Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island

It's true! We really don't spend all of our time in the desert. These photos were taken on a fairly recent day trip to Santa Catalina Island. You may not have heard of the Island, but you've probably heard the song (if your as old as I am anyway). Just like the song says; it's 26 miles across the sea.

 Our ride from Newport Beach to the island

 The boat is a high speed catamaran, so the 26 mile trip is pretty quick.

Newport Harbor

 A fellow passenger, lost in his thoughts. My favorite photo of the day

 A little car ferry between Newport and Balboa Island

Newport Harbor ghetto. You can probably pick up one of these houses for about $5,000,000.00. The larger ones go for two or three times that much. 

 Dolphins everywhere! It was a gray and gloomy day, and the light sucked for photos!

 This is the town of Avalon. The one and only town on the Island. It has a nice harbor. The residents don't have cars.

The Wrigley mansion (yes, as in Wrigley Chewing Gum). In addition to a chewing gum dynasty, the Wrigley family also owned the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs used to come to the island for spring training.

Yeah, I know this photo is all askew, but it seems to be the only one I took that gives you a good view of all the different sized boats/ships that anchor in the harbor. No marina here.

 "The Casino" I'm not sure if it was ever actually a casino, but it has been used for a ton of other things.

 You can see the Wrigley mansion almost at the top of the hill (on the left)

 Check out the condos on the side of that cliff. Not for me!

Many years ago, I learned to scuba dive in the little cove beneath the condos. 

Just because I loved her face. About two seconds after the photo was taken, she gave me the stink eye. 

 They call it a submarine, but I'm not sure if it actually goes under water.

Lost and found 

 Time to go back to the mainland

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 If you ever find yourself in coastal southern California, this place is a must see.  

There are several really nice boutique hotels in Avalon. There are also miles of hiking trails and beautiful primitive areas.

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