We left Long Beach on the Catalina Express for Avalon on the Catalina Island. In the background are snow-capped mountains. We passed the Queen Mary on our left and several cruise ships. Soon the ferry motors picked up speed for the remaining hour-long ride.
The weather was ideal with cloudless skies and warm enough for me to ride on the open upper deck without a jacket.
We passed a pod of forty dolphins. As I looked back towards Long Beach miles away, L could see an orange-brown mist hovering over the valley. It reminded me of the nicotine stains that mom and I would wash off the walls and furniture back when everyone smoked. I can’t imagine how the smog would look without the existing emissions control.
Dennis leaving the ferry, Catalina ExpressEntrance to the Casino which is not a gambling but an entertainment center. The Catalina Casino opened on May 29, 1929.and has been the venue for great entertainers, Broadway productions, and first-run motion pictures.The Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden is Santa Catalina Island, California, is a memorial to William Wrigley Jr. To get here, we had a 30-minute walk up Avalon Canyon from downtown Avalon.We were lucky to see The Catalina Island fox (Urocyon littoralis catalinae) a species indigenous to the island for at least 4,000 years. It is tiny, weighing only about 5 pounds.There are many unusual cacti in the botanical gardens. This is the Black Aeonium
View from the top of the memorial. In the distance is the snow-covered Mount Baldy, is the highest peak of the San Gabriel Mountains, and the highest point in Los Angeles County, California.
After returning to Avalon, we ate the Bluewater Grill before returning to the marina for our ride back to LA.
