On our way to the Wrigley Memorial Garden

We decided to visit the Wrigley Memorial Gardens -- a native plant botanical garden just a bit out of town. There was a tram that went up there, with a stop right outside the hotel.


Waiting for the tram.... Nick plugged into his Ipod.

The tram route, with the gardenpretty much at the end of the line.

While waiting, the Renda boys found a friend at one of the nearby houses.

Lunch at the Pizza Place

Lunch the first day was at a pizza joint down the street from the hotel, can't remember the name but that is okay because I don't think we'll be recommending it to anyone.


We did get to eat lots of peanuts, and throw the shells around...

Tom thinks he is being subtle here....

but now he is happy, a margarita at last !

The whole gang, looking reasonably happy (because Chuck hasn't received the wrong food yet, and Jeff hasn't got his non-crispy bacon ).


Everyone has to have some kind of electronic gadget on this trip.

A charming picture of Alex, returning from the restroom....

People and Boats

Since Catalina is an island, of course there are boats. And since there are people, and cameras, there must be pictures of people posing by the waterside, with boats.


Greg (in his goofy hat) and Chuck....

Tom and Nick looking cool....

This is over behind the Casino....

No, Alex did not actually get very wet....

Greg is checking out the site of his future dive....

The whole gang (or at least a reasonable subset), on the beach....

Golf Carts

One of the things that you think of when you think of Avalon is golf carts. Golf carts everywhere, because there are very few cars allowed on the island, so golf carts are the standard method of transportation.

In addition to those used by residents, there is a booming (and apparently quite lucrative) business in golf cart rental to the tourists. Outrageously expensive -- about $40.00 an hour. I was initially puzzled by the limit of 2 hours for each rental, until I realized that since you aren't allowed to leave the town of Avalon with your rented golf cart, it can't possibly take you more than 2 hours to see every single street.


The Renda boys check out the golf carts .... although we never did end up renting one. At a cost per hour of more than you would normally pay for a rental car for a full day, and nowhere in particular to go, it just didn't seem worth it.


Where the golf carts go at night....

Oddly, most of the golf carts were not electric, making it a very noisy place. However, we did find a few electric models, including this Think.


And just for the record, one golf cart found in its native habitat.

On the Deck

Not the deck of a ship, but the deck on the 6th floor of the hotel. We all spent quite a bit of time there...

It was a nice place to eat breakfast ....


A nice place to geek, and wear a goofy hat....

Had a great view...

Good place to read, in peace and quiet ...

Of course, a great place to sit and read email on the Crackberry....

Other creatures liked the deck too....

Gosh, could it be....

because the Renda boys....

Were feeding him ?

The Walkway of Tiles

The walkway along the harbor between the town and the Casino had amazing tile murals.


There were three distinct themes:


Sea creatures...

Pictures from Catalina history: The Airport in the Sky (on the other side of the island, we didn't get to see it).


The Casino at night:
Love the flying fishes!


And a whole series of little creatures on tile:

Fireworks

Since we arrived on the 4th of July, we got to see fireworks the first evening. We all gathered on the 6th floor deck of the hotel, for a great view across the harbor.


The fireworks, while not particularly unusual, were very nice, and we had a wonderful vantage point.




As they progressed, it got smokier and smokier...



A wonderful start to a pleasant vacation (yes, we are still on the first day :-).