I’ve always wanted to go to Catalina. “26 miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is the place for me…The island of romance, romance, romance….” Memories!! And, of course, I was on a “ship”, on the water! Had a great view of the Mary as we left Long Beach.
Very comfortable 1hr+ trip. Avalon – so romantic and Arthurian – is a pretty city (looks more like a town to me) made up of colorful little (but expensive) houses, some cascading down the hills to the port area. Lots of cute shops and restaurants. Most people drive electric golf carts. There are very few cars and trucks; in fact, the waiting list for a new permit is 18 years. Good idea for an island culture. Took a 2-hour bus trip into the interior, all the way up to the Airport in the Sky, at 1602 feet. The landing strip is on top of the mountain and slopes upward to slow the planes down so that they don’t hurtle over the edge. Pretty amazing!
The ecology of the island, one of the “Channel Islands”, its endemic species and then the history of various introduced animals is fascinating. We saw bison, which were introduced by a filmmaker who then cut them out of every scene. They did, however, get rid of the goats and sheep, which stripped the island bare. There are still scars from a recent fire, which destroyed over 4,000 acres. But the undergrowth, the chaparral, is growing back.
After the tour, I had lunch on the waterfront and strolled the streets and wandered in and out of stores. Then spent some time watching Herman the pelican trying to wheedle some fish from a fisherman – they are old friends, it seems. He is so tame. Even spotted a curious seal, popping its head up to check us out until the gulls set upon it.
I am now in the Lobby Bar on the Queen Mary, drinking my cosmo, typing up the day’s events on Word, looking out through an enormous porthole (not a window) over the water at the lights of Long Beach. Magical. Time for dinner and then work on the blog.
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