Firstly: BUFFALO. Catalina's history with buffalo (and the treatment of non-endemic species in general) has pretty much sucked until more recent times. I'm glad that the buffalo population, although trimmed down, remains on the island. (IMHO if you've lived somewhere for 70 years you can rightfully call yourself a "native" even if you're not really.) If you're anywhere other than Avalon when in Catalina, you have much more access to the buffies. Access meaning, you get to see them. You must not interact, as Honey Bunny and I learned four years ago when we went camping at Little Harbor. A day prior to our arrival, a drunken frat boy walked right down the middle of a herd - one that included calves - and was gored in the backside by one of the buffalo. Note to self: all buffalo have horns, regardless of sex. Um, did the frat boy miss the large, black, pointy protrusions from the heads of every single approximately 1000 lb. animal in a 50+ member herd? He was evacuated out by helicopter to the mainland and almost lost his life because of his stupid action.
Point being that you can have very lovely, albeit quiet and controlled, interactions with buffalo, especially if you're staying in Two Harbors. Male members of the herd are unceremoniously kicked out after they provide babies, so all over you will find solo buffalo baby-daddies. Wilson is one such example... he seems to exclusively hang out in Two Harbors and is older than the hills. Honey Bunny and I spent some great quality time with him at the Cat Harbor dinghy dock BBQ and picnic area. Someone brings him the occasional bale of hay and set up a gigantic water bucket in a shady patch. As it was hotter than sin the day HB and I were walking around Cat Harbor, the shaded picnic area was most excellent to cool off in and we got to observe Wilson chewing cud, holding court with a large flock of little birds that liked to congregate on and around his head (I'm guessing mutualism, but what exactly?), and then shake and barely get to standing where he would sway and eat hay. At one point I noticed that his water bucket was running quite low so I refilled it with the picnic area's hose. Ah, Wilson... elderly hermit, lonely soul.
When we were on the Safari Bus heading from Two Harbors to Avalon via the Airport-in-the-Sky, we saw a huge herd as we cruised through the Wrigley Ranch. OMG! Babies! I did see calves when we were at Little Harbor as previously mentioned but none of it really stuck; that happens when you have only tent fabric between yourself and goring-happy buffalo mamas. (Just kidding! They are NOT goring-happy animals. We were goring-paranoid humans.) The babies are the cutest little things ever, especially when suckling at the teat which many were.
Another highlight was the sheer amount of time Honey Bunny and I spent doing stuff. Let me preface this with a little story of last year's vacation to the Trinity Alps. Honey Bunny is no stranger to what I call "my adventure-related meltdowns". Whilst in the Alps, he talked me into going on an eight mile round-trip hike in one of the most beautiful settings I've ever seen. Wildflowers and mountain lakes? Check. When I got tired, I didn't just say "I'm tired, let's rest." Nope, instead I said, "I'd rather be walking on a treadmill in an air conditioned gym" in addition to several other choice things. Let me just say that I have issues stemming from adventures in my formative years in which I felt trapped, scared and/or tired, and it wasn't really okay to express - or even be feeling - any of that. That day on the hike changed me, though. Honey Bunny WAS pissed at me for saying what I said, but he also showed me a lot of compassion and metaphorically held my hand when he probably would have rather slapped it away. For this reason, I at least try to enjoy the adventures he proposes/we do rather than automatically judge and react.
The first year we went to Catalina, we rented a kayak during our stay in Two Harbors and it was really quite lovely seeing the coastline that way. We paddled about 5 miles to Emerald Bay but then the wind picked up on our way back and we had to battle it and current. We missed our check-in time at the rental place so they sent the Harbor Patrol out for us. Being picked up by the Harbor Patrol was both relieving (no more paddling in place after no food or water for four hours) and embarrassing (getting up to standing on a kayak to climb over the edge of the Patrol boat? UGH!). Talk about an adventure, eh? That whole experience unfortunately contributed to my overall adventure-adverse headspace, though... something I didn't realize until the hike in the Trinity Alps. I'm scared of going too far out and getting stuck. Story of my life.
That day in the Alps was a great jumping off point for both Honey Bunny and I. For me, it started a bit of healing. For him, he understood me better not just in a vacation context but in life overall. Neither of us discussed that this vacation would be vastly different than all those that came before, but it just was. My headspace was different. I didn't want to make excuses to get out of doing things, nor did I want to be inhibited by fear enough to explicitly say so. As ridiculous as this sounds (and for me to even write it), I challenged myself to have a great and more active vacation. We kayaked in both Two Harbors (scary big waves and wind, meltdown included, but we got through it and ended up having a great time) and Avalon (surprisingly far superior than the Isthumus; highly recommend!), we did day hikes in both places (exhausting because of the heat), and we swam as much as possible (colder water this year than normal, but still YAY). In Two Harbors we stayed at the Banning House Lodge which was as beautiful as ever, and you have to hike a 1/2 mile up- or down-hill to get anywhere other than the Lodge. That's a dust-filled adventure with the occasional buffalo encounter in itself! In Avalon we stayed at La Paloma Cottages which were bijoux at best and uncomfortable at least, so staying out and about was crucial. Everything worked out for the best.
One thing I really enjoyed this time about Catalina and can't remember really doing so in the past was tuning in more with the local culture. In Two Harbors, we were there during the weekdays run-up to Buccaneer’s Day. "Buc Day", as the locals call it, is apparently the last big party of the season and what a party it is. 6000 people crowd into the Isthmus to booze up and pretend they're pirates. The town was battening down the hatches quite literally in preparation. Sounds like most people sleep where they fall down and pass out, including the playground and beach. HB and I so badly wanted to stay to witness the spectacle but there was no way to change our plans. In the midst of prep for Buc Day, the ladies of Las Caballeras arrived in town for their annual 5-day ride. For 24 hours, the sound of whinnying horses carried through the air while ferries full of cowgirls unloaded at the dock. How cool is that?
Once in Avalon, we realized the town was gearing up for the Jazz Trax Festival at the Casino. Actual people of color (gasp!) were in town! Whereas the average tourist lady wears a sun visor, capri pants and flip flops and has fish-belly white skin, it was easy to tell who the jazz tourists were. We saw tons of women who were fake-baked beyond recognition, hobbling around on Avalon's cobblestone in 4" stiletto heels and pristine mini dresses. The opening night of the festival, HB and I sat on the brick wall at the bottom of the Casino, like many others, and enjoyed the music, blaring clearly through open windows and doors upstairs. (Why pay a fortune for the tickets when you can just enjoy from street level?)
The other thing we did in Avalon, when we went on our walk up to the Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden, was stop at artist Will Richard's Art Studio (and house). Far from being just a standard art studio, his place is full of crazy stuff he's made in the name of art. There are painted sculptures, molds and paintings of aliens, Jesus, cats, you name it, everywhere, tucked into corners, integrated into the architecture, on display, so on and so forth. While it's clear he doesn't necessarily love chit-chat with tourists, he's a super nice guy and very welcoming.
It's always hard for me to leave Catalina. I've often wondered if I lived a past life there, which is something I've felt since I was a kid. Something about it always felt and feels like home to me, something that transcends it just being a "fun vacation destination". I remember the first time I visited and was walking around with my parents. The art deco architecture and art on the Casino took my breath away, the look of the town in general was something I'd never seen or experienced before (aka Mediterranean seaport town), and I loved every minute of it. I had an insane imagination when I was that kid, and would always dream up crazy scenarios about being a young woman there at the turn of the 1950's, or about being in a romance with Zane Grey (who looked like a young but completely different Zane in my daydreams), or even being the lithe mermaid in her art deco water world in the Casino's frescoes. I think the daydreaming was helped along by the fact that I was going through puberty, discovering boys and longing to be an adult who could party at Luau Larry's instead of being trapped on a tiny sailboat with my parents.
So, I always feel wistful and cry when the ferry leaves the dock and I watch as the island gets farther away, and this time was no exception. The cool thing about this time, though, is that we came across a huge pod of dolphins who swam with the boat for awhile and played before zooming off. They are amazing creatures to watch, and swim extremely fast, and seem to genuinely love playing games. In that moment, I was so convinced that nature gives you gifts when you embrace it. Honey Bunny and I really enjoyed being in the sun, sand, dirt, water, kelp beds, etc, and so nature gave us Wilson (hello, how often do you just hang with a buffalo?) and a parting gift of dolphin playfulness. I know it's a super fruity theory that's probably hard for most people to buy into, but I believe it. 'Til next time, dear Catalina!
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