Part 2 Of Catalina (or Outdoor Adventuring)

The second (and last) full day we had in Catalina was another day of exploring the island. The original plan was to take a jeep tour that was going to take us around the island and we were hopefully going to see some of the wildlife that lives there. We also were going to get to the airport and the isthmus. Even though it wasn’t a private tour, since we filled one jeep it was going to be just us on the tour.

But because of all the rain that they have been getting recently, we had been warned that the tour might not go exactly as planned. First, some of the roads have been closed due to the mud. They were hoping some might reopen by the time we got there, but there was a chance that we wouldn’t be able to make it out to the isthmus. Also, we might not see any animals on the tour. Normally, they hang out by the water reservoirs because that is the main source of water for them. But the rain made the entire island an opportunity for them to find water, so they might not be in their normal hangouts. Even with those possible issues with the tour, we were all excited to get to drive around and see what we could.

We started with going up the hill on the side of the island that we were staying on. When we got to the top, we had an amazing view of Avalon.

When we got down, we drove through Avalon to get toward the other side of the island. The beginning of that side was sections of the hillside that we saw in our tour the day before. But when we were on that tour we saw a road and the guide told us that it was a restricted area. But we had access to get up there and we continued up the hillside to get toward the airport.

Even though the rain was restricting some of what we could do on this tour, it did make the entire island look really green and lush. We all were saying how much this felt like we were in Hawaii.

We got to another hilltop where we could see toward the airport and where we were heading. And it was so clear out as well so the mainland was in view.

We got to the airport which is at the top of a hill and we were informed there that the road to get to the isthmus was not going to open that day. They were just so overwhelmed by the rain and the mud was more than the roads could handle. We already had a plan to stop at the airport and it gave us a good chance to warm up. It was already cold out, but being in an open air jeep made us even colder.

One thing that I was hoping to get to do on this trip was to recreate a photo that I have from my 16th birthday. My friends and I posed on a bench while on that trip and it’s one of the few photos I have from my birthday. It’s one of my favorite photos and I was hoping to find the same bench. But it was on the side of the island that we couldn’t get to, so I had to use a bench at the airport and do the best I could without the exact same bench (and missing my friends).

Since we couldn’t go as far on the tour as we expected, we were back at our rental house mid-day. We had the entire afternoon before we were going to get dinner and because the sun was finally out we went on a glass bottom boat to see the fish.

We were hoping the sun would be out so we could do the boat because when it’s cloudy you can’t see as much. The boat was pretty empty with just 2 other small groups besides us. It was nice not to be packed in there and it was a relaxing boat ride as we got out to where the protected area where most the fish would be.

The driver of the boat fed the fish and then the boat went over the area where he threw the food. Whenever he did that, the windows below us were filled with fish. It was so fun to see it and we definitely saw a lot of fish while we were out there.

The driver also told us once before he threw the food so we could watch outside the boat for all the fish jumping around. I tried my best to capture that in a photo, but it doesn’t do it justice. As soon as the food was in the water, it was really a feeding frenzy!

We were out in the protected area for about 30 minutes before the ride back to the dock. I spent some of the time watching the windows to see if we could see anything fun. But I also kept kneeling up on the seat to look at the view outside because it really was just so gorgeous outside and we all have had so much rain lately.

That evening we relaxed at the house and went out to dinner. And the next morning, we had another morning of sun while we got packed up and ready to head back to the boat back to the mainland.

We knew that it was supposed to start raining again that day, but we were hoping to not have to deal with it too much. And the timing of the rain was almost perfect because it started just as we boarded the boat to go home.

The drive back to LA was easy since it was the middle of the day between morning and afternoon rush hour. Everyone else had a much longer drive home than I did and they did encounter some rain and crazy storms. But I think we all agreed that it was so much better to have the storm happen then than when we were trying to enjoy our vacation.

I love this tradition of our trips when my dad and brother do their skiing adventure. They will probably go on another trip next year so hopefully we will do one as well. It’s one of the few trips I do each year since I can’t really afford to travel. We did talk about a few ideas of where we could travel to next year. We’ve got some that would be very extravagant, but maybe we could do it. Since my mom pays for me to travel with her on these weekends, I know that it’s up to her where we are going to go. But wherever we go next year, I know it will be another amazing trip that I will have the best memories from!

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The First Half Of Our Catalina Adventure (or Exploring And Touring) Exploring West Maui (or My Dad Found A Coconut With Jesus On It) Getting In The Ocean (or My Final Day In Maui) 10 Years Later (or A Good Memory and A Bad Memory) The Rest Of My Maryland Trip (or More Family Time) A Weekend With My Mom (or An Adventure In Palm Springs)