Avalon, Catalina Island

Have you ever been to Catalina Island? Perhaps you've heard of it before. Discovered in 1542, it's an interesting rocky island located about 22 miles from Los Angeles and is one of the eight Channel Islands.

In the 1920's, chewing gum magnet William Wrigley, Jr. bought controlling interest in the island and set about turning it into a resort, especially for wealthy Hollywood types. He also used it for yearly spring training of his baseball team, the Chicago Cubs. You might recall the death of the beautiful movie star Natalie Wood, who drowned under mysterious circumstances in the waters of one of the smaller harbors on the island. There's so much more history to this colorful destination, and that's what makes it such a must-see for visitors to southern California.

Many cruise ships stop here on their way to Mexico, but if you can spare just one day, you can take a ferry from the mainland. In March my cousins and I did just that. We caught the early morning 6:15 from Long Beach and in one short hour set foot on the shores of picturesque Avalon, the main town. Supposedly Avalon means "bright gem of the ocean" and what a gem it is. Come take a look at what we explored.

The ferry arriving at Avalon Bay...

 View of Avalon Bay and homes on the hillside...

 A big cruise ship anchored offshore...

 View from Green Pleasure Pier...

 The small city beach...

 The Catalina Casino - built in 1929...

 The palm-lined promenade...

 Art deco style doors at the Casino...

 Kayaks for rent at the Descanso Beach Club...

 Wonderful views from the hillside neighborhoods...

 The old bell tower...

 The main path through the Botanical Gardens...

The Wrigley Memorial - tiles from Catalina Island Pottery...

 The pretty pink hotel...

 A typical alley way...

 One of the many vacation rentals in Avalon...

 Golf carts - the preferred mode of transportation...

Downtown street scenes...

 A bison statue - there are about 200 live bisons on the island 

brought over originally for a movie...

 The tiled fountain in town...

 Avalon Bay...

 Green Pleasure Pier...

Antonio's Pizzeria...

 Time to catch the Catalina Express back to Long Beach...

We spent the entire day just strolling through the streets of Avalon, but you can also rent golf carts and take them on an adventurous drive on the paved roads that encircle the island or you can hike or bike  the many trails crisscrossing Catalina. If you only have one day, though, and you enjoy walking, I highly recommend just staying in Avalon; you're sure to enjoy your time there. Of course, I was a visitor in the slow season, so I can't really speak for what it is like during the more crowded, hot summer months. But I'm willing to go back and find out...

Oregon Coastal Highway - Part I

In February Z and I headed up to Anacortes in northern Washington, but instead of following our usual route straight up Interstate 5, we decided to take a detour and explore some of the Oregon coastline. We spent the night at the Guesthouse Inn in Sutherlin, and the next morning we headed west along picturesque Highway 38. The skies started out with brilliant sunshine, but the temperatures hovered around 28 degrees the whole day. In short, it was beautiful but freezing; you'd never know it by the photos I took!

Our first coastal destination was Reedsport, 

where we checked out the Umpqua River Lighthouse...

 Reedsport is also home to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area...

 Our next stop was Florence...

 There's a quaint historic downtown filled 

with art galleries, cafes, and boutiques...

 ...and a big harbor...

 All along Highway 101 there are pullouts where you can savor 

views of the coastline...

 Haceta Head Lighthouse off in the distance...

 The Assistant Keeper's house...

 One of the many spectacular beaches...

 Waldsport...

 Alsea-Bay Bridge in Waldsport...

 Clouds were moving in and temperatures were dropping...

 Newport and the Yaquina Bay Bridge...

 Yaquina Bay Lighthouse...

 Boats safe in the harbor...

 Harbor seals resting near the pier...

 Yaquina Head Lighthouse silhouetted...

 More coastal vistas...

 Cape Foulweather and foul weather approaching...

We ended up spending the night in Lincoln City with plans to continue northward as far as Astoria at daybreak. The next morning, however, we awoke to news that a large, freezing snowstorm was quickly approaching the coastline. It threatened to dump a lot of snow on most of western Oregon. We had to make a choice: stay put in the motel for a couple of days until the storm and ice subsided, or hightail it out of there and try to get through Portland and Vancouver, Washington before the storm started causing trouble on the Interstate.

We packed our bags, paid our bill, loaded up the car, and sped eastward along Highway 18 all the while watching in our rearview mirror as the storm got closer and closer. We were determined to outrun the storm. It started snowing heavily as we crossed the Columbia River and reached Vancouver, Washington. Luckily we made it through the worst before a big accident closed the interstate down, and we didn't need to utilize our chains. As we reached Chehalis, the skies and road surface started to clear up. Whew! As it turned out, we had made the right choice by leaving. The entire area ended up getting snowed in for a few days.

Next stop: Northern Washington.