Early last week John mentioned that we should go to Catalina for our anniversary and he would have liked to suprise me with the trip that isn't really possible with me. I am glad he just told me because once we decided to go it took a long week of planning to get ready. Catalina island is about 25 miles off the coast of Cali. To get there was had to be at the boat dock at 6:45 and catch the 7:45 ferry to Catalina. Since we were camping that required a lot of extra planning. We had to coordinate that arrival of our shuttle with the bus schedule that takes you to the campsite. You have to make advance reservations for all this and everyone you call for reservations has a different answer and is full of misinformation. I needed a vacation after all the frustrating phone calls trying to book the ferry, bus, and campground. We didn't even start packing until Friday after dinner so we finished packing at like 11 and had to get up at 5:45 the next day.
So we got to the ferry and dropped off the bags then John had to park the car a few blocks away. By the time he got back we were ready to get on the ferry. We started out riding outside on top but at 8 AM it is still cold and very windy up top so we ended up downstairs. We made it to Catalina at 9 and we knew we had to catch our campground bus at 10:30. I had to run a few blocks away to find the place to pick up all our tickets. Then I had to run back to the boat dock where John was waiting with our luggage. We will definitely pack differently next time but this time we had to chairs for camping, cooler, Tupperware with camping supplies, duffel bag, and purse. We had to haul all of this through town like 4 blocks to our bus stop (we realize now that there is a trolley for $2 we could have taken). My shoulders are still sore from carrying all this stuff. We dropped our stuff at the bus stop and then I went to buy charcoal for the campsite.
We picked a very remote campground so to get there there is one shuttle in and one shuttle out and you better not miss it since it is 16 miles from town. You first board one van to the airport and then you switch to an old school bus to get to the campground. The drive was really pretty with great views. The bus drivers are like most people we met from the Island, Strange! John and I agreed we would never raise our kids on an island. They were all like TV characters. We met a couple on the bus that comes here every year and they booked ealier than a week before so they had a really good campground spot. Each campground you reserve is big enough for like 5 tents and they each have their own grill, fire pit, and tables. The spot we booked, the only one available, was very far away from the beach. So the couple on the bus offered to let us and 2 other girls on the bus use their campground which was close to the beach and they were going to stay on another friends spot. We agreed because we figured these 2 girls would be out of the way and not interrupt our anniversary to much. Unfortunately these girls ended up inviting their 3 friends to stay at the site to. So we ended up being a little more crowded than planned. The biggest problem besides having to make converstaion with them was having to share the fire pit but it by no means ruined the trip. I really thought that is how crowded the camping would be anyway. Besides I found that being gross camping doesn't inspire a lot of romantic moments.
We set up our tent, ate some sandwiches, and then headed to the beach. The beach was awesome because it was just a secluded cove surrounded by cliffs. We spent most of the afternoon just laying out. John tried snorkeling but it was so cold he gave up quickly. We did some hiking around and watched the sunset. Then it was time to cook dinner. We don't play around when it comes to camp food. We brought kabobs, bread, broccoli salad, potatoes, and dip. Plus smores for dessert.
We stocked our tent with an air mattress, and DVD player so we were all settled in for a movie before bed but we both were asleep in like 10 min. John complained all night about touching the ground. I told him it is tricky because of our weight difference he boost me way up and he sinks to the bottom. I slept ok. The next day we packed up because we had to be on the bus back at 10:30. We had time to hike around and we ran in to our bus friends who let us use their kayak to paddle around the cove before we left.
We got back to Avalon and were both exhausted so we paid for a taxi to take our bags to the boat dock and then got lunch. We ate so much at lunch, not to mention our huge waffle cones, that we needed a nap. We found a nice bench in front of the ocean and took a little nap. Then we did a little sight seeing and headed for the ferry home.
It was such an amazing location it was worth all the work. I would like to do an extra day next time but showering would be tricky.
Now we are off to Jackson for John's sister's wedding. 1.5 day work week is my type of work week!
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