"Avalon California"

   One of California Channel Islands, Santa Catalina Island was a surprise discovery for us. We visited for the first time in 2023 just to make an escape from our busy lives. We were not yet retired and still working the daily grind. I didn’t even take a camera with us on this first to the island. We immediately fell in love with Avalon, the only city on the island.

   Avalon is a beautiful and quant little place with a short but interesting history, that can be walked from the north end to the south end in about 15 minutes, stopping to look at things naturally.

   Santa Catalina Island can only be reached by chartered air or sea ferry service from California. We’d recommend the ferry ride. All our trips across have been smooth seas and light winds. Spotting porpoises is common, and the ferry’s captain slows so that everyone can have a good look. On our first trip across we were able to see a whale, however very briefly.

   From the ferry landing it’s a three-minute walk into town dragging your wheeled suitcase across stamped cobbled sidewalks. The harbor is filled with boats swinging on their mooring buoys as Avalon Bay sweeps to the right, ending at the casino.

   There are two bars in town that I enjoyed, Luau Larry’s and the Marlin Club. Both were a bit noisy which made me wonder if either one was the “noisy bar in Avalon”, that Crosby, Stills & Nash sang about.

   I decided to include Avalon in our project after our second visit. I could not for obvious reasons pull the teardrop into Avalon.