[july4thfreedomfoundation]

Wow, what a great story.

I would have liked to have seen the remains of those Indian camps on Santa Rosa Island.

I never ate an abalone, but I remember seeing them for sale from time to time in markets in the Santa Barbara area.
I remember being impressed by the size of the shells with the mother-of-pearl like interiors. Many of them were the size of bicycle helmets!

[hanamizu]

I would have liked to have seen the remains of those Indian camps on Santa Rosa Island.
I never ate an abalone, but I remember seeing them for sale from time to time in markets in the Santa Barbara area.

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The middens were a thick line of charcoal and bits and pieces of shells.
The abalone required tenderizing with a metal mallet. We stopped at Santa Rosa maybe three times to weather storms. We were on the South side of the island, so we looked out on the ocean. It was a treat to get away from the boat’s generator which ran 24/7. We never saw another soul, although there could have been some people on the island. It was private property back then, now I think it is a National Park.

Also the fishing was fantastic. Our job was albacore, but we caught lots of fish for dinner at Santa Rosa.