An Unforgettable Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island, California:

Sunday, August 11, 2024

An Unforgettable Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island, California:

The very day after Chriselle’s wedding was the day we’d chosen to spend with the newly-married bridal couple (they have postponed their honeymoon until October when they will embark on a Mediterranean cruise). As our time with them would be limited and AJ still had his family from Rochester, New York, to attend to in California, they devoted this one special day to us.

Accordingly, we had a very quick, make-shift breakfast of Trader Joe’s packaged croissants (thoughtfully provided by Chriselle) and coffee from the machine in our room, before we met them in our hotel lobby. We were all eager and excited to begin an excursion to Santa Catalina Island (popularly known simply as ‘Catalina’) for a day trip. It involved a one-hour ride on a ferry (for which we had booked tickets online a month in advance--$75 round-trip).

AJ drove us in his car to Long Beach (about 45 minutes’ away) as this is the ferry port for Catalina. It was really lovely to be back in our Subaru Outback again which the couple has refurbished and modernized beautifully. Before the evening was through, I was happy to get back behind the wheel and do a bit of driving myself, after a whole year. It was very heartwarming for me to be back in our favorite car again.

Once we arrived at the ferry that is referred to as “the Catalina Express,” went smoothly. It was very exciting as we climbed to the top deck and settled ourselves in for the hour-long ride. We had a beautiful day for an island excursion and the packed deck reflected the enthusiasm of the various passengers. Just a few minutes into our boat ride, we passed by the iconic steamer, ‘The Queen AngleMary’, one of the world’s most famous liners. It had sailed the world carrying royalty to global ports, but has been dry-docked at Long Beach for several decades. I was very fortunate to take a tour of it, many years ago, when I was a Rotary International Fellow in Los Angeles. It gives one a brilliant idea of the kind of luxury cruise travel that the privileged were permitted long before cruising became as easily accessible as it is today to far-less wealthy passengers.

Arrival and Exploration of Catalina:

An hour later, we were at Avalon, which is the ferry port on Catalina. We disembarked and immediately took pictures at a milestone structure that proclaims the island’s name and age. For those who have been to such resorts, Catalina is the West Coast’s answer to Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Island or Cape Cod—all of which are popular East Coast sites in the summer. Catalina has all the trappings of an island holiday venue. The private boats of hobbyist sailors lie in the port adding coloring and charm to the place. The turquoise blue waters of the Pacific Ocean are breath-taking. On land, as soon as one disembarks, shops entice with their regular merchandise of cheap and designer clothing: from casual T-shirts to evening and lounge wear. There are souvenir shops selling nominally-priced and highly artistic take-home reminders of a classy resort. We bought our magnet, of course, but window-shopped with regards to other merchandise. Kid’s beach paraphernalia like buckets and boogey-boards were plentiful and kids were plentiful themselves. They were everywhere—in the water, in the shops and underfoot at every turn. There is a small beach right at Avalon and a lot of people were either swimming or sun-bathing. The place was crowded by American standards but there was an air of vacation spirit at every turn. They certainly had the perfect day for such pursuits.

Lunch at ‘The Lobster Trap’:

Avalon offers numerous choices for hungry visitors. While there are no chain fast-food eateries, there are several Mom and Pop places as well as more high-end establishments so that the limits of all pockets can be met. As Chriselle and AJ wanted this entire day to be our treat from them, they spent on everything: from the ferry to lunch and then the golf cart that we rented, after lunch, with which to explore the island. They made it a really fabulous day for us and we enjoyed every minute.

Their treat, in fact, extended to a lobster lunch and, it was at their suggestion, that we strolled to ‘The Lobster Trap’, a very casual place with a Southern Florida feel in its ambience and décor. Renowned for its lobster rolls, the items fly off their menu cards. Naturally, we too placed our order for Lobster Rolls but also tried out the Lobster Tacos and a Spinach and Lobster Salad—all of which were absolutely delicious. The heat of the day also called for cold beer and we enjoyed our lager in the shade on the upper level of the restaurant while overlooking other patrons below us. During lunch, we talked about how beautifully their wedding had gone off and how much everyone enjoyed themselves. We also talked about their plans going forward and our own—as we were headed out, the next day, at the start of our road trip.

A Golf Cart Tour of the Island:

At AJ’s suggestion, we then headed to the center from which golf carts could be hired for an hour at a time to allow those unable to walk

too far to enjoy the furthest reaches of the island. Although it is a small island, it is tiring to climb up to the peak for great views of the ocean. The golf cart is a fine solution and AJ had a quick grip on manipulating it by following the set route that is mapped out for all renters of the little vehicle. As expected, we had a lovely tour of the place as we climbed to the highest peak, took a lot of pictures of the surrounding azure waters, moved through the snazzy little settlements that are filled with clubs and night-time sites for entertainment. The houses, hotels and B&Bs are very quaint and colorful and add to the Caribbean feel of the place. It was a superb way for us to start our own travels in North America and we were really pleased to get the island atmosphere as we would soon be in the mountains—a completely different ambience altogether.

After our golf ride, we had just enough time to get chocolate and pralines and cream ice-cream from one of the many ice-cream parlors on the island and then make our leisurely way to the dock for our 3.30 pm ferry. It would take us an hour to get back to the mainland again and we did not want to be too late as we did have plans for the evening. We did enjoy the ferry ride back from the ferry port at Avalon, where there was an orderly line waiting to board—as the uniqueness of being on the water on a daytrip has its own charms. It had been a brilliantly interesting day and we felt so fortunate that we were able to get to Catalina (which had been on my Bucket List for a long time) on such a fine day.

Trip to Irvine, California:

Right after we arrived at Long Beach, we walked to the parking lot to pick up our car and with AJ behind the wheel, we made our way to Irvine in Orange County. Among the few folks that we could have met in Southern California, we were really keen to meet our landlady, Annu, who relocated from Bombay to the USA and now lives with her daughter. The drive was very pleasant as we passed by many of the unique palm trees that give Southern California in general and LA, in particular, its quite distinctive look. In the secluded gated community in which she lives, we spent the next hour or so.

We had a really nice reunion with Annu, her daughter, son-in-law, and biggest treat of all, her little grandson who is about nine months old. Little Vir, very much the apple of his parents’ and grandmother’s eye, was the center of attention as we made his acquaintance, got to know his parents better and watched him have his own meal—all while Annu provided us with tea and a vast variety of eats. Indeed, her kindness and generosity know no bounds. They were quite charmed to discovery that Chriselle and AJ had married only the precious day and they were warm in their congratulations. We also caught up on their own share of news and exchanged some tidbits about Bandra life with them—as they do miss Bandra and the enjoyable life they had led there. After more than an hour and after warning cups of herbal tea and their delicious snacks, it was time to say goodbye to them.

Dinner at ‘Pinks’:

AJ took the wheel, once again, as we drove to Glendale, California, towards our hotel. As we would be parting after dinner, we decided to find a place where we could buy something light, but something typically Los Angelenos. It was AJ who thought about ‘Pinks’, which he described as “an LA Institution”. I had never heard of it and neither had Llew. It was, therefore, with great enthusiasm that we made our way to the place—a very modest shack-like establishment which has been frequented by every Hollywood celebrity you can name. We discovered that the only items on the menu were hot dogs, fries, onion rings, milkshakes and soda pop.

You can bet we could not resist ordering the hot dogs that came with all sorts of toppings and fixings. We chose chilli in order to make super chilli dogs although Chriselle also had relish with her’s. I was amazed at how tasty they were and how substantial. Just one chilli dog later, washed down with iced Cokes, we were well and truly full. Meanwhile, we had the best time chatting casually about the events of the day and the amazing experience we’d had.

By the end of a long and very fruitful day, we were ready to call it a day. Llew and I needed to return to our hotel to pack up our bags for the start of our Great American Road Trip Adventure. Chriselle and AJ had taken the next day off and would be picking us up in the morning from our hotel.

We parted at the hotel lobby where we requested the Receptionist to keep our bill ready as we would be checking out early tomorrow. That done, we said our goodbyes to Chriselle and AJ and made our way back to our rooms to bed down for the night after packing and keeping our bags together for early morning departure.

Until tomorrow, cheerio…