Three Year Anniversary on Catalina Island

Three year anniversary? Anniversary for what?!?! TELL ME, DAVID!

All right, just calm down.

I recently celebrated our three year anniversary with my super duper awesome girlfriend (just in case she reads this). She suggested that we take a trip to Catalina Island after seeing photos of other people visiting.

We spent about a day and a half there and had a fantastic time! We are definitely looking forward to revisiting in the future.

The Ferry

We took a ferry from the Long Beach Port which was, thankfully, not too far from where we live. The ride was about an hour and twenty minutes.

Our destination was Avalon, a town on Catalina Island that is sprinkled with entertainment while having the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop.

We took some sea sickness medication beforehand to combat the swaying of the boat. I rarely have trouble with motion sickness but that is not the case for my girlfriend.

I ended up listening to podcasts and audio-books during the ride to Catalina Island and back. The downtime was a little vacation in and of itself.

Beachfront Hotel

Pretty much all the hotels in Avalon (the town most tourists stay in) can be considered beachfront properties. Nonetheless, I can still boast that I stayed in a beachfront hotel. 🙂

Honestly, this hotel’s location was extremely convenient. The beach, attractions, and stores were all within walking distance. I believe the furthest we ever walked away from our lodging was only 15 minutes away.

This accessibility was a real selling point for me in this vacation. We did not have to worry about transportation to places and we could always drop by to change or drop off things. Less stress makes a better vacation!

Swimming with Fish

Check this out!

I promise it looked much better in person!

One of our main goals for traveling to Catalina Island was to go snorkeling. My girlfriend had gone snorkeling in Hawaii and she loved it so she wanted us to experience it together.

It was my first time snorkeling and I will be honest, I was quite terrified. When we first entered the water, I had difficulty using my snorkel set to breath while underwater.

I drank a bunch of salt water. Fun stuff.

However, I was able to use the gear properly after I calmed down a bit. Having a wet suit was a life saver because it kept me warm and afloat. On the other hand, putting the suit on and taking it off was a huge pain.

After the initial struggle, I finally had the opportunity to see incredible sights like in the picture. It was amazing. So amazing that we went snorkeling again the next day!

Always Learning

After snorkeling on the first day, we searched for other cool things we could do. WeI just had enough exercise for the entire year from snorkeling so we decided to take it easy and visit a museum.

It was pretty cool learning about the history of Catalina Island and seeing how famous people like Marilyn Monroe were involved with the island. You know me, always on the quest of knowledge!

The museum also featured glass structures created by Dale Chihuly. Apparently, this is the first time the museum has presented work from a major living artist. The sight of the glass art was astonishing to behold.

FOOD

I love food. That is all.

My taste palate is pretty much nonexistent so it is difficult for me to discern the different flavors in dishes sometimes. But you know what? I consider myself blessed because everything tastes fantastic to me!

While on Catalina Island, I thought it would be a good idea to try seafood as the food should be fresher. To be honest, I do not know if the seafood was better here (read above) but it was definitely good.

My girlfriend was unfortunately not feeling too well the first day so she could only eat bread and soup. But not to worry, I ate enough delicious food for the both of us.

Closing Thoughts

So long, Catalina Island. Until next time!

So, that was my very first “offline adventures” post. What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments if you would like to read more about my experiences outside of software development!

Or not. I will probably continue to write about these adventures anyways. This is my blog.

What are some attractions we should definitely check out on our next visit to Catalina Island? Do you consider vacations a necessary rejuvenation period or a waste of precious time?