Bill and I went to Catalina this weekend to attend a wedding of the
young man who runs our Sound Body Sound Mind Fitness Foundation. He was marrying his high school sweetheart from Bakersfield...they have
been together for more than 10 years! All their buddies from Bakersfield were there, which made for a "festive" event!!! It was an
especially glorious celebration because they are 2 of the nicest people
you'd ever want to meet.
I had never been to Santa Catalina Island before, even though it is
just 22 miles from the coast of Los Angeles. Bill had been with Lulu and the Indian Princesses, and with
Willie for the Canyon School 5th grade trip (one for the history books,
eh Susie?) but alas I had never made it over there, and frankly was not really all that
interested in making the trip. But my rather laks-a-das-ical attitude was
way off the mark, as it is a really FUN place---words I would use to describe
Catalina would be kitschy for sure touristy, young, strikingly beautiful
especially in the early morning light, fun, relaxing, and a great spot to hop over to where
even though it's only 2 hours door to door, you feel a million miles
away.
Because of Bill's work schedule on Friday, we ended up taking a
helicopter over which was exciting - the pilot circled several times half
way over as he had spotted two huge spouting whales! On the way back, due to the
fog, we opted for the Fast Ferry, which was only 1 hour...it was a smooth
ride thankfully!
There are a lot of things to do in Catalina if you want to, and some new
very good restaurants (The Avalon Grill is an award winner) - lots of
walking, hiking, biking, a million water sports (para-sailing, swimming, kayaking, jet skiing, scuba
certification...). We grabbed a $40/hour golf cart and rode all over up and down
the hills. There are about 150 American Bison in the middle of the island - 14 were brought in years ago for
the movie The Vanishing American.
The island was developed by the chewing gum magnate, William Wrigley Jr
(a good Chicago man). After one visit to Catalina in 1919, he loved it so much he bought out the Banning family, and started building.
For 30 years the Chicago Cubs did their spring training in
Catalina. In 1929 Wrigley built the most recognized building on the island - The
Catalina Casino. There was never any gambling there! Wrigley died in 1932 and a huge Spanish mausoleum was built within the
Botanical gardens...but he was never buried there!
Today there are almost 4100 permanent residents on the island, 90% of whom
live in the only incorporated city on the island Avalon.
Sooooo - - - - Catalina is in NO way Newport Beach classy or Laguna
Beach artsy by any stretch, but it's a fun and spirited get away for the LA
folk. Oh - and in the past few years a few nice hotels have sprouted up - we
stayed at The Metropole, which is off the main drag. Other nice spots
are The Pavilion, and The Hotel Portofino.
