I just finished taking notes on all the great Catalina information! Thanks for all the great recommendations!
We might do this next year. We usually do an annual San Diego trip and we feel that we've kind of run out of new stuff to see and do. This gets me really excited because we can still drive to California like we normally do and stay a night or two on Catalina and get to do all those great tours, snorkeling, renting the golf cart etc and then head back to San Diego to finish off our trip with a couple of nights at the beach.
Kkmcan - Oh yes! You should definitely visit Catalina. There is something very intoxicating about it. Usually, after the first trip, most people feel that they want to go back and spend more time there, whether to take part in more activities or to just sit somewhere and read. The main town of Avalon is small and beachy and casual, and there are certainly lots of people milling about, but there are areas where it is quite tranquil and meditative (I could show you one perfect spot I am visualizing right now if we happened to be in Avalon at this very moment!!!
). Lots of great scenery up in the hills as well. Walking along the main strip at night, or at sunset, is quite lovely as you catch a bit of a chill from the sea air.
Aside from the scenery and the flora (such as the wonderful plants at the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden), there is also the fauna: one time we were zipping along in the golf cart on a 'back road,' and we stopped for a doe and her babies to cross in front of us. Another time we looked up and there was an eagle (there is an eagle sanctuary/habitat on the island) perched on a rock, watching over all the golf carts as they passed by. Of course, there was also the time we did the Semi-Sub tour and saw a shark. The seals and sea lions out at Seal Rock are wonderful. There are lots of buffalo all over the deep interior of the island (they never come into town; you have to find them). There are almost always dolphin sightings on the way to Catalina. The flying fish are mesmerizing to watch.
Oh, and I have never been to Europe, but from all the photos and film clips I have seen, when you approach Catalina/Avalon from the boat as you arrive, the view you get of the houses stacked on the hillside is very, very reminiscent of Greece and Italy. In fact, that was the idea when it was built that way - there is definitely supposed to be a Mediterranean kind of flair to Avalon (there is lots of colorful tile all over the place, too - Catalina is 'famous' for its tile).
