My sister really wanted to try kayaking while visiting us, so we immediately thought of Catalina Island, where we did some paddling with a guide back in October, 2004. Without much planning, we decided to try it today on our own, having had no luck hooking up with a guide (because of lack of notice from us and their web site being down).

We caught the light rail down to Long Beach for the island ferry, but without reservations for the early boat, we had to take the mid-day one (just as well no guide then!). This left precious little time for kayaking once we arrived, however on the crossing we caught very close sight of a whale (Wendy's first).

We rented kayaks for as long as possible and paddled around for a couple hours, observing a pair of bald eagles perched atop a rocky shoreline crest, as well as numerous fishes -- especially the easy-to-see bright orange garibaldies. No time for snorkelling either, but Wendy's more inspired to take up SCUBA now.

Thanks to short daylight hours most everything closed early on the island so we spent some time shopping and eating, then back to the ferry and another trip on the light rail (by the way, that's a great way to make the trip -- very cheap, no traffic, no parking expenses, just takes a little longer).

We met up with Mom, Shelley, and Baby, then caught the last day of the annual holiday lights exhibit in Griffith Park. We like to walk that rather than drive it, despite the long day of earlier activities. Baby liked the lights, for sure, even though it was apparent she was tired.




Wendy and Kelley