Welcome to Avalon

This morning, Syd and I took the ferry over to Avalon on Catalina Island. Avalon is a small ocean town (no real beaches but there is a bay), that feels like you aren't in California anymore, and it is covered in tourists.

Most everything is within walking distance of the ferry terminal. The cobblestone streets with houses stacked on top of each other over looking the view of the water reminded me of the Mediterranean. We explored the city a little bit, but our mail mission for the day was to go snorkeling at the underwater dive park.












The snorkel tour told us to arrive 15 minutes early, so we promptly were there by 11:30. It was disappointing because so many people were late and had no experience wearing a wet suit that we didn't get in the water until 12:45! It was hard being patient because we were both sweating in our heavy wetsuits.







Once we got in the water, we were much more pleased with our experience. The water at Catalina is so clear! It was also a lot colder than the last time I was there in October.

 Underwater selfie.

 We saw a bunch of fish, but most of them were the same kinds. Garibaldi are the most common type of fish swimming off the Catalina shore and they look like glorified goldfish.

 I also snapped this photo of the famous casino on the island.

After snorkeling we tried to take a photo of the two of us together, but it was so bright this was the best we could do.

After snorkeling and a little lunch, we took the ferry home. It is funny to think that on Monday of this week we were skiing and today we were swimming in the pacific ocean. A great way to kick off my 29th year!