Catalina Island

I have wanted to go to Catalina Island ever since we moved to Palos Verdes. I knew a little about it from a friend who grew up going there as a kid, and it always sounded like such a charming place where everyone rides bikes and golf carts to get around the Island. When we lived in Palos Verdes I walked (and hiked) a lot. I was captivated with Catalina Island which could be seen only on clear days. It was beautiful, and my dream to go there. Funny that we lived there for 2 years and never made it there, mainly because of the money. We were frugal and trying to get through school with as little debt as possible so we skipped anything considered "extra." So when my mom offered to watch the kids so we could go somewhere fun, I immediatetly thought of Catalina Island. We took the Catalina Express from Long Beach which was fun since that was another fun hang out for us.

It was so charming and picture perfect as we pulled into the bay.

Everyone there rides golf carts so we had to take one out for a spin. We quickly learned that a golf cart doesn't get you very far on the island since most of the areas restricted from the rentals. It was a fun thing to do for a couple hours.

The highlight of the trip was the zip line tour. I thought it would be a fun splurge for us, and I knew Dave would love it, but I was a bit nervous myself. Let me just say it was AMAZING!! One of the funnest things we've ever done! There were 5 different zip lines we got to do, the views were fantastic, and our guides were so much fun.

Ready to Zip!

I wish I had taken more pictures of the town. It was small,charming, and very slow paced. We stayed in a great bed and breakfast with a sun porch where we could read(me) and nap(Dave) in the afternoon. Other than breakfast we ate all our meals outside in the fresh air with beautiful views surrounding us. It was April, so a little too early to do summertime activities, but the weather was perfect and we loved every minute of it. It was the perfect place to celebrate our 13th anniversary (a month early).

Sunset on the beach. Beautiful. I want to go back!