stop at the Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove. Which is a well known migration spot for Monarch Butterflies between November and February.

There were a couple of people on the trail…two folks with major camera gear. But unfortunately we saw maybe 4-5 Monarchs.

I read that there’s been a 90% drop in the Monarch Butterfly population in recent years. So sad…..

We took a short stroll around the Meadow Creek area.

Before heading back to the car and our final destination….we were actually taking a bit of a longer route since there was a place I wanted to stop at!

Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by!

Where on the road were we?

Road Trip, Sierra Nevada, California, Travel

Well, we’ve just done our sixth (!) road trip of the year! Go figure….this is actually a sort of a repeat of one we did a couple of months back and also a few times last year. We headed back home early, totally expecting the usual 6-7 hour drive….unfortunately, the Rock Fire closed the I-395 South right past Bishop for a couple of hours this morning; leaving us sitting and waiting. I had totally expected to get home and do a short post on a place in San Diego…..but, well it was not be….as I’m kinda beat.

So, I’m just gonna do one of the “where on the road” posts!

Like I mentioned earlier; these places have become regular stops for the Missus, who loves the hiking and paddleboarding…and now JJ, who loves the hiking and wouldn’t you know, the lakes and swimming! Remember last year, when I “taught” JJ to swim the way I did “back home”? Well, guess what? JJ remembers the lake and needs no prompting to jump right in now!

And of course, there are the hikes.

Not too many choices around here….and there’s a lack of dog friendly dining choices as well….so we packed quite a bit of food to prep and did takeout for other meals.

We spent four nights here….and JJ did two swims at the lake everyday!

Our next stop was only for two nights…..on an interesting note; we were here for the Reggae Festival weekend again!

And since our last trip here; thanks to “FOYs” Karen and Kenneth, we have two new dining “stops” which we ate at again during our two days here.

And of course we did the hikes…..

And took in the views!

All in all, a busy six nights! And after that 9+ hour drive home….well, it’s time for something simple to eat in the warm weather we’re having here and then catching up on things!

So, we’ll see you tomorrow for another SD post!

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip – Revisits to Industrial Eats (Buellton), Vaquero Bar, and Good Seed Coffee Boutique (Solvang)

American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Cocktails, Pubs and Pub Grub, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Santa Barbara County, Travel

For our last road trip of 2025, we chose to spend most of our time in a city in Santa Barbara County that we had never visited before. We also decided to visit some of our “favorite” places to dine and drink on the way there as well.

So naturally, the Missus wanted to have lunch at Industrial Eats. Which I’ve posted on several times already! We arrived in time for lunch and along with the Missus’s favorite, the Smoked Duck Salad, She wanted to try something new; so I finally had a chance to try the Reuben, the salami is made inhouse, which interested me.

The salad, with a simple vinaigrette, was as good as ever.

The Reuben was quite large.

It had a bit too much cheese for my taste; the sauerkraut was crisp and assertively sour, though a bit too salty. Which combined with the generous portion of somewhat chewy pastrami really made this a sodium bomb.

Still, not a bad sandwich….though a bit too much for lunch for me!

Industrial Eats
181 Industrial Way
Buellton, CA 93427

I’ve mentioned how much JJ enjoys Solvang before……so, we decided to stay the night before heading further North. It was a Sunday, so things were a bit hectic.

But we enjoyed walking around the town.

The Missus got to do some shopping.

And JJ….well, got to do JJ things.

We settled into our usual accommodations. When it came time for dinner, I wanted to try a place we had been to twice, but only for drinks, Vaquero Bar. The bar is attached to Coast Range Restaurant and on my last visit I found out that the bar features the same menu as the restaurant! So, I figured since it’s dog friendly and quite relaxed that we’d have dinner there.

I had a Medicine Man, a version of a mule that had both Tequila and Mezcal. Nice and stiff!

The Missus had a glass of wine.

We ordered two appetizers which proved to be enough for dinner. Starting with the Crispy Pork Belly.

This was interesting as the Gochujang Sauce had a sweetness to it. Came to find out that they actually put Coca-Cola in the sauce! The pork belly was more chewy than crispy by the time it got to our table.

We also got the Bone Marrow, which was quite good and a rather large portion to boot!

Nice fatty-rich bone marrow, tempered by a not overly sweet marmalade, with grilled bread. That pickled shallot vinaigrette would make for a heck of a salad dressing, but was a bit too much for the marrow.

We enjoyed this meal and it seems we’d finally found a place we enjoy having dinner at in Solvang!

Vaquero Bar (In Coast Range Restaurant)
1635 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463

Weekday mornings in Solvang is usually nice and relaxed. This morning was no different.

We took JJ for a nice walk, where he even made a “friend”.

We had enjoyed the coffee at Good Seed Coffee Boutique on a previous visit and decided to drop back in.

Even though the shop sits right on the corner of Atterdag and the 246 it’s easy to miss.

It was very quiet and mellow on our visit.

The Missus enjoyed Her latte.

And I found the cold brew quite refreshing.

Looking over the breakfast offerings; I decided on the Pesto Bagel with Tomato and Balsamic Reduction…this was quite good. The Mozzarella added a meaty-mild milkiness, the savory nuttiness of the pesto, and the acidity of the tomato. The bagel had been toasted and was nice and crisp.

Good Seed Coffee Boutique
1607 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463

Well, it looks like we’ve found our coffee place in Solvang as well!

And after hamming in up a bit more……

We headed back to our room to relax a bit, then pack up, and headed on out……

To our next stop…..to a small beach town where we had enjoyed a nice dinner on a previous visit.

The clock was ticking!!

Galapagos – Puerto Ayora and El Chato Ranch

Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Ecuador, Galapagos, Travel

Our last full day in the Galapagos was going to be spent on Santa Cruz island, with most of it taking place in Puerto Ayora, the most populated town in the islands. We had already been to Cerro Dragon and Bachas Beach, but there was still much more to see.

It felt quite interesting to wake to a fairly busy harbor.

And after our breakfast……

We were headed to the harbor.

Upon landing I felt so sad seeing this sick looking Sea Lion pup. There were cones around the little one so he wouldn’t be bothered, so it was obvious the authorities were aware of the little one.

We boarded a small bus and headed on inland to El Chato Ranch and Giant Tortoise Reserve. This large property was once a cattle ranch, but was converted to a reserve for free roaming tortoises.

From the moment you arrive, you’ll see tortioses.

There are several trails and once we walked a bit we were taken to a “Lava Tunnel”….in other words a lava tube.

And folks really seemed in awe of it. Even though we’ve been to Kaumana Caves a couple of times, this was still neat.

After this we walked some trails and just watched the Giant Tortoises ambling about.

It was amazing watching these majestic creatures…..

Who were just totally unfazed by our presense.

Just carrying on with daily life!

We then headed back to Puerto Ayora and the ferry back to Evolve.

There were more sea lions napping on the dock. And the little was snoozing as well.

Back on board we had our departure briefing and then lunch.

We then had a couple of hours to rest before heading out for our last adventure!

Galapagos – Rabida Island

Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Ecuador, Galapagos, Travel

After visiting Puerto Egas and having lunch we headed off to our next stop, Rabida Island.

Rabida is a small island, less than 2 square miles in area. Much of it is rocky coastline.

But Rabida has one very unique aspect……

The stunning red sand beach. The red sand is a product of iron rich lava that formed the island. And this beach is the only access point for visitors to the island. It’s makes for quite a dramatic stop.

There were so many unique stops in this archepelago!

A bit further inland is a salt water lagoon, where we saw Flamingos.

I was quite surprised to see them! Apparently, flamingos are very strong fliers, and it is thought that they first migrated to the islands all the way from South America and perhaps even the Caribbean!

I’ll never look at them the same again!

As we headed back to the shore, the red sand made for quite a back drop as we hit the “Golden Hour”.

Back on board, I quickly noticed that the deck had been rearranged a bit. Well, after freshening up we were back on the rear deck.

And there was this flag unfurled…..

Apparently, it was “party time”…….

It was a fun; pirate themed time……

And then it was time for us to contribute to the festivities. Remember the evening we had dinner at the Captain’s table? Well, one of questions we were asked….very casually during our chat was what would be our “spirit animal”. I mentioned really being drawn to the Flightless Cormorants. Well, it had been documented and we were now required to imitate that creature to music! Yikes…. I hope that video will never make it out of the Galapagos!

And after the festivities, we headed back to our cabins to “recover” before dinner.

That duck in a red wine – balsamic reduction was quite good!

Back in our cabin we noticed that we’d been given some nice chocolate as an appreciation gift.

We were actually kind of sad that our cruise was nearly over!