Street Scenes and More

    
Kids in a candy store.  It’s a classic, right?  Except this was the most quintessentially charming candy store I think I’ve seen.  Right down to the dipped-in-the-store caramel apples and the watch-it-through-the-window taffy pulling machine, Lloyd’s of Avalon hit all the right notes.

             
Bits of local color.

                        
Just some fun making new friends on the beach.

It’s not often that you see Jake and I together in front of the camera anymore.  Hi guys!

            
Glass bottom boat time!  I’m not sure who enjoyed this more, Logan or I.  My pleasure was in the anticipation, based on my memories of that goofy Doris Day movie.  Adding to the sense of build-up, Jake and I (because I made Jake watch the movie with me before we went) sang the Glass Bottom Boat song practically the entire time we were on the island.  Logan, on the other hand, found joy in the re-living and re-telling of the experience; for at least a week he told everyone, friend or stranger, about going on that boat!

                       
Here is the infamous glass bottom boat, and I have to say that the view above the water was probably equally as impressive as the view below the water.  If nothing else, the species above the water (cormorants) were easier to identify than the swarming fish.

                                 
Back on the pier, we found another especially friendly above-the-water species.

And since these shots still aren’t in order, we’re going to call it a day! 

Gotta get these Thanksgiving pictures up before Christmas! 

Chew On This

There’s a fun little botanical garden just on the edge of Avalon; the garden is laid out before a memorial to William Wrigley Jr.—chewing gum magnate and owner of the Chicago Cubs, he basically owned the island during the 20’s and 30’s and was responsible for developing it. 

As a bonus, we got into the garden/memorial for free! Funny thing about military discounts, the further you get from bases, the more likely it is that they will be offered.

                           
I’m not sure what I expected, something more tropical maybe, but this was probably 70% cactus garden.  It was interesting though; I had no idea that prickly pear could, under the right conditions, develop into something resembling a tree.


The textures were lots of fun to look at.

                      
Wrigley did a number of interesting things when he developed the island.  In addition to establishing the infrastructure for the tourism trade, he wanted to make sure that the inhabitants had employment to sustain them through the off-season, so he built a factory for the production of glazed tile out of local clay and minerals.  This tile is quite prominent throughout the town and lends a unique color and character to the architecture that I really appreciated.

                  
Wrigley died in the early 30s and was originally buried here (his body was moved during WWII); his son took over the company and the island.  Once it was determined that the island was economically stable and self-sustaining, it was turned over to the Catalina Island Conservancy which still owns and maintains 90% of the island as an undeveloped nature preserve.

I’m not sure the kids appreciated the Wrigley’s history of good stewardship, but they did find his memorial to be an excellent place to stop and have a snack!


            
After having a bit of fun on the way back through the gardens, we arrive at the gate just in time to catch the trolley back into town.

Catalina Island Snapshots

We were a day or two into our trip when I realized that one of the cameras was still on Okinawa time and changed it, with the result being that the picture files are all scrambled.  I flipped through briefly, trying to put them in order, and then decided that it was more of a puzzle than I cared to tackle.  So you’ll be seeing the pictures more-or-less as they pop up, without any chronological certainty regarding day or time of day.  We were only there Thursday through Sunday, regardless of how it may appear, and we really had a nice, relaxing time.      

                      
Small, independent hotels always seem to be either much nicer than the chains or just a little scary; this one was definitely nice, very well-appointed and clean.  It was also right next to the island’s only grocery store (just visible on the far right of the second picture), which was convenient for snacks and cheap lunches.  Also, you’ll note the golf carts on the street—there is a restriction on the number of cars allowed on the island so golf carts are the way to go!

This is the Catalina Island Yacht Club, which sounds pretty fancy-schmancy.  Nearby is Catalina Island’s Tuna Club, where modern sport fishing was first organized.

               
Avalon Harbor, unsurprisingly, is well-stocked with both yachts and fishing boats.

                                           
Wikipedia tells me that the town of Avalon, the only incorporated town on the island, has a total area of 3 square miles and boasts a population of just over 3,000.  I’m sure the area where we spent most of our time couldn’t have been more than a single square mile; you could easily walk the whole thing, even with kids in tow.  So it was easy enough to saunter down to the Casino (which, by the way, does not involve gambling), snap a picture or two and spend some time
monkey-ing around, before heading out to do whatever else you had planned.

                               
Like ice cream.  We always plan on ice cream.  The scent of freshly-made waffle cones wafting out of this place was irresistible, and a sprinkling of mint from the bush growing outside took my cone to a whole new level of deliciousness!

Oh yes, the buffalo!  So, years ago (think silent picture era) they were making a movie on Catalina that involved a scene with a small herd of buffalo.  They brought about 15 of them over and then decided it was too much trouble/expense to bring them home again, so they left them there.  The buffalo, of course, multiplied and sometime in the 80’s they shipped 800 of them back to a Native American reservation in South Dakota, leaving 150 or so still running around the island.  We didn’t get to see any of the actual buffalo, as they don’t tend to frequent the tourist areas, but the kids got a ride on this statue next to the ice cream parlor.

Hmmm . . . we’re going to pretend that this fits in here.  It’s a nice picture, isn’t it? :)


Wanna play, kitty?

                     
This was honestly one of the best, most original and challenging, mini-golf courses I’ve ever played.

     
I’m afraid Naomi didn’t really appreciate the game, however, and eventually decided to practice her photography skills instead.  Yep, both of these shots are hers.

                               
The photographer and, oh let’s pretend he’s the golf champ.  (We didn’t keep score.)

Thankful for This

Our Thanksgiving island getaway has become a nice little tradition and a visit to Catalina was on the local to-do list.  It just seemed like the perfect time.

Dana Point Harbor, Thanksgiving Day.  Nice weather to start our trip.

                      
The ferry ride over was peaceful, or as peaceful as it can be with two little munchkins.

Here is your classic image of Avalon.  We’ll get a closer look at that building, called the Catalina Casino, later.

                         
Welcome to Catalina Island.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I love Christmas lights on the beach.  Don’t you?