Love Catalina: Avalon: Island vibes and sunny skies

By Jessica Koslow

Charlie Chapman, John Wayne and Humphrey Bogart were regular visitors to Catalina Island, and Marilyn Monroe lived on there, albeit, before she was famous.

Lolo Saldana, the 90-year-old barber who owns Lolo’s Barber Shop on Sumner Avenue, knew Monroe personally. He and his 10 siblings grew up on the island, and locals refer to his shop as “the center of the Catalina universe.”

Only 22 miles and 70 minutes via Catalina Express from the Southern California coast, Catalina is an island vacation or day trip that is accessible, affordable and really fun. After only a few minutes off the ferry, as the beach breeze blows and seabirds circle overhead, travelers feel the stress slip away.

Catalina is home to approximately 4,000 residents year-round who work on the island and create the local laid-back culture, and the island hosts around 1 million visitors annually, a mix of overnight guests and day visitors. The town is a little more than 7 square miles, and the center stretches across four main avenues: Clarissa, Catalina, Sumner and Metropole.

Golf carts are aplenty here. Cars are only allowed on the island with a permit, and there is a waiting list, so visitors and residents opt for carts instead. Although it is easy to walk around Downtown Avalon, renting a cart allows visitors to cruise around the island, taking in stunning aerial views, stopping at scenic overlooks, and visiting the farther-out attractions like The Wrigley Memorial & Botanical Garden, Mount Ada and Chimes Tower.

Play

Catalina Island is a 76-square-mile playground, and activities on land, at sea and underwater are around every corner. For a list of activities, guests can visit Love Catalina Island’s Visitor Center on the Green Pleasure Pier.

It is from this same pier that the Catalina Island Company’s Undersea Sub Expedition, Glass Bottom Boat Voyage and seasonal Flying Fish Voyage depart. Climb aboard the Sea Wolf Semi-Submersible and watch bright orange Garibaldi, spotted calico bass, urchins, rock fish and bat rays from a climate-controlled cabin that submerges five feet below the surface. Adventurers will also see seabirds plunging into the ocean to catch their next meal.

Catalina is a popular destination for scuba diving and snorkeling. On any given weekend the diving community has scheduled events and dives, such as the annual Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup. This past February saw 600 volunteer divers collecting trash and debris in Avalon Harbor; this is the only time diving is allowed in the harbor.

On land, there are daily tours, such as the popular Bison Expedition or Ridgetop Eco Adventure, which take visitors into the interior of the island, which only 8% of the island’s guests actually get to see. The newest tour is of Philip K. Wrigley’s El Rancho Escondido. Exploring the island, Wrigley’s impact on Catalina becomes clear: In 1919, the chewing gum entrepreneur bought the majority of the Santa Catalina Island Company and invested millions to create a leisure destination. He brought the Chicago Cubs over for Spring Training, and in 1929 he built the picturesque Catalina Island Casino, which houses the world’s largest circular ballroom and was one of the first theaters to show talking motion pictures. At the end of each year, the casino hosts a New Year’s Eve Gala, which includes a buffet, champagne and dancing to a live big band.

The pros can tee up at Catalina Golf Course, but for everyone else — especially kids — Golf Gardens Mini Golf offers 18 creatively landscaped holes, with the promise of no crazy clowns or tacky windmills. The course takes about an hour to complete, and the official course record is 41; but who is counting?

One of the most thrill-seeking experiences on the island is the Zip Line Eco Tour, a two-hour adventure that begins at the ridge top 600 feet above Descanso Beach Club. From there guests zigzag down the canyon above the eucalyptus trees on five lines at speeds close to 35 mph. Fortunately, the last line ends at Descanso Beach Club, where you can grab a bite or drinks at Avalon’s only beachside restaurant and bar or relax on the chaise lounge beach chairs or cabanas for rent from 10 to 3 p.m. The daily rental includes beachside service, with lunch items including fresh chips and house-made guacamole and drinks like a Cabana Colada or Saldana Michelada.

Stay

There is a hotel (or hotels) on every street in Catalina, and most of them in the center of town, which means guests can walk from the ferry to their hotel and around town. The balcony in Catalina Island Inn’s Ocean View Room is ideal for watching the bobbing boats and tall palm trees swaying. Another RX for relaxation is lounging and people-watching in the airy, colorful, carnation-filled lobby of Hotel Atwater.

Hotel Metropole, directly across from the water, offers VIP suites with fireplaces, jacuzzi baths and balconies overlooking the beach. It also sits beside the Metropole Market Place, with cobblestone walkways, fountains, boutiques, a classic arcade and an espresso bar.

Bellanca Hotel is also just across from the sea, and one of its best features is Naughty Fox, its beach bar featuring its popular ahi poke nachos and quinoa and papaya salad and cocktails like the Island Jenny and Foxy Lady, all served with sweeping views of the harbor.

Eat

Every day that starts at the Pancake Cottage is a great day. With so many choices, from pancakes and waffles to French toast and omelets, it is hard to decide what to order. There are no wrong choices, but the good ol’ fashioned stack is always a good place to start, or make it an Everyday Pancake Combo with eggs and bacon or sausage.

Grab an outdoor patio seat at the Bluewater Avalon, which sits on the historic site of an old sport-fishing dock, and a bird just might join the conversation. Each table receives a fresh hot quarter loaf of sourdough bread with butter upon arrival. The sustainable seafood menu includes favorites like ponzu sashimi sea scallops and the lobster roll with hot butter.

The newly remodeled M Restaurant is filled nightly with locals celebrating special occasions and diners looking to treat themselves to cheesy garlic bread, all-natural chicken parmesan and baked lasagna. They also offer locally sourced seafood, vegetarian options and steaks, including hanger, New York and filet mignon.

After a busy afternoon, nothing beats a sit-down at Catalina Charlie’s on the main Crescent Avenue strip. Warm pretzel bites and poutine pair perfectly with a mango margarita with a tajin rim.

Naughty Fox, the patio beach bar inside the Bellanca Hotel, is also an excellent place to break between activities for Naughty Tacos or grilled chicken wings and a Mai Tai or mimosa.

Started by a group of guys who love to fish, the menu at NDMK Fish House (Endemic) changes daily, and they serve beer from the locally owned family brewery, OverTown Brewing Co.
As many people as are licking their cones and scooping their cups, it would appear that ice cream is the official food of Catalina. No trip is complete without a visit to Scoops, Sailor’s Delight or Lloyd’s of Avalon.

Tips

Prices to visit the island vary depending on the time of year, with Catalina Express and its hotel partners offering its Best of Winter ferry and hotel packages from November through mid-March each year.

Catalina Express offers Commodore Lounge seating, which includes priority boarding, indoor cabin seating and a complimentary snack and beverage.

Guests who would like to spend the day frolicking at Descanso Beach should make a reservation online for a chaise lounge chair or cabana. The front row of chairs books up, especially on Saturdays.

The birds are bold. Do not feed them or even leave your food, to-go boxes included, anywhere unattended.

Love Catalina Island
www.lovecatalina.com