Blog: Catalina Island
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Catalina Island - Friday, June 8, 2007
I've been wanting to take Priscilla to Avalon Bay at Catalina Island since the beginning of the year, and today I finally made it happen in celebration of her recent birthday, a.k.a. our six month anniversary. I made boat reservations and checked out activities in mid-May, and I sent her a letter a few days ago detailing what items to bring. Of course I kept the place a secret, and she had no idea where she would be going until we arrived at the San Pedro boat terminal this morning.. bright and early at 7:30. The 1-hour cruise to the island was pretty enjoyable, and we even went on-deck to take pictures in the chilly wind with Priscilla's hair flailing all over the place.
When we arrived on the island, we scouted out the front of the town and found our way to the Avalon Casino, which turned out to not be a gambling casino as we had assumed. Instead, the place was named for the original meaning of the word "casino": a building used for meetings or entertainment. Entertainment here being theatrical.
From there we checked out the adjacent Avalon Museum, where we learned some of the history of the island, including the involvement of chewing gum company founder William Wrigley Jr.
At lunchtime we found an outdoor cafe, where I got a swordfish sandwich, and Priscilla got a quesadilla oozing profusely with grease. Afterwards we chillaxed on the man-made beach and almost got sunburned despite having sunblock on. Then we rented bikes to explore the town, and gruelingly made the ride up a hill to see the Wrigley Memorial, except that when we got up there we discovered that bikes weren't allowed inside, and we didn't have bike locks. But the ride back down was pretty fun, and most deserved.
Then it was off to kayaking which we're also pretty bad at. We couldn't sustain paddling in sync for more than 20 seconds. Finally to conclude the fun, we checked out a bunch of different shops and talked with one shopkeeper about how island residents have to pay the same inflated prices for services as tourists do, and how the island is a nice place to live but housing is so ridiculously expensive, and shops close up in winter when tourists aren't coming. There's also a 13-year waiting list for bringing automobiles to the island, and probably an even longer one for getting a home since the governing body isn't allowing more homes to be built. ;p
So it was Priscilla's first time to Catalina, and we had fun, though it would've been nice if we could have stayed longer and done more things. If we go there again, it probably should be on a Saturday when the boats run back later. The only downside is that it'll be more crowded. :)
When we arrived on the island, we scouted out the front of the town and found our way to the Avalon Casino, which turned out to not be a gambling casino as we had assumed. Instead, the place was named for the original meaning of the word "casino": a building used for meetings or entertainment. Entertainment here being theatrical.
From there we checked out the adjacent Avalon Museum, where we learned some of the history of the island, including the involvement of chewing gum company founder William Wrigley Jr.
At lunchtime we found an outdoor cafe, where I got a swordfish sandwich, and Priscilla got a quesadilla oozing profusely with grease. Afterwards we chillaxed on the man-made beach and almost got sunburned despite having sunblock on. Then we rented bikes to explore the town, and gruelingly made the ride up a hill to see the Wrigley Memorial, except that when we got up there we discovered that bikes weren't allowed inside, and we didn't have bike locks. But the ride back down was pretty fun, and most deserved.
Then it was off to kayaking which we're also pretty bad at. We couldn't sustain paddling in sync for more than 20 seconds. Finally to conclude the fun, we checked out a bunch of different shops and talked with one shopkeeper about how island residents have to pay the same inflated prices for services as tourists do, and how the island is a nice place to live but housing is so ridiculously expensive, and shops close up in winter when tourists aren't coming. There's also a 13-year waiting list for bringing automobiles to the island, and probably an even longer one for getting a home since the governing body isn't allowing more homes to be built. ;p
So it was Priscilla's first time to Catalina, and we had fun, though it would've been nice if we could have stayed longer and done more things. If we go there again, it probably should be on a Saturday when the boats run back later. The only downside is that it'll be more crowded. :)