♪ 26 miles across the sea,
Santa Catalina is waiting for me... ♫
The reasons for visiting Catalina are many. Weddings (I've been to two over there), weekend getaways (too many to count), and family visits (most of the trips). Even if it's a one-day trip, there is plenty to see and do there. On one-day visits, I've toured the famous Casino (no gambling there, and never has been). I've played miniature golf at one of the most beautiful miniature golf courses I've seen. I've driven a golf cart all over town (not really a big thing, being that the town's narrow streets pretty much necessitate it and most people living there have one. Not to mention that there is a limit to how many "regular" vehicles can be there at any given time). Over one particular weekend, I hiked a few miles round trip from El Rancho Escondido down to the beach on the windward side of the island.
One thing I hope to do someday is to fly into or out of Airport in the Sky. This airport is regarded by pilots as one of the trickiest landings known. The runway was built on top of a mountain and where it ends isn't so evident. Many pilots have gone off of the end of it with various results—most not so good. When my time comes to land at/take off from Airport in the Sky, I would like to be at the controls of the plane, but even being in the plane with someone else doing the flying would be enough of a thrill.
Anyway, we're here on my planet today to chronicle my most recent trip to Catalina, which took place on Saturday, September 15, 2012. This time, Mark's son (my nephew) Joe, his wife Patti, and their twin girls, Avalon and Matilda (also known as Avi and Mattie), age two-and-a-half, are visiting from their home in Vancouver, BC. Since they don't get down our way very often, a visit to the island was in order to spend some time with them.
Seven of us took this trip. My mom; my sister Barbara and her son Michael; my younger brother Paul; my niece Jani and her son Jonas; and, of course, myself. There were no flights available to the island, Amtrak was booked, so we decided to rough it and go by sea. Normally we leave from the San Pedro terminal, but when we found out that parking costs less than half over in Long Beach, we decided to leave from there. Either terminal is the same distance from home, so why not save a few bucks? With seven of us going, we need to take two cars. Jani and Jonas rode with me, and everyone else went in Barbara's car.
Our trip began with a one-hour boat ride aboard the Starship Express, one of the huge catamarans that are operated by Catalina Express. With a name like "Starship Express," you'd expect it to fly, but the boat never left the water. Somewhere out in the Channel, I decided that this boat ride was smoother than the 101, and there was definitely less traffic. At one point during the trip, some of the passengers suddenly got up and ran to the windows. We didn't see anything ourselves, but assumed that we'd interrupted class in a school of flying fish. (The Catalina Channel is home to that famous, unusual species of fish.) Also, there are sometimes entire groups of dolphins playing in the water. During my trips to the island over the years, I've seen both.
It just so happens that I have a connection to Santa Catalina—or just "Catalina" as most people call it and know it. My older brother Mark has lived on the island for just over 30 years. During that time, I've been over to visit innumerable times. I've stayed with him in town, and even once spent a weekend out at El Rancho Escondido, which is known for raising Arabian horses.
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| My brother Mark (picture borrowed from
his Facebook page at the risk of bodily injury)
|
The reasons for visiting Catalina are many. Weddings (I've been to two over there), weekend getaways (too many to count), and family visits (most of the trips). Even if it's a one-day trip, there is plenty to see and do there. On one-day visits, I've toured the famous Casino (no gambling there, and never has been). I've played miniature golf at one of the most beautiful miniature golf courses I've seen. I've driven a golf cart all over town (not really a big thing, being that the town's narrow streets pretty much necessitate it and most people living there have one. Not to mention that there is a limit to how many "regular" vehicles can be there at any given time). Over one particular weekend, I hiked a few miles round trip from El Rancho Escondido down to the beach on the windward side of the island.
One thing I hope to do someday is to fly into or out of Airport in the Sky. This airport is regarded by pilots as one of the trickiest landings known. The runway was built on top of a mountain and where it ends isn't so evident. Many pilots have gone off of the end of it with various results—most not so good. When my time comes to land at/take off from Airport in the Sky, I would like to be at the controls of the plane, but even being in the plane with someone else doing the flying would be enough of a thrill.
Anyway, we're here on my planet today to chronicle my most recent trip to Catalina, which took place on Saturday, September 15, 2012. This time, Mark's son (my nephew) Joe, his wife Patti, and their twin girls, Avalon and Matilda (also known as Avi and Mattie), age two-and-a-half, are visiting from their home in Vancouver, BC. Since they don't get down our way very often, a visit to the island was in order to spend some time with them.
Seven of us took this trip. My mom; my sister Barbara and her son Michael; my younger brother Paul; my niece Jani and her son Jonas; and, of course, myself. There were no flights available to the island, Amtrak was booked, so we decided to rough it and go by sea. Normally we leave from the San Pedro terminal, but when we found out that parking costs less than half over in Long Beach, we decided to leave from there. Either terminal is the same distance from home, so why not save a few bucks? With seven of us going, we need to take two cars. Jani and Jonas rode with me, and everyone else went in Barbara's car.
Our trip began with a one-hour boat ride aboard the Starship Express, one of the huge catamarans that are operated by Catalina Express. With a name like "Starship Express," you'd expect it to fly, but the boat never left the water. Somewhere out in the Channel, I decided that this boat ride was smoother than the 101, and there was definitely less traffic. At one point during the trip, some of the passengers suddenly got up and ran to the windows. We didn't see anything ourselves, but assumed that we'd interrupted class in a school of flying fish. (The Catalina Channel is home to that famous, unusual species of fish.) Also, there are sometimes entire groups of dolphins playing in the water. During my trips to the island over the years, I've seen both.
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| Our chariot awaits. (This picture was taken at the island after our arrival, but I just wanted to use that line). |
Being that it was just after noon when we docked at Avalon, lunch was in order. Joe met us and we walked over to Antonio's in town for pizza. Patti and the girls were already there, and Mark's daughter (my niece and Joe's sister) Elizabeth was in and out with her daughters, Lilly and Sophie. We had a nice, leisurely lunch and went over to the beach afterward. As most everyone knows, I don't really "do" the beach. However, when in Rome... While on the beach, I asked Barbara to take a couple of pictures of me for this story. Here I am on the beach. This is a rare shot because as I said, "Eric" and "beach" are rarely ever together at the same time...
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| Henry's Tacos is everywhere...at least it should be. |
A little while later, I found myself right in front of one of the more popular local eateries. Strangely, given the name, I have yet to eat there.
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| Eric's on the Pier. Yes, yes he is... |
After getting the girls cleaned off, Avi and Mattie decided to take their ancient, decrepit great-uncle Eric for a walk. Here they are helping an old man cross the street:
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| Avalon and Matilda took good care of old great-uncle Eric. Maybe next time, they'll help him comb what's left of his hair... |
After the girls got me some fresh air and a little exercise, I got Joe and Patti to sit with the girls for a moment so I could get a picture of the four of them.
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| Patti, Joe, Matilda, and Avalon. |
We spent the afternoon at Joe and Patti's rented apartment on the other side of town. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon getting caught up and spending time with the girls. Joe's tenth high school reunion was later on, so he and Patti needed to get ready to attend. Around 6:30, we took a local cab over to Coyote Joe's for dinner. Coyote Joe's serves up Mexican food, so naturally I had a bacon cheeseburger. Now don't get me wrong—I realllly like Mexican food, but for whatever reason (probably the pizza from earlier), my blood sugar level was fairly high and I couldn't justify eating rice and beans and tortillas. Granted, a bacon cheeseburger isn't exactly the healthiest food I could have eaten, but was a bit more suitable at the time. The manager took an interest in my Henry's T-shirt and was curious as to what it was all about. I never miss a chance to talk up Henry's, and this guy even said he'd like to stop by there and try it out.
The boat taking us back to Long Beach was set to sail at 9pm, so we had a few minutes after dinner to visit with Mark's wife, Joanne. She was babysitting Avalon and Matilda so Joe and Patti could attend the reunion. Unfortunately, we never did get to see Mark, as he had to go to work. The cab got us over to the dock with enough time to spare so we could walk over to get in line to board.
It was a quiet ride back to Long Beach, then an even quieter ride back to my mom's to drop everyone off. I stayed to visit for awhile before heading home myself. Once I got home, I was exhausted and pretty much went right to bed.
The next time I go to Catalina, I'd like to bring Diana and Chase with me. I'm sure they'd enjoy taking a ride on the new zipline over there (as would I), and it just so happens that Mark works for the company that runs it.
The next time I go to Catalina, I'd like to bring Diana and Chase with me. I'm sure they'd enjoy taking a ride on the new zipline over there (as would I), and it just so happens that Mark works for the company that runs it.
