Santa Catalina Island

After taking a one hour train trip from Hollywood to Long Beach, we then boarded a ferry bound for the small town of Avalon, Catalina Island.  The ferry was bumpy, and although I felt a bit sea sick we made it alive to be greeted by an amazingly beautiful small island community, with houses built up on the cliffs and yachts bobbing up and down in the harbour.  As we got off the boat, the first thing I said to Mum was, "This looks like the Greek Islands!"  ... and it really did!!

The weather, however, was not like the Greek Islands and although the days were mild and sunny, the nights were freezing which we soon found out on our first night in our tent at the Hermit Gulch Campgrounds.  We shivered and snuggled to make it through the night, and the very next morning we trudged the 3km walk into town, loaded up on a hot brekky and headed straight for the op-shop where we brought a massive doona and a big woolly blanket to see us through the cold nights!

With that sorted, we began to explore the lovely island that would be our home for the next week... Catalina Island is home to lots of natural beauty and many cute animals like the Catalina Island Fox, squirrel, buffalo and the bald eagle. We went on a day trip to the Catalina Airport in the Sky (which is in the centre of the island) where we were lucky enough to see two buffalo. Here we went on a long hike and then enjoyed a yummy brekky in front of a warm fire.  We spent the rest of our time on Catalina Island wandering around the town, playing at the park, playing mini golf and just relaxing at the camp grounds.  We managed to fit some school work in too!    We also visted the beautiful Henry Wrigley Memorial Gardens which has a big spanish style monument built in his honour because Henry Wrigley (the chewing gum man) used to own Catalina Island many years ago.

Mum loved Catalina Island so much she says that she wants to live there.  She found the most beautiful house for sale, perched high up on the hill, built many years ago. She said Dad can buy it for her for Christmas - it is only a lazy $7.5 million!!  Mum also did a bit of Kombi-spotting- she got very excited seeing a vintage split-screen and an old Kombi ute.

The things I will miss about Catalina Island are the beautiful harbour promenade, using the jukeboxes, the old fashioned lolly shop, all the natural beauty and animals and the friendly people... The things I won't miss about Catalina Island are the long walks to and from town to the campground, the cold showers (this was the worst experience ever, Mum and I would nearly be crying by the end of each shower - it was THAT cold!!!) and, well that's about it!!  Now it is time to head back to LA, down to San Diego, then over the border to Mexico where hopefully we can thaw out! x