Catalina Island -- FREE Catalina Express Birthday Boat Ride to Through 2016

[Sherry E]

In 4 weeks, at this very moment, I'll be back in Avalon! I can't wait to see all that's changed since I was last there.

After that (and whatever pictures I take), expect the Catalina Superthread to pop up in this SoCal section of The DIS!!



Okay...even though I started this thread in an effort to call attention to my second favorite place in Southern California (Disneyland Resort being my first) and let people know what a great place it is, I now have to ask you all a couple of questions - specifically, I need to ask questions of anyone who has just recently been to Avalon in the last year.

Wendy, are you out there? Wendy? Wendy Wendy Wendy!! Come out, come out, wherever you are!!! Or anyone?


I had to miss out on the free birthday boat trip promo last year, but - barring any sudden changes in plans - I am on schedule to take advantage of the offer in 11 days!!!!!

I have my boat reservations made. I think I found a cheaper shuttle service to get me to Long Beach than Super Shuttle (and I may even be able to use this other service when I go to Disneyland too, in the future). So I am now crunching numbers and figuring out what I am going to need money for, based on what I know I like to do in Avalon.

I need to know these things:

1. When you rented the golf cart from the place that is closest to the Catalina Express boat dock, did you say the cost was $40 per hour (and you got the 3 hours for the price of 2 hours, correct?)? Or is it more than that, like $50 per hour?

I have no worries that I will make use of my full 3 hours - I have done it many times before and I know what I am up against and what I plan to take photos of!



2. Did you have to pay in cash for the golf cart, or did they let you put it on a card? I ask because, in the old days, that particular rental place by the boat terminal did not accept cards and only took cash. I would have to think that they've changed those rules in recent years, since everyone uses some kind of plastic - either credit cards or debit cards.



3. Did you happen to rent a locker at any point during your trip? If so, how much was it? I may need to stash a coat and extra bag in a locker, and the last time I rented one in Avalon it was probably $10 for a whole day.



4. Do you remember seeing any kind of photo processing place in Avalon? There used to be a sort of 1-hour photo or photo supply place there, but I'm not sure if they got rid of it and stuck something else in its place.

Basically, the reason I ask is - in the event my camera batteries die - I wonder if there is any place that will let me charge my battery. I will bring my charger, of course. At Disneyland, the photo place on Main Street will allow you to charge a camera battery, but I don't know about Avalon.

Even though I will have a back-up battery with me, judging by how quickly my first battery lost its juice when I recently did the Cars Land/Buena Vista Street preview in early June, I suspect the same thing will happen in Avalon, as I plan to take many more photos over a longer period of time than I did in Cars Land. Inevitably, I will have to get one of the batteries recharged.





Thank you for any insight you can provide!!! I know a lot about Catalina, but I also know that some things have changed (like prices!) since I was last there!

 

[endy]

Hi Sherry
We didn't go this year much as I would've liked. We went to Seattle instead.
I think the golf cart was $40/hr, don't know about the credit card. It was the one by the ferry and it had to be before 2pm.
If you go eat somewhere I would ask to plug in your charger while you're eating and kill two birds at the same time.
You must be getting excited???????
Can't wait to see some new pictures.

 

[Sherry E]

Hi Sherry
We didn't go this year much as I would've liked. We went to Seattle instead.
I think the golf cart was $40/hr, don't know about the credit card. It was the one by the ferry and it had to be before 2pm.
If you go eat somewhere I would ask to plug in your charger while you're eating and kill two birds at the same time.
You must be getting excited???????
Can't wait to see some new pictures.

Wendy -

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate it. I didn't think you made it to Catalina again this year (I can't believe time has flown by so fast that it has already been a year since your last Catalina trip!), but you've still been there more recently than I have!

I'm not sure what my eating schedule will be like. If I am only doing a solo day trip and trying to catch up on my photo-taking, I may not stop to eat a sit-down meal. I may just grab a quick snack and sit on a bench. If I were staying multiple days I would do sit-down meals. This time, I'm not sure. I'll have to play the food part of it by ear!

So that's why I have to find out if the photo place is still in Avalon. Since they get a lot of tourists on Catalina during the summer, I have to think that there must be somewhere where you can charge your camera battery - just like at Disneyland. People must request that sort of thing. I will bring the battery charger with me, and I will keep on the lookout for a place to recharge!

I would be more excited except for that I injured my foot - I think I did it when I went to the Cars Land/Buena Vista Street preview in California Adventure back on June 9th. I had a little trouble stepping off of a curb! I think I may have fractured it, or at least caused a contusion of some kind.

In any case, my foot did not start hurting right away when I was in the park, but it began hurting a little bit later during the week, and it still hurts now when I have to get up and walk just a few feet to another room.

So I suspect that walking around all day long in Avalon, trying to get a comprehensive array of photos, is not going to be good for my foot! I know the layout of the town, I know the places I usually go to, and I know where I have to go to get from Point A to Point B. That golf cart will only cover me for about 3 hours (I can't believe they still don't accept credit cards and that it's cash only after all these years!). The rest of the time will be on foot.

So, when it comes to about Wednesday of next week - 3 days before I am supposed to go to Catalina - I will have to assess my foot situation and see if I want to risk making it even worse by walking around Avalon. I hope that I can go - I would hate to think that I have to miss this free birthday promo two years in a row!

 

[endy]

Oh no Sherry that would be awful if you miss the free trip again.
Go to a doctor, get crutches or a boot, anything for the day. Just think for the 3 hours with a golf cart you can cover the distant stuff and the hills and then its just the main street area.
Maybe you can recharge your battery at the motel desk on main street, there's bound to be somewhere that would stick it under the counter for an hour or so.
Can't wait to see some pictures.

 

[Sherry E]

Oh no Sherry that would be awful if you miss the free trip again.
Go to a doctor, get crutches or a boot, anything for the day. Just think for the 3 hours with a golf cart you can cover the distant stuff and the hills and then its just the main street area.
Maybe you can recharge your battery at the motel desk on main street, there's bound to be somewhere that would stick it under the counter for an hour or so.
Can't wait to see some pictures.

Wendy -

Thank you for the words of encouragement. You seem to be the only one who is sticking with me in this thread! I appreciate it!

Well, the funny thing about this foot injury is that I think I was in denial about it for a while. I must not have wanted to accept that I could have possibly injured myself by stumbling off of a curb on Buena Vista Street in California Adventure, so I just put it out of my mind. It was way back on June 9th when this incident happened and although my foot may have been a bit sore after that, it wasn't anything alarming. I probably just assumed it was a bruise and that was it, and then I went about my life.

And then, after a recent errand-running mission to the store (I was walking the whole way), I noticed that the area of my foot that I had kind of agitated in DCA was hurting more when I got home. It's still not unbearable - and sometimes it doesn't hurt at all. But other times, when I get up to walk to another room, it hurts. So this leads me to think that there is something lingering that needs to heal. At the very least, I shouldn't be out walking around on it.

But...I don't want to miss Catalina, so I am still carrying on and talking as if I am going, no matter what! Until about Wednesday or so, I refuse to believe that I can't go. I have to go. In about 5 days I will have made up my mind about whether I think I can brave it or not.

The amount of walking I do around Avalon would not be possible for me with crutches or a boot, even if I could get to the doctor next week. If I want to do the kind of in-depth photo-taking that I do at Disneyland, for example - and that can be hundreds and hundreds or even thousands of photos - I have to be able to be mobile on foot. If I am starting a Catalina Superthread, I want to have all kinds of photos of the side streets, the shops, the little nuances and various scenic spots around town, the tile, etc. - to paint a complete picture and give a comprehensive overview. I have to be able to move freely.

Well, let's cross our fingers that I will be able to get there! Send good vibes and positive thoughts my way!

It's too bad, too, because other than my little episode of clumsiness in California Adventure, the preview was great!

Yes, there has to be somewhere that will charge a camera battery in Avalon, if the photo place is not there. They get too many tourists to not offer such a service. I will have a back-up battery, but that probably won't last the whole entire day. At some point something will have to be charged.

Oh, you know, KCmike is currently doing a trip report over in the Disneyland Trip Report section of the board about his Summer vacation, and he jumped ahead to the Catalina portion of his recent trip to California. He visited a few different places and Catalina was only one of them, but he fast forwarded to that portion, which he is in the middle of now.

KCmike did the glass bottom boat tour. He also rented golf cart (but not at that the 'get 3 hours for 2' deal. He did not make it into the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden (something I plan to do, on foot) but he got some very nice shots from up in the hills. He didn't take the Catalina Express over to the island but instead took the Catalina Flyer out of Newport Beach (which I don't recommend for one-day trips, but it is an option for people if they don't want the Express). He said the boat hit a couple of large swells and people started getting sick.

Now, in the old days, I could handle the ride on Catalina Express and back and did not get sick at all. I don't recall ever encountering any large swells, thankfully. My friend got sick, however.

Time has marched on, though, and I'm older. Our balance gets a little wacky when we get older. I'm thinking that, just to be on the safe side, I'd better get some travel-sized Dramamine or I might have more than a sore foot to worry about!

 

[endy]

Sherry a quick thought - maybe it's not a fracture but PF(planter something). Lots of people mention it on the community board. I think I had it 2-3 years ago. Really painful sometimes not too bad others.

Off to read that trip reprt you mentioned.
Hang in there and get your foot looked at. I don't want you not to be able to go.

I fell up the stairs yesterday and the laundry basket clipped me between the eyes. I have a half inch gash n the bridge of my nose. Now that's a silly thing to do.

 

[pixarmom]

Hi Sherry!!!! I'm sending you tons of good wishes and hoping that you're feeling well and on your way to Catalina soon as scheduled! Really looking forward to hearing all the details and seeing all the photos.

 

[Sherry E]

Wendy & pixarmom -

If I am going to Catalina, I am going in 3 days (Saturday). If I'm not going, I have to cancel the Express reservation by tomorrow or Friday.

My foot is still bothering me - I think it's clear that I did something to it at that Cars Land preview in June, which is not healing quickly. So I am still debating...

Anyway, I don't think much will change between now and when I have to cancel the reservation (if I cancel), so.....I am going to keep debating and thinking.

I will have a final verdict for you both in the next few hours! I will know once and for all if I am going by the end of the 'business day' today. Stay tuned for the big announcement - whichever way it goes!

 

[pixarmom]

Wendy & pixarmom -

If I am going to Catalina, I am going in 3 days (Saturday). If I'm not going, I have to cancel the Express reservation by tomorrow or Friday.

My foot is still bothering me - I think it's clear that I did something to it at that Cars Land preview in June, which is not healing quickly. So I am still debating...

Anyway, I don't think much will change between now and when I have to cancel the reservation (if I cancel), so.....I am going to keep debating and thinking.

I will have a final verdict for you both in the next few hours! I will know once and for all if I am going by the end of the 'business day' today. Stay tuned for the big announcement - whichever way it goes!

Staying tuned and wishing you well!!!

 

[Sherry E]

Drum roll, please...










And the verdict is...










What I have decided to do is...

















I'm going to go!



I am going to try to put my possible foot fracture out of my mind. I am going to grab my camera, get on the boat and GO!

So I will be in Avalon in a little over 48 hours from now!

I will be by myself, which means I will be on a photo-taking spree.



My plans for this trip are:

1. Take the golf cart and see how the roads and road closures have changed the golf cart course since I was last there, and if any of the scenic spots have been cut off;

2. Visit the beautiful Wrigley Memorial/Botanical Garden to get some good plant pictures and tile pictures;

3. Get a lot of 'around town' pictures - pictures of the streets, pictures of the shop signs, restaurant signs, iconic buildings such as the Casino, the Green Pier, etc...just to kind of give people an idea of what the city of Avalon is like;

4. Get as many scenic ocean/harbor pictures as I can; and

5. Attempt to get a few halfway decent sunset photos. It may not be very successful, but I'll try.



I'll eat somewhere too, but I have not figured out if I'll do a counter service place like Coney Island West (decent burgers and onion rings) or go to my old favorite table service restaurant, Antonio's.

I will grab as many brochures as I can manage, to have extra info to bring back here to the DIS for our thread.




I'll be in a frenzy of activity and errand-running between now and Saturday morning, so I may not be able to post until I get back late Saturday night, or on Sunday morning.


I'll hopefully be back with a full report then!

 

[endy]

Yeah Sherry

How a great time. We're looking forward to pictures.

I vote for eating at Antonio's inside where you can eat peanuts in the shell. Or out on the deck and you can take more pictures. You can likely charge your battery and recharge yourself at the same time. There's cool stuff hanging in the restauant as well.
Wish I could go with you

Enjoy the day. Wear comfy shoes or bring a spare pair with you.
Wendy

 

[Sherry E]

I'm back!

I found a place that will charge your camera battery (as long as you have your charger with you) for $5.00 - Leo's Drugstore. However, it took an extraordinarily long time for the battery to charge - much, much longer than it ever takes when I charge it at home. It actually really threw off my day in a way, because I had planned to take many more photos from up in the hills, on the golf cart path, but I couldn't because I only had one battery with me (the other one was still at Leo's) and I was afraid it was going to die soon too.

So I would recommend that if you do a day trip to Avalon (during this birthday promo or anytime) and if you are the sort of person who takes tons of photos - and you will not be staying overnight anywhere where you can charge your batteries - bring more than one extra battery with you! I had 2 batteries with me, but the timing of the recharge was inconvenient so it would have helped to have a 3rd fully charged battery with me.

I rented a golf cart, went up to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Gardens, got my free ice cream, free coffee and free mineral stone (in place of a fortune bracelet). I even managed to walk along Pebbly Beach Road, which is waterside and is supposed to officially be closed to the public because of "falling rocks." This road is one of my favorite things in Avalon - it is a true highlight. It's a great place to listen to the roar of the ocean and watch the waves hitting the rocks, scout for sea lions, dolphins and other critters, and get a fabulous view. There are even a few conveniently located benches on which you can sit and think in peace. It's away from the main hub of activity in town, so only the residents or tourists who like long walks by the ocean really know about Pebbly Beach Road. It would be a shame if Avalon kept it closed and didn't let people enjoy it.

I was told by one of the shopkeepers that there is a possibility of the Catalina Express free birthday boat ride offer being extended even further - they may do it every year for a while. Some of the vendors who participate in the promo (like the free coffee and ice cream places) may not continue to be involved, or the list of vendors may change, but there is a big push to get Catalina Express and the City of Avalon on board with at least continuing the free boat ride promo indefinitely. It is still being decided. In a way, I can't see how the Express could financially afford to keep offering the promo, but for selfish reasons I hope they do!

More later...must run now!

 

[Sherry E]

Just a handful of photos out of the many, many, many pictures I took in Avalon the other day...

Catalina Express before the sun came up...

Passing by the Queen Mary as we set sail...

Pulling into the Avalon harbor...

Welcome!

The water is murky in this one spot, but you can see Garibaldi fish...

Some Catalina flowers/plants...

This little guy used to be located somewhere else in town - he was moved!

The Green Pleasure Pier and the Casino...

Metropole Marketplace...

Random scenic shots...

Wrigley Memorial...

Some of the famous Catalina tilework...

Avalon...as the sun goes down...

​

 

[PHXscuba]

Love the flower pix!

PHXscuba

 

[endy]

Great pictures Sherry.
How's your foot after all that walking?

 

[Sherry E]

Thank you, PHX & Wendy!


Surprisingly, my foot is no worse than it was pre-Catalina! There was, indeed, a lot of walking. I know the things I like to do when I am in Avalon, and I knew that I would have to walk a lot. There's no way around it. I walked up the incline and up all of those steps to the Wrigley Memorial. The side of my foot that appears to be injured was hurting quite a bit at that point, but I forged ahead. I walked from one end of town to the other end - from the backside of the Casino (where the dive park is) - almost to Descanso Beach - all the way to my favorite Pebbly Beach Road/Lovers Cove bench/spot that is supposed to be closed to visitors. My foot was still hurting in that one spot.

So I thought that when I got home, my foot would be even worse than it had been prior to this little jaunt, because I was walking on it while it was hurting. I thought that I must be doing more damage to it. But it seems to be okay. It still hurts a bit if I put pressure on that one area on the side of it, but it is definitely no worse than it was before Saturday!

 

[PHXscuba]

Although I'm sorry you were in pain while walking, the fact that it didn't hurt more or get horribly swollen or painful afterward is a good sign. Maybe not the way you'd like to find out, but it bodes well for your recovery!

PHXscuba

 

[Sherry E]

I have begun my Catalina Photo Report, over in the California Trip Reports section, where I'm not sure anyone will even see it!

I am already 14 installments in - I am mainly just posting photos and not writing much. I am saving most of my writing endeavors for my in-progress holiday 2011 TR, as PHXscuba knows.

Catalina Island/Avalon - My Solo Day Trip, in Photos (LOTS of Photos!)- 7/21/12

I will continue posting more Avalon photos tomorrow - there will be lots and lots of them!

 

[PHXscuba]

Courtesy bump for Sherry to keep it from falling off the list ... so people know about the free birthday ticket.

PHXscuba

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for bumping this, PHX! I appreciate it. I was shocked to see that the thread has climbed to over 10,000 views. I remember when it was 500 views!

I definitely need to keep this on Page 1 of this forum - the free birthday boat ride offer extends all the way through April 2013 (if not longer than that), so there is plenty of time for people to take advantage of it if they have birthdays coming up before then.