As we were leaving Abby and Ellie’s dance class today, Shaun received a call from our friend JT about coming up to Ventura Harbor. He and his fiance’ Mellissa were going to be there to see two tall ships docked there for a short time. These tall ships were historic and used in the filming of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Having nothing to do that day we decided to head on up and take a look.

When we arrived we knew JT and Mellissa were close by as we could see his car. You cant miss it. Its the one covered in chalkboard paint with a box of sidewalk chalk sitting on the back, inviting people to leave their artistic mark. So before we set out to look for the two of them, we did a bit of drawing.

When we met up with them we took the time to enjoy the ships. Shaun and I thought it would be fun to tour them but the cost was a little more then we had wanted to spend. Instead we walked around the harbor, stopping at the arcade area to ride the carousel there. After that we headed over to the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center. Every afternoon the ships take passengers out to sea for a mock battle. JT and Mellissa knew that if we went to the second floor of the visitor center we could watch them sail out and that’s where we went. It was a pretty sight to see on a beautiful afternoon.

Shaun and Abby help to decorate JT’s fun car.

Its a moving piece of art, quite literally.

Pretty Tall Ships

Ellie and Daddy are all smiles at the carousel.

Gathered around the tide pools.

What the heck is that mommy?

Sailing out to sea

Not doing much, just riding a dolphin.

“Cheese, Im on a Sea Lion!”

One last addition to the car before we have to go. Abby did a great job with her name on the car.

After the ships sailed out we headed back to our car. Abby and Ellie left a few more drawings for JT and then we made our way out. We had planned to head home but got the itch to head up to Santa Barbara for a quick trip to the zoo to surprise the girls.

The newest residents of the Santa Barbara Zoo. So beautiful!

Hanging out with the penguins hoping to catch a free bite.

You cant leave without seeing the penguins!

Our plan to surprise the girls back fired a bit, with stops to use the potty and some traffic slowing us down. By the time we arrived we only had about 45 minutes before the zoo closed. But, we decided to enjoy it anyway and headed off to see our favorite animals. Two new animals have joined the zoo family and we wanted to see them as well. Two female lions were added the male and female already making the zoo a home. It was just our luck to see them out and about. They are young but so big and beautiful. The lack of time at the zoo was worth it to see the newest residents. And with that we headed home to close out yet another random Wharton adventure.