"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 6 Avalon, Catalina Island, California September 29, 2016 Thursday Sunny & 80 degrees Part #1 of 2 80 Pictures

Today's port of call was a lovely one…….Catalina Island, 26 miles off the coast of southern California. Which happens to be our home state. It's been several years since we have been here. So long that we cannot remember the exact year that was. Much has changed since then from what we could see from the outside decks.

Since the arrival time was not until noon, we had plenty of time to have a relaxing breakfast in the dining room. Afterwards, we did our usual walk, which included the "On Deck for the Cause" 5K walk for charity. We're not sure how the folks living on deck three liked the blasting music playing before 9am. With the longer than usual day in port, it appeared that many guests slept later.

There were 6 President Club members including us that were escorted by Christel to deck A to board the first tender boat to shore. Some of the Pinnacle and Neptune suite folks were there already. Now, we do not really care that they were there first, but some people did not like it. We're all on the same boat going over, so it did not matter to us. As it turned out, 5 of us were invited to board first, and nothing was said by the waiting guests.

The ride was only about 10 minutes, and boy, was it going to be a nice day, or what? Little wind and 80 degrees. Simply perfect. There were maps being handed out by the information guy at the pier landing. When we asked about the Wrigley House, he drew a walking path for us to find it. It has been converted to a bed and breakfast, but we could get close enough to get some good photos.

No doubt, it was a strenuous hike uphill, but we took our time. As we began the climb, we were passed by dozens of folks that had rented the golf carts to get around the island. They cost about $40 to rent one for one hour. Not bad if you want to see the island on your own. Anyway, we noticed that the surrounding landscape was drought-resistance plants and trees. It was so dry here, that even these plants looked stressed. We suppose living on a small island, water is most precious and not wasted.

Halfway up the switchback road, we stopped at a little pet cemetery containing small, but clever tombstones and markers for cats, dogs, and even pet birds. Most all of the permanent homes had little or no gardens for pet burials, so this canyon on the hillside worked.

We were rewarded with a spectacular view of the harbor below, as well as the Amsterdam anchored close by. It was worth the hike. At the summit, there was a series of stairs that went down to a reservoir marked with a white cross. A stone bench was built into the hillside under rows of eucalyptus trees. We sat for a while watching the tenderboat traffic far below, and the tour boats floating in the shallow cove below us. And the good thing was that it was much easier going down than it was going up.

Back in town, we located the same restaurant we had dined in many years ago. It was Antonio's Pizzeria right on the harbor. Even though they served pizzas, we went with the salads. The draft beer was excellent too. Thinking it would be more expensive than where we live, we found the price of the entrees to be much the same. It was also fun watching the locals in their boats, kayaks, and swimming at the small beachfronts.

Then we continued up Casino Way to the Casino, of course. It's not what you think, however, because here in Catalina, casino means a meeting place. It's a landmark from the past, which has been converted into a theater now. On the water side, people were renting snorkel equipment to swim in a huge roped-off area near the shoreline. We could see some bright orange fish among the rocks and seaweed, which are called garibaldis. The signage indicated that there were octopus, lobsters, and seals here as well.

Further up the road, we came upon Descano Beach with a restaurant, bar, umbrellas and tables, and enough beachfront to sink your toes into some sand. There were kayaks for rent, and plenty of whimsical animal inner tubes for the kids. New to the area is a rock-climbing wall and a zipline ride. That's where we turned around to head back. If we had continued on the main road, we would have come upon a canyon full of fairly new condos. We don't remember seeing any of this the last time we were here. These new homes must have increased the local population quite a bit.

On the way back, an ice cream shop was calling our names. One of us had a waffle cone with rocky road ice cream, and the other indulged with a chocolate-dipped, peanut covered frozen banana………sooooooo good.

We hopped on the tenderboat after looking in a few of the touristy shops on the way. We are getting better at passing this stuff up. Anyway, the boat left immediately, and we were back onboard by 5pm.

A Tex-Mex BBQ was taking place Lido Poolside at 5:30 to 8pm this evening. We always go to deck nine and take some pictures, then eat as usual in the dining room. Have to admit, the steaks and chicken on the BBQ sure smelled good. Oh yeah, they had announced that a mandatory fuel change-over had to take place this morning. It would cause black soot to be deposited from the stacks onto the outside decks. We did find the results on deck nine aft, and it was pretty nasty. This will occur again on Friday morning, and we hope it will be thoroughly cleaned up afterwards. The black soot is tracked all over the ship, and can stain shoes and clothing.

We bid farewell to Vicky, who will be going home tomorrow. We enjoyed her company at our table, although, our original couple have not been back for a few days. You never know if they decided to change to anytime dining, so they can eat earlier, since 8pm can be too late for many guests.

Our dinners were excellent once again. We all ordered the brie in the phyllo purse, and the short ribs, which was really more like pot roast with a rich gravy. Upside down pear cake and some vanilla ice cream finished the meal. Good thing we will be in port tomorrow, so we can walk off some of these calories.

We did receive some detailed info for tomorrow in San Diego, which happened to be the end of this short segment from Seattle. We will be intransit, so we should be able to avoid any lines leaving and re-boarding the ship. Sure glad we are not going home……..

Bill & Mary Ann

Neat sailboat