Saint Doug (aka San Diego)

[Kyle]We knew it was going to be a long, slow sail to San Diego from Avalon, so we left at first light in order to give ourselves as much time as we could.

We did pretty well for a while. The wind turned against us just far enough that we could still sail within a couple of degrees of our route. We got about halfway and then it just quit like someone flipped a switch. We were left rolling around in two wave trains that were opposing one another, which made Begonia jump and lurch erratically. The sails slatted back and forth and everything was banging and shaking. Ugh!

Little wind, but we arrive in time for the sailing races

We stowed all of the sails in order to spare them and the rig, and started an engine. I hate doing that, although I have to admit it in this case the racket of the engine was way preferable to the sound of the rig beating itself to death. The wind never went above two knots the rest of the way and the arriving swell from a big storm in the open ocean was getting bigger.

Around 4am, we entered some pretty thick fog. We turned on the radar and started sounding our fog signal. As we approached the entrance to San Diego, we started spotting lots of fishing boats on radar (We could tell because they were mostly stopped). Most of them had picked the middle of the entrance channel as their spot. None were sounding a signal of any type and we got a few dirty looks as we appeared out of the fog and manoeuvred around them on our way up the channel. One big sport fishing boat came blasting out of the fog at 13 knots and passed a boat length ahead of us without even seeming to notice we were there. It’s a good thing we saw them coming.

A couple of miles later, we emerged into bright sunlight and then found ourselves motoring upstream through a pretty big sailboat race. we peeled away and tied up at the Customs dock for an inspection, which would authorize us to anchor in the A9 anchorage reserved especially for transients. We set the hook just in front of the Coast Guard station and within sight of the airport.

After a good restful day and night - we wake up to more fog

The next day, we were picked up for a whirlwind tour that would have taken three or four by bus. Our ride was from Liz, a friend Maryanne made in Italy after we lost Footprint. Liz’s husband, Michael, is in the U.S. Navy and was stationed in Naples when Liz kindly answered Maryanne’s internet call of help with boxes for shipping our remaining belongings back to the States. They’ve been in San Diego for the last few years, where they hope to stay, and she was kind enough to drive us around and keep us company.

Liz showed us the sights - including Cabrillo lighthouse and beach

Our main focus of the day was Cabrillo National Monument and State Marine Preserve. Along with great sea cliffs with lots of tide pools and plenty of good information about Cabrillo’s “discovery” of the area, there were amazing views of the whole of San Diego. From our high perch, Liz was able to point out places of interest and give advice on what to see later when it was just us.

We drove through a few areas and then had a late lunch before going to Liz’s to catch up. Maryanne had, of course, met Liz years before. I was new to the mix, but I felt perfectly welcome. Liz is very interesting and has a better than average level of self-awareness, which makes her an easy person with which to converse. I liked her very much. She also has two adorable cats which were happy to let me fuss over them. That made me happy since having our own is impractical.

Enjoying San Diego Old Town at night
where handmade tortillas are part of the entertainment

We followed that with a night visit to Old Town, where we meandered through shops and pubs decorated for El Dia de Las Muertes (Day of the dead).

The next day, we got up early with the ambitious goal of seeing everything else in San Diego in one day. This was, of course, nuts. We had no hope of doing any such thing, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t try.

We started by walking to the Mexican fisheries department to get two licenses. We were going to take a bus, but there was a wait, so we just started walkin’

We don’t really intend to fish in Mexico, but we have some gear aboard (lift raft options). The rumor is that we could get fined a car each if they think we might even be capable of fishing without a license, so a license each is cheap insurance the way we see it.

From there we walked to Balboa Park. We found the visitor’s center and then made a plan to see most of the highlights via walking tour.

Balboa Park - a wonderful mix of fine buildings and beautiful gardens

Balboa Park is just lovely. We’ve been lucky enough to be able to see some great urban parks in our travels, but by the end, I decided that Balboa is my favorite one of them all. It is beautiful and grand and peaceful and inspiring all at the same time.

The buses weren’t too convenient again, so we walked all of the way downtown to the gaslight district - the center of San Diego’s scene. We had a reasonable dinner during happy hour at a bar that probably wouldn’t start getting really busy with the younger crowd for hours.

We weren’t done yet, so we headed home via the waterfront through seaport village, yet another fun district with too many nice dessert places to pass up. We figured we had to be over ten miles for the day, so we needed something to get us the rest of the way home.

Exploring more of San Diego - and the views of planes landing from the boat

We had another day in S.D. We intended to go to the Maritime museum, which has eleven boats to tour (Ooh, boats!), but things kept coming up. By the time we walked by it on the way home again, we had filled the day with a lot of other fun touristy stuff we found on the way and they were about to close, so we had to give it a miss. Maybe next time.

Avalon

[Kyle]We were up for what seemed like an unfairly early requirement to vacate our mooring by 8:00. The sun only came up at 7:15. All right. Well, it's not like we had anything else we wanted to do.

We had a nice downwind sail along the southwestern side of the island and were at Avalon harbor a few hours later.

{Maryanne:I was not familiar with Avalon, nor did I have any idea what to expect. Being so close to Los Angeles (and Hollywood) it was developed as an Island get away for folks on the mainland, and quickly became somewhere the rich and famous visited and generally mixed well with other visitors (movie stars, Winston Churchill and many others - Marilyn Monroe even lived here for a year before she even contemplated becoming an actress). And the place totally looks the part, it is stunningly beautiful.}

Once we were secured, we discovered a bunch of little issues that seemed like they would be better addressed sooner than later. By the time we were done with those, both we and the light were starting to fade. We decided to stay aboard and deal with the dinghy tomorrow. In the meantime, just outside, we had a view of Avalon. Unlike Isthmus, Avalon was dripping with charm. It looks so much like a little Mediterranean village that every now and then, we would forget we were still in California.

First views of Avalon from our mooring

The next morning, I went out to ready the dinghy for the trip ashore when I looked out to sea and saw a giant cruise ship anchored outside the harbor. Oh no! Cruise Ship Day! So many times, we have seen charming little villages turned to overcrowded and overpriced bazaars on Cruise Ship Day. Sighting the ship makes us feel like what people who work feel when they realize it's Monday.

First day exploring the waterfront of this beautiful town

It wasn't actually so bad. Instead of increasing ten fold, Avalon's population temporarily went up maybe 30%, which it seems pretty well equipped to handle. We wandered around, looking at shops and restaurants. The triple rule seems to be in effect here as well. We know a way around that: Don't buy anything (okay, not much). We walked all over the place, taking in the view from one side of town and then the next. We found an outdoor restaurant with THE perfect atmosphere and decided we would take the opportunity to try the island's signature cocktail, Buffalo Milk. Buffalo Milk contains no buffalo products, but instead is basically a White Russian with whipped cream on top. It looks like a frappuccino, only with kick. Somebody nearby got nachos and we decided to add that as well. It was a perfect spot for one of those "life is good" moments as we watched the surf lap the beach below. {Maryanne: Prices were really not that bad, about right for waterfront dining in California - but still more than we generally like to spend - poor Kyle}

The beach club was one of the many stunning places to hang out

We followed that with a walk out of town to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Gardens. The memorial was impressive and the gardens were really well done. All of the plants were of types suitable for the arid climate and it was especially interesting to see examples of species that are only found on Santa Catalina. Many are a convenient bench height, like the barrel cactus, but almost none seem to be good for sitting.

A walk to the outskirts of town, and then on to the Botanical Garden - where Kyle was keen to inspect the prickly things.

On the way home, we stopped in the local grocery store for a few items of which we were running low. There, my suspicions about the triple conspiracy were strengthened. Cruise ship passengers don't need groceries. People who live here need groceries. Groceries here are NOT triple. They cost the same as everywhere else we've been in California. Ah, ha!!! Busted.

I suspect the same is not true of real estate.

The ship left at the end of the day and we had the whole place to ourselves and those other twenty people again. We enjoyed an inexpensive dinner made with Catalina-bought groceries with the lights of the town as a backdrop.

There was no cruise ship blocking the sunrise the next morning, so we took in a few attractions.

First was a snorkel around Lover's Cove. The visibility was pretty good. We saw lots of fish species, most of whom were so tame, they were happy to follow us around. There was some kelp and a lot of sea grass, but strangely no stars or anemones. We were also secretly hoping to see a few sea lions frolicking around, but they were elsewhere. We would have stayed a while, waiting for them, but even in our wetsuits (thanks, Mom!), we were starting to get chilly. California water is cold, Man!

A snorkel in Lover's cove

We went back to Begonia, dried off and headed back to shore for a tour of the Casino, which is not a gambling casino, but instead just a really big entertainment venue, maintained in its original 1920s glory. It reminded us of other grand theaters like the Paramount in Oakland and Radio City Music Hall in NY. On the tour, though, we learned that we had it backwards, Radio City was built using inspiration from the Casino. Cool. The Casino is split into two main areas, a giant theater below and the world's largest uninterrupted circular ballroom above. Back in the day, Avalon used to be huge on the big band circuit. I couldn't resist swinging Maryanne around a few times in the middle of that giant floor.

A behind the scenes tour of the 'Casino' at Avalon

From there, we went to the island's museum, where we learned a lot that we didn't know about its star-studded history.

We decided we had done plenty of exercise for the day, so we would treat ourselves to a meal out. We paid for a very nice meal at a romantic restaurant. What we got us a pretty good pizza and a couple of beers at a hole-in-in-the-wall with lots of character called Antonio's. It was still romantic, though, because I was with Maryanne and we were in freakin' Avalon!

The next morning was beautiful and clear. I went outside to admire the orangey light on the town and noticed another cruise ship. Uh, oh. We didn't have much to do ashore, so we got out early. We managed to get all showered and were enjoying a nice breakfast ice cream when we intercepted the first wave of people from the ship. We were then ready to get back to Begonia to prepare for departure while enjoying the entertaining chaos ashore from a peaceful distance.