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Showing posts with label Catalina Island. Show all posts

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 5

After semi-submarine tour, we took a walk around the town and looked for souvenirs.

Lloyd's Avalon Confectionery

I saw many beautiful various designed tiles everywhere on the Island. I became more interested in Catalina Pottery tiles. As I mentioned in my previous entry, we fianlly found the paver magnets at Catalina Island Museum and purchased them there. :)

Catalina Pottery Tile Magnets

We got on the ferry to go back to Newport Beach. We were very tired from walking all day long, so we both slept on ferry for the most of the time on the way home.

Newport Beach

After arriving parking lot, we decided to walk on the Balboa Pier, which is just located near the Balboa Pier Municipal Parking Lot. It's because when we went to whale watching tour two months ago, we saw some whales pretty close to the pier. If you are lucky, you will see whales from the pier. :)

Balboa Pier
801 E Ocean Front
Newport Beach, CA 92661

There was a big brown pelican sitting on the pier.

Brown Pelican

I looked down the ocean from the pier as usual, and I found that there was the winsome California sea lion underneath the pier. She was staring at people, and I thought that she was waiting for being fed. One boy threw some frozen shrimps into the ocean, but the sea lion didn't eat them. She probably wanted fresh ones.

California Sea Lion

Balboa Pier

We were not able to see whales but enjoyed walking on the pier as we always do. :)

Even though we purchased ferry tickets with a great deal on Groupon, traveling to Catalina Island was pretty pricey for us. However, we were able to try what we had never experienced before, such as driving a golf cart and riding on a semi-submarine. We were really satisfied with our one-day trip on the Catalina Island. :)

I uploaded my Youtube video which I recorded that day.

Balboa Pier in Newport Beach

These are my entries related to our day trip on Santa Catalina Island.

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 1

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 2, Walking on the Green Pleasure Pier

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 3, Golf Car Rental

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 4, Semi-Submarine Tour, The Nautilus

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 5

Catalina Pottery Tile - Paver Magnet

My entries related to Los Angeles can be seen here.

http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Los%20Angeles

These are also my Youtube videos related to Catalina Island.

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island

Santa Catalina Island Green Pleasure Pier, Avalon Pier

Catalina Island Golf Cart Rental

Catalina Semi-Submarine Tour

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 4, Semi-Submarine Tour, The Nautilus

After Exploring the town by a golf cart on Catalina Island, we headed toward a tour desk and bought the semi-submarine tour tickets for around $70.

We climbed down stairs to the inside of the semi-submarine, the Nautilus.

The Nautilus Semi-Submarine Tour

by Catalina Adventure Tours

There were round-shaped windows, so we could see under water from the windows. The water was murky though.

Inside the Semi-Submarine, the Nautilus

At first, we only saw a few small fish and so many giant kelp. However, as the boat went ahead, we were able to see a ton of pretty big fish swam along the boat. Mostly, I saw these schools of two kinds of fish.

Inside the Semi-Submarine, the Nautilus

There was an option to buy food shots to feed the fish. As soon as people pushed to shoot out food, numerous fish swam very close to the window. Frankly, the view from the windows didn't look beautiful. I usually really enjoy watching fish, but it was not really fun for me to see too many big fish at one time somehow.
Some fish stopped by my window and was watching me was cute though. However, the fish was probably asking for foods. :)

Inside the Semi-Submarine, the Nautilus

I didn't expect that we saw such a number of fish. I thought that it was a paradise for fish under the water in Avalon Bay.

I uploaded my Youtube video, which I recorded that day.

Catalina Semi-Submarine Tour

Catalina Adventure Tours Official Website
http://www.catalinaadventuretours.com/

These are my entries related to our day trip on Santa Catalina Island.

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 1

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 2, Walking on the Green Pleasure Pier

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 3, Golf Car Rental

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 4, Semi-Submarine Tour, The Nautilus

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 5

Catalina Pottery Tile - Paver Magnet

My entries related to Los Angeles can be seen here.

http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Los%20Angeles

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 3, Golf Car Rental

I wanted to drive a golf cart to explore the town on Catalina Island, we headed toward a golf cart rental, Island Rentals.

Island Rentals

Island Rentals
125 Pebbly Beach Rd
Avalon, CA 90704

It costs $40 per hour to rent a golf cart. We found that there was a notice on the front desk saying that if you donate $10 for veterans, they give you an extra 30 minutes rental for free. We were able to get a 1 hour and half rental for $50. In addition, we needed to put down a $40 deposit. We didn't expect that they only accept cash, so we drew out cash from a cash machine to pay $90.
The four-seat golf cart was made by Yamaha, which is a famous Japanese company for motorcycle. My late grandfather used to drive his Yamaha motorcycle by the way. When I was child, I was sometimes on the back of his motorcycle. That's why this Yamaha cart reminded me of Japan. :)

Yamaha Golf Cart

They gave us this map, which was very helpful to drive in Avalon.

Map of Avalon

It was our first time to drive a golf cart. I was excited to explore the town by the pretty golf cart. :) We were able to see a great scenery and took pictures.

Avalon Bay

We stopped by Santa Catalina Interpretive Center.

Santa Catalina Interpretive Center

Driving residential zone was a little complicated, and we got lost once, but we figured it out soon by referring the map they gave us.

Avalon Bay

I expected that a 1 hour and half car rental was long enough to explore the town, but it went by so quickly. We enjoyed our first golf cart rental on this island. :)

I uploaded my Youtube video which I recorded that day.

Then, we joined the semi-submarine tour. I'll write about it next time.

These are my entries related to our day trip on Santa Catalina Island.

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 1

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 2, Walking on the Green Pleasure Pier

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 3, Golf Car Rental

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 4, Semi-Submarine Tour, The Nautilus

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 5

Catalina Pottery Tile - Paver Magnet

My entries related to Los Angeles can be seen here.

http://itisapieceofcake2011.blogspot.com/search/label/Los%20Angeles

Monday, May 19, 2014

Going on a Day Trip to Santa Catalina Island - Part 2, Walking on the Green Pleasure Pier

As I mentioned in my previous entry, my husband and I went on a day trip to Santa Catalina Island on May 10.

After arriving on the island, we took a sauntering walk. It was a beautiful sunny day but not too hot. :)

Crescent Avenue

We walked on the Green Pleasure Pier, which is centrally located in Avalon Bay on the island. There were some food stands and the visitor information booth.

Green Pleasure Pier

From the pier, we were able to see the beautiful scenery of Avalon Bay.

Catalina Casino

Avalon Bay

We were a little bit hungry, so we decided to eat at this restaurant, Eric's on the Pier.

We ordered this fish and chips, which was around $12. The size of this plate, including big four pieces of fried fish and a plenty of french fries, was just right for two people. :) The fish was hot and crisp. :)