Catalina Island

When I was deciding whether I would make the trip to LA or not, I knew I would want to stay longer than my friends. I just couldn't bear the thought of 12 hours worth of flying (6 each way) or the cost of the flight in exchange for only 2 days there. Especially since California was somewhere I've been wanting to go back to anyway. So, I began trying to think of ideas of what I could do that wouldn't be crazy expensive. I really wanted some San Diego time as it's been 5 years since my parent's moved from there and I last visited. I fell in love with that place during the 8 years they lived there and going back has been on my mind lately. My mom probably would have jumped at the chance to meet me out there for the rest of the week...if she and my dad hadn't already planned a trip to France with their cousins during that time. So, in the end, I decided a little trip to Catalina Island would suffice. I had always heard good things about it and it was something I could do without having to rent a car and I could do it in 1 day which would minimize the financial aspect and also my time alone, since I wasn't sure yet how I would like that. I've thought before about taking trips on my own because as much as I like to travel with friends, I can't deny that I love just exploring new places on my own, and the idea of setting my own schedule, choosing to see and do and eat exactly what I want, and not feeling the pressure to keep other people entertained or happy (which, maybe I shouldn't feel responsible for at all, but I do). So, this was a good little trial run.

I left our hotel very early on Monday morning. A shuttle picked me up and took me to the ferry. As I boarded the ferry, I looked into the water and saw many orange starfish! I had never seen starfish like that before and I wished my arms hadn't been full of my bags and that my camera had been easily accessible. As we pulled out of the "driveway" (I can't think of what it's really called, but where a lot of boats are parked), the water had several sea lions swimming about...so cute! I stood outside on the top deck for a while, but it was very windy and cold and rainy (for the 3rd day...I thought we were going to sunny southern California??). I went inside and snagged a seat along a big window where I could still enjoy the views. A little while later, we saw a whole school of dolphins diving through the water. I don't think I have ever seen this in person and I was so excited!! Everyone on the ferry was pretty excited and pointing and yelling at others to come over and look. It was really cool. Unfortunately, I got no pictures of any of the sealife.

The "Driveway"

There was some pretty scenery leaving the mainland

 Cute house of some sort...looked like a naval base or something

Doesn't look quite like the lighthouses of the Northeast!

First glimpse of Catalina Island

As we got closer and closer to the island, the clouds started to break a little and it seemed to get a bit warmer so I went back outside to enjoy the views upon arrival. The rest of the day was the best weather I had during my time in California, although it was still more cloudy than sunny and not really SoCal weather at all. I was just happy that my time exploring Catalina was not in the rain or cold.

 Getting closer!

I was surprised at how the little town looked so

European to me with the buildings built up into

the sides of the hills...reminded me of Greece or

what I would expect parts of Amalfi coast to look like.

 So pretty!

 Loved this unique house up on the hill

 I stayed in the town of Avalon

 I immediately noticed all the flowers upon arrival!

I was on the island by 10:15am so I dropped my things off at hotel reception and did a little wandering around and photo capturing before I could go back and check-in to my room. Catalina was really cute and I had fun exploring the little town.

Catalina Inn, my home for the day and night

 There were tons of these bright orange fishies

swimming around the ocean.

 During my parent's years in Cali, I also fell

in love with Confetti flowers.  They were

always EVERYwhere in San Diego!

 Walking the path to the famous theatre

 Pretty theatre.  If I had planned better,

I could have seen a movie and the inside

of the theatre..supposed to be gorgeous!

Just couldn't get tired of these views!

If it had been sunny & warm, I would have had to partake

in catching some rays on this incredible beach!

 Peace.

 Love.

 Me & archways :)

 Artsy.

 Cute streets with shops

 More beauty.

 Like this pic quite a bit, too.

After checking into my room, I found a place called Steve's where I got a sandwich and clam chowder for lunch. I had a fabulous view while I ate!

My lunchtime view

I walked into some shops after lunch and eventually ended up back at my hotel. I had planned to rent a bike or do a little hiking, but I was so exhausted by this point. It had been a busy week leading up to this with planning for the church party, the party itself, then the wedding weekend! I needed a nap and I took one!

After napping, I hit up a couple of the streets of shops I hadn't done yet and then I went for a run along the boardwalk. I planned to have seafood for dinner, but found that I wasn't hungry enough for a big seafood meal, so I ended up getting a slice of pizza and a salad...not exotic, I know!! But, I was happy with my choice. I did a lot of reading in my room that night, but even despite my nap I still managed to get to sleep at a decent time. The next morning, I thought I would get up early and rent a bike for an hour so I could explore some of the island away from the little town, but it was pouring rain. So, I stayed in bed and enjoyed it :) Yeah, I slept a lot during my 24 hours on Catalina Island, but R&R is partly what a vacation should be about, right? I don't regret it, although, it would have been nice to see some other parts of the island. I did get up early enough to be able to hit up one of the many breakfast spots in town. I chose the Pancake Cottage and it did not disappoint. I had some eggs, with a side of Belgian waffle topped with strawberries. I rarely get the sweet stuff for breakfast/brunch, but this just looked so amazing so I went for it and it did not disappoint. So yummy! Then it was off to catch an 11AM ferry to the shuttle to the airport!

My breakfast view.

Ferry back to the mainland

Long Beach.

I freaked out a bit when I got on the shuttle with two other people who mentioned they were flying from the Long Beach Airport. "Um, sir, you realize I am flying from LAX, right"?, I asked the driver. He knew, but when I told him my flight was in less than 2 hours, he also looked a bit panicked, but tried to play it off as though we had plenty of time. I really began to panic when I realized we were going south to the Long Beach Airport and I knew LAX was north of where we were. Their drop-off wasn't even on the way to my airport!! Anyway, after the drop off at the Long Beach Airport, we turned back north and actually did make it to LAX in time for me to make my flight. Luckily, traffic wasn't bad and the airport lines were short. I did get harassed by one of the security ladies though. I always carry-on my little rolly suitcase, my purse, and another bag with books and stuff for the plane ride. I usually don't get called out on having one extra bag..the two smaller bags easily fit under the seat in front of me. But this lady called me out and I told her that my purse could fit inside my book bag. The one other time I was asked about my 3 bags, this answer sufficed, but this lady wanted proof. Luckily, there really was ample room in my bag for my purse and it slid right in. But, now the lady was on to me. And for the first time ever in my life, I was asked to place my rolly suitcase into the little test compartment where you can check to make sure your carry-on will fit in the overhead bins on the plane. I was shocked she asked me to do this, especially after I saw that my suitcase fit right into the compartment without any effort at all. I was even more shocked when she proceeded to say "You shouldn't put stuff in the outer pocket of your suitcase. It makes it look like it won't fit". Um, okay. But, it DID fit very easily, so why does it matter (I always put my dirty clothes in the outer pocket)? Anyway, that lady was clearly a stickler for rules or was getting a high off her position of authority or something that day. I was annoyed.  But, the silver lining? Jake Gyllenhaal was there going through security as well! I actually might have never noticed him, but the security guys got a call that he was coming thru and were talking about it so I was on alert! I saw him go thru security and then lost track of him. But, I knew there was a good chance he'd be on my flight since the security checkpoint I went thru led to only 10 gates and LAX-JFK is a common flight for celebs, so I kept my eyes peeled for another sighting. Sure enough, as I was in line to board the plane, he bypassed me in the First Class lane. I walked right past him in his seat as I boarded the plane...he sat in the very first row on the aisle. That was my last time to see him, but on my way off the plane, I did check out his seat and took note that Jake Gyllenhall likes Trident gum. A lot. There were wrappers everywhere! Maybe he uses it to keep his ears from popping. Anyway, to answer your questions...yes, he was cute and he looked exactly like he does in movies.