Life As We Know it: Exploring California: Catalina Island, Avalon, California

Suggested Listening: Off We Go (feat. Erin McCarley) By: Transition

Momma and Daddy are traveling in California for two weeks starting with San Diego and heading up to San Francisco and then back to San Diego. Ben and I decided to take a week off and show them around San Diego and also took a little mini-vaca to Catalina Island. Let me tell you... the part of Catalina that we visited; called Avalon, California; is absolutely gorgeous.

Ben and me high above Avalon, California on Catalina Island

Momma and Daddy married 40 years this August

We started off our day on the Catalina Express witch was actually quite an adventure on it's own. Having no idea what to expect we took off in the car for a two hour ride in horrendous traffic to Dana Point to catch the boat which in my mind would be a little ferry boat taking us over to the island. In fact it is more like going to an airport but we'll get to that part later.

So, we pull up to the Dana Point Ferry Landing and realize that the boats only leave every three or four hours or so and that the next one is leaving in 20 minutes. So, we haul ass over to the ticket booth to buy a parking pass and boat tickets but as we get to the gate the parking guard laughs and says that we will never make it time and besides that boat is sold out for the next two weeks!! Super!!

So, Ben runs to the ticket office to pick up a schedule and see when and where we can catch the next boat and we were off to Long Beach to catch the Catalina Express. I decided to call and make reservations on our way since it would take at least another hour to get there in traffic and it is a GOOD thing I did. The guy on the other end of the line actually laughed out loud at me when I said I needed tickets to Catalina for that day with a return of the same night. In the end he worked some magic and got four tickets on the Catalina Express with an upgrade to the Commodore Lounge. So we paid a little more than we wanted but we were rollin like ballers in the open bar over the Pacific Ocean.

Ben and me in the Commodore Lounge

Daddy and Momma in the Commodore Lounge

Momma sippin on her margarita

The views when we arrived were amazing and the views from above were simply breathtaking. We rented a four person golf cart and took a self guided tour of the island into the mountains. It was so amazing. The photographs simply to not do the views justice. They were simply unreal. Catalina is definitely our new favorite place. Ben and I will be visiting a lot in the future. We have actually already decided that this is were we will go for out anniversary in November. If ever you are in SoCal, Catalina is a must visit. It is so totally worth every penny!