Friday, April 13, 2007

I'm back...

...from a two-day trip to Catalina Island. Before I left, I said it would be a day trip, no? But high winds and rough seas canceled the ferry service to and from the mainland yesterday afternoon, and I ended up returning about 21 hours late.

There are worse places to be stuck. This is the first view one gets of downtown Avalon after disembarking from the boat...



An incredible number of houses and condos have been built in and around Avalon since I spent a week here back in the '70s. It's a crowded yuppie-land now; it's always been a tourist haven, but seems to get pricier and more chi-chi by the hour...



But there are plenty of treats to see as you walk around. The Catalina Yacht Club, for example, has one of the oldest structures on the island...



Next door, this club seems to be a bit less snooty. Or maybe not...



And finally, the magnificent Casino, a movie theater downstairs and a gigantic ballroom upstairs. The Casino was built by the Wrigley (chewing gum) family in 1928 -- at the time, they owned the entire island -- and is beautifully maintained...



More pictures of the Casino in the next entry.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

ahhh...so here you are! Lou

Dorrie said...

when I visited Catalina, I only got to see the airport... pity I didn't know at the time what else it had to offer!

Anonymous said...

Why what gorgeous piccies, Scribbs! ((((hugs))))

MrScribbler said...

The airport's not exactly picturesque, but the one time I shot a landing at it was, well, an experience due to that weird runway....

You should have hit town, and then gone into the back country. You might have seen the buffalo herd....

Anonymous said...

Beautiful sunshine!

Doug said...

We have Wolfe Island. It's a short ferry ride, currently free. Wolfe Is. doesn't have any casinos or chi-chi houses, but it does have a TV broadcast tower and cows. If you drive to the other side, you can take another ferry (not free) across the St. Lawrence River to Cape Vincent NY.

Catalina Is. sounds like a lot more fun.