Today's adventure took us to Santa Catalina - an island 22 miles west of Los Angeles (accessible only by boat). We boarded a catamaran in LA's port city, San Pedro, and off we went...
An hour later we were completely away from the hustle and bustle of LA and in this beautiful marina surrounded by huge mountains. As our boat pulled in to the marina, we were treated to views of the clouds/fog still hovering over the mountains. I guess it's all those years in Florida that make me just mesmerized by seeing both the ocean AND mountains together. These mountains rose up dramatically from the water and kept reminding me of the island from "Lost". (No polar bears to be seen... but the island does have a large population of buffalo.)
After walking around the waterfront for a bit and having a nice seafood lunch, we boarded a submarine (technically it was a semi-submersible vessel) for an underwater sightseeing tour.
Catalina is well-known for its very clear water and abundant marine life. Since we didn't think Annie was up for snorkeling quite yet, we thought this would be the perfect way to see some sea life. It turned out to be just that... the fish surrounded the vessel for the majority of the time we were under water. Annie was in heaven... running back and forth between the windows, pointing out the fish to everyone who would listen, and making her fish lips/kiss over and over.
After our cruise, we took an open-air bus tour of the island and learned a little more of its history. The bus took us high up on the mountains and gave us a nice view back down of the marina.
We wrapped up our time on the island with an ice cream cone (which may have rivaled the fish for Annie's favorite part of the day) and a little more walking around. We must confess that while we found Catalina to be aesthetically striking and the waterfront area charming with its brick roads (there are no traffic lights on the entire island... the mode of transportation is via golf cart) and brightly colored stores/homes, it was also more touristy than we expected. There was a large Carnival Cruise ship anchored nearby and the streets were filled with tourists going in and out of many gift shops. I think the real appeal to Catalina is the water and that's probably the best way to enjoy it... from a boat. We met some boaters who told us there are countless little coves to explore and that the snorkeling/scuba diving is outstanding.
That said, we had a fun day and it was very much worth checking out. We'll just have to come back again when I can convince my Dad to come out to California and charter a boat! :)
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