Travel
Mandalay Bay Beach Resort,
Oxnard, CA, is on the beach
with fun walks or bicycling
BELOW
Order a lunch and wine for the Gondola
ride at Channel Island Harbor
BELOW
La Dolce Vita Restaurant is affordable, white
table cloth service at Heritage Square, Oxnard.
songs and sung in key. Although the
songs were not barcaroles, written
based on rhythmic strokes of the oar,
this was California and contemporary
music probably worked best. He said
there are songs people request that
are standards, and he has seen more
than one marriage proposal while
singing. Being the nugator that I am,
I had to ask if he ever witnessed a
refusal and he said no, it is usually
obvious ahead of time.
Ninety minutes in the boat with a
bottle of good wine was enough for
anyone’s bladder, and so the
affordable, and excellent. Featured are
Ventura area wines that complement
menu items. They also do cooking
classes for children.
adventure ended right on time at the
originating dock. We then strolled the
beach at our hotel, Mandalay Bay
Beach Resort, and watched people
fly fighting-kites at the nearby park.
This hotel included breakfast with a
custom omelette chef on duty, and
affordable California surf cuisine.
I enjoyed the Coastal Grill there and
its serving of local craft beers.
Keeping busy on this trip was easy,
with whale watching cruises and
island nature tours by Island Packers
from the harbor and paddleboard
lessons inside the marina at Channel
Islands Kayak Center. The kayak
business is owned and operated by
famous surfer Mike Lamm (three-time
US National Surfing Champion). Get a
“cave map” from the Kayak Center and
take your kayak to the islands aboard
One of the evenings dining out was at
Heritage Square, where a collection of
Victorian homes makes for a pleasant
shopping walk. Superior dining at La
Dolce Vita is white table cloth service,
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an Island Packers boat, an unparalleled
adventure vacation activity.
This was a pleasant place, easy to
walk about, with a maritime museum
display of original scrimshaw by
mariners from the 1800s. Outside
dining and beers on the marina wharf
make a few hours here enjoyable.
The less adventurous, or those tired
from adventuring, may find me at the
Mandalay Bay pool with a tropical
drink in hand, or on the sand touching
the Pacific ocean.