Name: Jessica Gray
Age: 29
Favorite Beach: So hard to choose!  I’ll have to say Carpinteria State Beach, since it’s basically in our backyard, and we spend more time there than anywhere else!
Favorite Park: Another tough one.  There are so many amazing parks in this area.  Both Rocky Nook and Stevens Park are favorites because there’s so much wild space to explore with my little one.
Best Place to have Lunch in Carpinteria: The Spot is always a good choice, although there’s a new sandwich place in town called PeeBee & Jay’s that’s quickly becoming a favorite with my husband and me.
Toughest challenge: Creating the time to follow all my interests, to stay caught up with all my friends, to workout as much as I need to, to keep up my house and my garden, and to spend quality time with my husband and son, all while trying to pursue a new career.  It never seems to all be working at once.

There are a few guides that can really handle any situation and make it look easy, though I am sure it isn’t. You are definitely one of those guides. What is your secret?
I don’t know what the secret is.  This has actually come up recently at my new job with the Harbor Patrol.  After successfully maneuvering our largest boat in a really tight space the other day, one of the officers told me, “Wow, you really get it.  You know not to panic when you’re in those situations.”  Actually, I was panicked.  Apparently, I’ve just learned not to show it.  And to be honest, maybe that’s the secret – particularly when you’re guiding and you have guests watching your every move.   I’ve definitely had nerve-wracking moments guiding (like the time when a guest had a heart attack on the ropes course), but because I needed to stay calm for the sake of the other guests, it’s forced me to slow down and react rationally.

Any tips for someone just starting to guide trips?
As for anyone new just starting to guide for the first time, if you get into a difficult situation, remember to stay flexible.   Don’t get caught up in needing to run the trip exactly as planned.  There are always options, and you have to make decisions based on what’s best for the safety and comfort of your guests.

You became a mom 3 years ago, has that changed the way to guide or work?
Well, it’s definitely changed my priorities.  Since I’ve had Colten, I’m constantly reevaluating, asking myself, “What do I want my life to look like?  Am I happy with what I’m doing?  Am I spending enough time with my family?”  I don’t know that having him has changed the way I work, but it’s changed the way I make decisions regarding work.

These days you are focusing on a career with Harbor Patrol and Fire, not your typical “mom” jobs. What is your inspiration?
Colten is my inspiration, hands down.  I’ve sort of always known, deep down, that I wanted to do something along the lines of fire and rescue.  But it took having Colten to make me take the risk and begin actively pursuing this line of work.  I want him to see me working towards my goals and understand what it takes to follow one’s dream.  It’s been a surprising process, with lots of ups and downs, and unexpected twists and turns.  What I’ve learned, and what I’m hoping he’ll grow up knowing, is that life is all about learning and growing and enjoying this journey, no matter where or when or even if you ever “arrive” anywhere at all.

You have a lot on your plate with work and family, what do you do to relax?
I work in the yard.  This may not seem all that relaxing to some, but for me gardening and yard work is like active meditation.  There’s something about it that’s just good for the soul.


Any adventures planned for the future?
Nothing too crazy planned for this year.  We love camping and boating, so we have a couple of lake trips planned for this month and the next.  We have friends in Delaware we want to visit, friends in Hawaii we would love to see, and family in Washington that we’re hoping to get up to soon.  In the meantime, we’ll be playing around here, getting out to the Channel Islands this summer (Colten still hasn’t been!) and out to the Santa Ynez River for some lazy days on the water.  That’s what’s so great about living here…every day can be an adventure, if you let it.

Thanks for sharing with us Jessica.

The post A Santa Barbara Legend: Jessica Gray appeared first on Santa Barbara Adventure Co..

Michael worked with Adventure Company for 2 years. Guests always loved him; his enthusiasm for nature and the outdoors is contagious. So I was thrilled and saddened when Michael was selected to work with the Community Environmental Council, we lost a great one to an even better cause. Since leaving Adventure Company he has been doing great work on high profile environmental projects. I caught up with Michael between organizing our locally loved Earth Day Celebration and educating locals on ways to preserve Santa Barbara’s natural environment.

Name: Michael Chiacos
Age: 31
First Car: 84 Toyota Corolla. Next one will be electric.
Best beach in town: Rincon, when winter swells are in. Butterfly beach in the summer for lazing around and people watching
Greatest Adventure: 8 month traveling through Asia, from surfing in Indonesia to mountain climbing in Nepal
Favorite Quote: Everything in moderation, including moderation

How long did you work for SBACo? What was your favorite trip to guide? Favorite memory/part of the job?
I worked for SBACo for about two years, and continued working the spring week long rafting trips for another two years, until my full time job made those trips hard to do. My favorite trips were the surfing lessons, because I got to get in the water, share the stoke of surfing with excited clients, and do something that I truly love. Doing the rafting trips was also quite fun, as it is so great to get away and spend a week camped right out next to a flowing river, get to spend some quality time with the other guides, and of course all the great rafting, kayaking, hiking and fun up on the American River. And then there was the time my neophyte whitewater kayaking skills got me over my head, literally, but that’s another story!

Any advice for someone wanting to be a guide? How to run a great trip?
My advice is to have a great attitude, as having a fun and positive attitude will rub off on the clients and make them rise to the occasion. I always hope I inspired people to not only have a lot of fun, but also learn something new about the environment we were playing in. Through that interaction with nature they learned a few things and also hopefully became more conscious of protecting the environment.

You’re a Santa Barbara local – what was it like growing up here?
Growing up in Santa Barbara was great – I grew up in the mountains in a little 1930’s cabin in a community called the Trout Club and was part of a feral pack of boys that ran around building forts in the oak trees and playing in the creek. My dad used to blow a conch shell at dark to round us up for dinner.

However, like most kids I didn’t realize how good it was until I left Santa Barbara. I lived in some cool places, Portland, Oregon, the Big Island of Hawaii, and traveled all around the world. However, every time I came home I was blown away by the natural beauty of Santa Barbara and all the access to amazing outdoors we have here. I can ride my bike from my house and in 15 minutes be hiking or biking through the mountain trails of our front country or hop in my car and be surfing in 5 minutes. On the culture and community side, Santa Barbara has the accoutrements of a much larger city and lots of great people. Those things made me want to move back here to Santa Barbara and experience living here as an adult. Well, that and the fact that every Christmas break when I’d come home I’d go hiking in the mountains and the smell of winter sage after a rain touched me so deep inside. The chaparral is where I grew up, and is in my blood. I had to come back.

Currently you are working for the Community Environmental Council to raise awareness about the most pressing environmental issues that affect Santa Barbara. What is the most pressing issue affecting our environment? How can we make a difference?
We are lucky here in Santa Barbara and the US in that we’ve made huge progress on most environmental issues. Compared to India, Peru, Kenya, and other places I’ve travelled we have relatively clean air, water, and cities, though things could always get better.

The biggest environmental challenge humans have ever faced is now pressing on us, but oddly not pressing too hard. Climate change is something distant and faceless enough to think about that it is hard for humans to rally around and agree to tackle it. Our whole economies are built on cheap oil, coal, and natural gas, and we need to totally transform many things to address our dependence on fossil fuels and the environmental, social, and economic issues with them. I believe there will be huge economic benefits, amazing new technology and a whole new economy that emerges as we transition to the clean energy economy, but in the meantime there are powerful vested interests and a whole infrastructure that needs to be changed.

Here’s an example. As the Transportation Specialist at CEC I work on everything from bikes and carpooling to electric cars and better city planning. Lately I’ve been working a lot on electric cars, and they are a great example of the new green economy. They get around 100 mpg equivalent, emit zero tail pipe emissions, and on California’s green grid cut greenhouse gas pollution by around 70% compared to gasoline cars. Our local utility, SoCal Edison supplies 20% renewable energy to our local grid, and that will go up to 33% by 2020, so these cars actually get cleaner as they age, not dirtier like a internal combustion engine. Even more inspiring, many electric car early adopters also get solar panels, so they are driving on sunshine instead of oil! These are the things we need to be moving toward, and where we can have some competitive advantage over China and India. We are working right now to build charging stations and make it easier to use electric vehicles in Santa Barbara –you can check out a short video of our efforts at Plug In Santa Barbara or watch it below.

You just finished working on the Santa Barbara Earth Day celebration. How did it go this year?
Amazing! We had over 38,000 people over two days and the most fun, educational, and peaceful vibe ever. We’ve been able to grow tremendously (around 8,000 attended in 2007) while keeping a great vibe and an emphasis on not only having a fun time with the community, but also learning some positive things to take back and incorporate into life the rest of the year.

Where can we find you when you’re not working these days?
Well, lately making raised beds and laying brick and flagstones as I transform my front yard from a grassy weed patch into a food forest! It’s been a lot of work the last couple months, but is now starting to look great. I bought a house 6 months ago and have been working on it a lot lately – mostly on the outside as thankfully the bones of the house are pretty good. I now have over 50 types of edible fruits, vegetables, and herbs growing on a little downtown lot.

After this big front yard project is over I promised my girlfriend that instead of working on the house three weekends a month, and going on an adventure one weekend a month, we can revert back to our old schedule of three weekends of adventures a month! So starting this summer you’ll see me a lot more in the mountains, in the ocean, and out on the islands.

Thanks for lots of great memories Michael. Look forward to seeing you around town and at the 2012 Earth Day Celebration!

If you have a memory of exploring nature with Michael, please share it in the comment section below. I am sure Michael would love to hear from you.

The post Michael Chiacos: Santa Barbara’s Nature Boy appeared first on Santa Barbara Adventure Co..

Favorite quote: “You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.” -Colette
Philosophy for life: See above.
Greatest Adventure: Probably crossing the world’s highest pass, The Thorung La (17,769 feet northern Nepal), with my mother in early February through blustering winds and sub-zero temps or trekking for a week to Everest Base Camp at 17,590 feet and having tea and chocolate with the Brazilian Climbing Team right below the Khumbu Glacier.
Best Friend: That’s a split between two very precious people to me: World’s Best Travel Partner, Mama Chihuahua, and my Sugar Love Mr. Steve Abbey!

Rachel and Mama Chihuahua (Karen Custer Thurston) on the summit of Volcan Pasochoa (13,779 feet) in Ecuador.

How did you meet Michael and get involved with SBACO?
I think I stalked him early on when I heard he was running SBACO. I went up to him when he was getting ready for a kayak trip at the beach and boldly told him I’d be a great fit (I’d just moved to Santa Barbara and had been working for many years as a river guide and Outward Bound instructor). He looked at me a bit skeptically and never called back (no big surprise). I think it took a mutual friend a year or two later to recommend me for Mike to actually believe I had the chops to be an SBACO guide! I ended up working on and off for SBACO the following five/six plus years. Once an SBACO guide, always an SBACO guide!

Any funny memories from your guiding days – with SBACO or otherwise?
One of the best trips was taking the Archer Girls up to the American River for the week. It was truly an incredible week to spend along the river where I had worked ten years earlier. Talent Show night was a standout when I did my much-famed Oatmeal Skit.

Another favorite trip was taking the top sales-men and women from Best Buy up to Santa Ynez Valley for a wine tasting trip. There were enough of them that Mike rented out one of the S.B. Airbuses which meant we were able to taste with them. Fellow guide Amy Di Chiro and I are both unabashed extroverts and love to sing. Someone got wind of that earlier in the night and made us promise we’d sing on the way home. By the time we were back in Santa Barbara most of the sales team were tipsy on Everclear and had taken turns on the bus mike belting out Aretha Franklin and Salt n Pepa tunes. Good Times!

Rachel and her “Sugar” Steve enjoying wine at sunset along the Atlantic Coast in Essaouira, Morocco.

Guests always loved you, what do you think is the secret to a great trip?
I’m glad to hear that b/c you try your best but can’t control everything on a trip! The secret to a great trip is planning it well, keeping it safe and fun, having scrumptious food (with plenty of Pringles on hand!), and ultimately, having a divine repose with the guests. If you and the other guides aren’t having fun and you don’t love what you’re doing, it’s going to show and the guests will know it. You have to love every minute of it and you have to love the people you’re with (or pretend that you do really we

Your band “King Bee” is so fun to listen to – you guys rock, how did you get involved in music? Where are you guys playing?
How did I get involved with music? I think it’s in my blood! I grew up dancing with my Mom who was a performer. I think she literally had to drag me off of the stage when I was five. I was in front of 500 people and I was absolutely mesmerized. When my number was over, I kept dancing. She was part furious she had to come up and drag me off the stage and part amused I had inherited her love to perform.

Rachel and the Boyz in “King Bee”

I feel truly blessed to have so much music in my life here in Santa Barbara! Our band King Bee has been together for TEN years now…we just celebrated our anniversary up at one of our favorite local haunts Cold Spring Tavern. The five of us play retro rock n’roll from the 50’s to the early 90’s. It’s truly been one of the greatest joys in my life to have the opportunity to perform so regularly throughout Santa Barbara over the years. Many other musicians, clients and fans of ours have become good friends over the years. You can come check us out at Soho on Friday May 13^th from 8-10 p.m. or Saturday June 4^th at the Creekside from 9-midnight.

I’ve also been blessed to have the opportunity to dance West African and Bollywood and play with the Djun Djun Mamas over the past several years with local dance teacher and choreographer Lisa Beck and her partner and drummer/teacher/musician Budhi Harlow. She’s a close friend and a true goddess in every sense of the word! We just had a performance in Hahn Hall at Academy of the West and will be performing in the upcoming Summer Solstice. You can check out their classes and our upcoming performances at Panzumo.com.

Arielle Christner, Lisa Beck (choreographer and teacher with “Panzumo”, and Rachel S. Thurston preparing for their Bollywood Performance at the Tribal Arts Fair.

What are you involved with now?
Musically, I have completely fallen in love with the ukulele! I can’t get enough of it! I’m so excited to finally learn to play an instrument. After all these years playing with a band I’ve never actually known how to play an instrument or read music. I’m really digging the community of super supportive joyful men and women around the world who play the ukulele. I’m taking two classes a week now locally for the ukulele and find it brings me so much joy! I’ll be tearing it up in a year or so…

Professionally and on another creative front, I’m a freelance writer and photographer (working under the name “rsthurston”). Since coming to Santa Barbara I’ve devoted many of my years here to my writing career but in the past three years have been focusing more on developing my photography business. I just graduated from WEV’s (Women’s Economic Ventures) Entrepreneurial Business Course and am honored to be the featured artist of the quarter there. Over the years I’ve done a lot of travel photography but I’m now enjoying developing other specialties in events and lifestyle photography. I recently photographed events for Alpha Resource Center of Santa Barbara (Dennis Miller hosted), the Women’s Festival at Earl Warren, the Panzumo Spring Equinox Party, and will hopefully be photographing a fundraising luncheon for Women’s Economic Ventures.

Adventure books you’re reading?
A biography on Cleopatra…which is wild. I never knew she wasn’t Egyptian (she was the last in a long line of Greek Rulers), that she was the first ruler in 250 years who bothered to learn the local language, and that she married both of her younger brothers. The real life murderous, incestuous scandals from that time make today’s Jerry Springer Show look like Mister Rogers.

Upcoming Trips?
I have a trip to Yellowstone with my Sugar’s family this summer and then a fun trip to Yosemite this fall with hopefully a backpacking trip on the horizon. Looking forward to photographing the wildlife at Yellowstone with my new Canon telephoto lens! Mama Chihuahua and I are tossing about a couple of international trips…we’ve been going on a one-month international trip the last eleven years and half the fun is in the planning. Last time was Tasmania, Australia. Who knows what’s next?

I know for sure we won’t be going anywhere close to Tokyo or Tripoli~

What’s next?
Tea and then bed.

Just For Fun:
Check out Rachel on Facebook
Check out rsthurston photography on Facebook
Check out Rachel’s website
Check out Rachel’s band “King Bee”

Photos courtesy of Karen Custer Thurston and Rachel Thurston.

Thanks for sharing Rachel. If you have a memory or story about Rachel, please share it in the comment section below. I am sure she would love to hear from you!

The post Rachel S. Thurston: Entertaining and Lovable appeared first on Santa Barbara Adventure Co..

How did you get into guiding? What was your first trip? 

I got into guiding for SBACo by answering an ad on Craig’s list for a mountain biking/wine tasting tour guide. When I walked into the interview at the warehouse, Mike (the owner) pulled up a cooler and asked me to take a seat. I told him I would be one of the best employees he ever hired. He put me up to the challenge. 

The first trip I helped lead was a three day surf camp at Santa Claus Lane for what seemed like hundreds of high school students.  I had previously worked for Toes On The Nose in Laguna Beach teaching moms how to surf. I had also worked for the city of Santa Cruz Parks and Rec Department for 5 years. I would drive a 15 passenger natural gas van full of teenagers all over the county, engaging all types of kids in new activities and experiences. So, the surf camp was a great introduction to SBACo for me and the company because I was able to apply my past experiences. Then Mike asked me if I knew how to kayak… 

Kayaking at Painted Cave.

You are a legend for running a hell of a kayak trip without paddles. How did you pull that one off? 

During my second season as a kayak guide, I took a few personal trips out to the west end of Santa Cruz Island to explore Painted Cave. This is one of the largest sea caves in the world.  I had made some friends on the charter boat that goes out to this part of the island a couple times a week, and they kept hooking me up with free trips. At this time, the Painted Cave trip was new to SBACo, so I had more hours exploring this area under my belt than anyone else in the company. 

A corporate group contacted SBACo for a preview tour. They would be considering using SBACo for a future rewards trip out to Painted Cave. Mike put me in charge. We loaded up onto a small charter boat. There were all kinds of lunches, special drinks, chairs, sun hats, lots of fluff for these VIP’s.  The event planner that set up the trip told our clients they would not be getting wet (a common misbelief), so one guest arrived in jeans, a cardinal “no-no” on the water. 

I was so nervous about running a great trip, I didn’t notice I left our paddles in the van until halfway across the channel! When I discovered my mistake I freaked out. The clients said, “Don’t worry Amy, we don’t need paddles”. HA! I paid the boat captain $50 for extra gas and asked him if he could change course. I knew if we went back to shore the trip would be a bust. Instead we motored over to the east side of the island where SBACo had a permit to store gear on shore. Fortunately, we were at the perfect spot to change course without adding too many extra miles to the trip. 

We arrived to Scorpion Anchorage and I sprinted up the ladder, down the dock and into our storage box. I introduced myself to some of the other guides, grabbed three paddles and a wet suit for our jean clad man, and headed back to the boat. The captain was super stoked on my success. He couldn’t believe I was actually going to pull the trip off! We followed the 26 miles of Santa Cruz coast line all the way west to Painted Cave. None of us had ever seen that much of the island. In addition, we came across three huge pods of dolphins, and two huge pods of sea lions. It was a magical day. No wind, no swell, warm water. 

The beauty of the caves speaks for themselves. These are really holy places. No human influence can be detected, besides exploration. We sang in one of the caves. The sound echoed off the walls like a cathedral. It was a life changing event for our clients. They swore secrecy; no one would ever mention the forgotten paddles. SBACo scored the contract for the trip. Yet somehow Mike found out about the paddles. 

Amy leading a campfire program with her guitar.

 Any advice you can give to someone just getting into guiding? 

The best part about being a guide is not what you show others, but what nature and humans show you. Every day, if you are open and humble, you will learn something new. Guiding has completely redefined who I am; it has given me a new identity that I am proud of. However, I don’t take any credit for that, I give thanks to all the amazing people and places that guiding has exposed me to. Also, don’t smoke in Rosie (the company van), ever. 

 You stay busy in the slow season. Where are you up to right now? 

I am currently working as a waitress at Soho, a local music club, and Steve’s patio cafe, an awesome breakfast place on De La Vina Street. On Friday afternoons I take my Grandma to the hairdresser and we go out to lunch to a new restaurant every week. I take a sewing class on Monday and Tuesday where I am making reusable bags out of old t-shirts to help eliminate single use plastic bags from the world. I just got back from a road trip up to Big Sur where we hit up some awesome hot springs. Been surfing as much as I can. Trying to rehearse to play some music shows around town with Allan, the sound guy from Soho. I think our first gig will be at The Coffee Bean on upper state. Classic. 

The guides that work for SBACo are some of the coolest people I have ever met in my life. I feel honored to be a part of such a unique organization. They have taught me so much. Entering my forth season, I still feel like there is so much more to learn. That is the most exciting part of the job for me. 

Amy and fellow guides participating in a clean-up.

Thanks for sharing with Amy. We are honored to have you on our crew! 

If you have a memory of Amy from a trip or elsewhere, please share it in our comment section below.  I am sure Amy would love to hear from you! 

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