Happy Birthday to Me

To celebrate my birthday this year, I'm going to blog about my birthday from last year, because I didn't blog about it last year, and it was totally awesome.  

It all started with the decision to spend my birthday on Catalina,  a tiny island off the coast of Los Angeles.

 I’d wanted to go for quite some time,  but last year it just made sense for several reasons:

1. My birthday was on a weekend.
2. You get a free ferry ride to the island on your birthday, and you get a bunch of other free stuff to boot.
3. I keep telling myself that I won't be in California for another year.  

So I conned convinced my best friend from high school and her daughter to travel down from Monterey to join me on my trip.

We took advantage of pretty much everything there was to do on the island. 

A Little Snorkeling 

I'm still not really sure why our guide had me put on a single red glove or why we had a guide at all; about 15 minutes into the tour he got seasick, and had to "feed the fishes". 

Underwater Boat Experience 
While it provided a much better photo op, the lighting and view were better snorkeling.

Ziplining
Totally awesome five line course.  Appropriate for ages 7 to 80, at least that was the age range of our group. 

Some Rock Climbing

I think I spend more time falling than climbing. 

Chilled at the Beach Club
Oddly enough it's a beach club that's open to the public.  They have the most amazing nachos EVER

Toured the Casino 

It's kind of mandatory to tour this place your first time on the island.  It's a stadium sized dance hall and movie theatre from the island's heyday. It's really quite stunning.  

Mini Golfing

I totally could have beat her if it wasn't for that annoying loopity loop.

Sunsets
Between my friend and I, we took close to 50 photos of the sunset, but I shall only torture you with one.  Pretty amazing, right? You should totally go and enjoy it for yourself.  :)

Flying Fish Tour
I kid you not, Catalina has these foot long fish that fly over the water.  Unfortunately the tours are at night, and my camera is crap-tacular in low light.  Instead I located this artist's representation of the experience.  They shine a light out on the water, and you watch those suckers fly.... until they hit the hull of the boat and drop out of sight.  Poor guys, I'd hate to imagine the headaches they have in the morning.

Making fun of other tourists
Is any vacation complete without poking fun at the other vacationers?
Nothing says love more like complementary color coordinated outfits?

Or how about those people who opted for the Segway tour of a town that in its entirety is ALMOST 3 square mile.

But you really can't blame them since car options are pretty limited in a tiny town on a small island.

In Conclusion
Catalina is pretty awesome and totally worth a visit, especially on your birthday.  Just make sure you should bring along some great friends.   And if you'd like to hear more stories and see a million more photos, just let me know. :)