Sunday, May 6, 2012

Catalina Island - Girls Trip 2012 (long blog post)

A couple weeks ago Fran, Jess, Mo and I headed to Catalina Island to visit our good friend Justin.  We had a blast - and the best host anyone could ask for!!  Justin has lived on Catalina Island for the past two years; he works giving zip line tours and definitely knows how to show his guests a good time on the island.
THURSDAY
Justin picked me up at LAX and we headed to Santa Monica to get the rest of the gang.  Jess, Mo and Fran stayed in Santa Monica Wednesday night; they checked out the Pier, people watched on Venice Beach, got some sun and drank a few cocktails.  The five of us drove to Huntington Beach for a little lunch.  We made a pit stop for some essentials at Trader Joe’s before catching the Ferry out of Long Beach.  We took the scenic route to the island stopping at Two Harbors before heading to our final stop – Avalon!!
 
Leaving Long Beach - Avalon here we come.

Two Harbors


Almost to Avalon
We've arrived in Avalon.
 When we got to Justin’s we took in the views from his roof top patio.  We then headed out for a tour of the town and to meet some of Justin’s friends.  We went to Luau Larry’s for buffalo milk, the island drink; all I have to say is YUM – that wasn’t the last buffalo milk I had…  Next up Avalon Grille for more drinks, some apps and a chocolate shot.  Then dinner at the Lobster Trap.  What a fun start to a super fun vacation!!


Rooftop Patio
The view from Justin's patio.
Luau Larry's - First Stop
Buffalo Milk
Avalon Grille

FRIDAY
Friday was our most touristy day.  We went on the East End Adventure, thanks Justin and Andrew!  This was a bird’s eye tour of the East End of Catalina Island.  An Open Air H1 Hummer took us 1500 feet above see level – what awesome views.  After the hummer tour we got some lunch and then went to Descanso Beach Club for some liquid courage before going on our Zip Line Tour!  After our busy day Friday night was low key.  We went to Luau Larry’s for another buffalo milk and then headed back to Justin’s for some homemade pizza, compliments of Justin.
 



Views of the town from the hummer tour.





The Casino and Avalon Bay


Getting ready to ZIP.

Zip Line Platforms


Get Ready

Get Set

Zip Away
Mo - I'm not so sure about this.
Jess posing for the camera
Fran

Justin
Me



SATURDAY
Another busy day!!  We started out the day doing a little shopping.  We then went to the Catalina Cantina for lunch.  Another yummy lunch!  It’s my new favorite place – delicious food and the best Margarita’s.  We headed back to Descanso Beach Club and waited for Justin to get off of work.  On our way to Justin's we stopped at the Casino Dock Café where we enjoyed some live music.  We got ready for the evening and went to Steve’s Steakhouse for some more delicious food and great service.  Back to Luau Larry’s for some live music, Marlin Club, Galleon for Karaoke, and finally ended the night at the Chi Chi Club.
Lunch at the Catalina Cantina

Yum Yum

Descanso Beach






At Casino Dock Cafe






SUNDAY
We went back to Casino Dock Café for breakfast.  We had one last Margarita at Catalina Cantina before catching our ride (thanks Andrew!) back to the dock to catch our Ferry.  Thanks Justin for letting four girls take over your place and for showing us such a great time in Avalon!  Hope we can come visit you again sometime.    


 

1 comment:

  1. Hi there!
    My name is Jane and I'm with Dwellable.
    I was looking for blogs about Avalon to share on our site and I came across your post...If you're open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
    Hope to hear from you soon!
    Jane

    ReplyDelete