Catalina

The last 3 days have been ice cold and very wet . I’m talking tops of 14c and even colder on the coast . For the 1st time this morning steam came off my breathe . I know that sounds stupid , but not once can I recall this occurring whilst we’ve lived in LA. It’s still 3 weeks from winter (Dec 21 on the solstice ) but if you’ve got a trip to LA on the cards over Christmas , be prepared . Hey don’t panic , winters are still usually pretty mild with days regularly hovering between 18-20 Celsius , just saying the odd cold snap can sneak in and bring us into Melbourne winter . We’d previously booked a quick getaway for a midweek sojourn .Catalina Island . Fortunately Emma brought the date forward by 24 hours . An hour ferry ride through potential large swell and choppy seas , not to mention being on an island in 10 degree weather and heavy rain , yep good call boss (Emma) . It’s a little embarrassing that we’ve been closing in on 3 years living in LA and all within site of Catalina Island but still hadn’t visited . Finally , another iconic LA location has our finger prints on it .You get some ideas in your head as to what places look like . I had a snapshot of what the Catalina harbour looks like on the show ‘Storage Wars ‘ . Yeah I know , I watch that shit from time to time , but this was one I remembered because one of the containers had a fucking submarine in it , no shit . Anyway I remembered a panoramic shot of the harbour from above ,from there I imagined quaint little streets ,open bars and ice cream shops .I wasn’t far off .

The ferry in lived up to expectations .On arriving ,a Carnival cruise ship stood out like a pair of dogs balls .”Fuck ,looks like it’ll be crowded and ‘cruise ship prices ‘ will be paid for our stay .” Catalina is beautiful . I could stare at the harbour for hours ,ok a fair while . What really captured my attention was the colour of the buildings .They were pink ,blue ,orange and array of pastels ,hardly any of the typical beige that dominates LA. It looked laid back , it reminded of the Caribbean. The Atwater Hotel was our digs . I highly recommend it ,nice rooms and a relaxed island vibe with an immaculate foyer restored with all of its old world beauty ,right in the middle of town .Straight off the ferry Emma had us on her researched locations for eating and drinking . We hit this little beauty . The drinks were cheap , the view serene and the food was average . Actually most of the food in Catalina is average .Id call it tourist food , unimaginative and a bit lazy . I can understand when you’ve got a monopoly on the market but this joint reeks old world glamour and deserves a bit more . Still we did have a lovely meal for dinner at Avalon Grille . The pubs ,bars and eateries still provide a pretty inviting vibe and they’re all within a small walking distance from each other .The island is deceptively large but the main tourist area is pretty small . We checked Wrigley botanical gardens …….sort of interesting .Actually the Wrigley bit is interesting . He originally bought the island .This is the same Wrigley from the chewing gum empire .He actually brought the Chicago Cubs here for their off season training base .There’s a few adventure things to do at a cost ( zip lining ,diving ,off-road stuff,chasing bison ) ,but shit I’ve done that stuff before bar the bison bit and I’m here for only 36 hours . We did do a free tour of the Catalina Casino that sounded a bit boring but completely surprised. This joint is old world cool ,really cool . It has the 1st movie theatre in the world that could play movies with sound .The dome shaped ceilings made for amazingly clear acoustics that allowed for ones voice to reverberate around the room without the need for a microphone . The upstairs ballroom was opulent. This joint was filled with Hollywood icons like Errol Flynn,Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart . It’s a bit weird to sit on the old theatre seats , or to walk on the original parquetry and to think that it very possible that a super star of the old world would’ve been on this very spot . The guy who designed this joint also designed the Mann’s Chinese theatre in Hollywood. It’s an amazing building built for such a location in such a time ,and is still used today . This isn’t the sort of thing that interests me at all . Architecture…not that interesting ,tours …not my thing ,but this building is pretty interesting and the guide was a cool old cat . You gotta check it out if you get there .

A day and a half later we’re outta there . I sort of accidentally but deliberately rope us into the outside backseat on the ferry . The weather starts to close in but I assure Emma and Leroy that we’ll be right . “It won’t be too cold , she’ll be right bro “………It was freezing .

Catalina Island has an old world glamour ……it’d be a great place to visit in summer . Perfect for renting a house or two to share with other families , bringing provisions to stock the place well ,drinking in sunsets like the stars of yesteryear and letting the kids play in the emerald green waters . In the cooler months ….48 hours max .