Golden Shore RV Resort, Long Beach, CA:  Took the Catalina Express fast cat out to Catalina Island this morning.  Really wanted to get a hotel and stay for a few days, but we had to be out of this park by Saturday.  Just didn’t have the time.  We took a short tour of this rugged island but didn’t even scratch the surface.  Wrigley, of Wrigley chewing gum fame, owned the whole island at one time.  He still has several homes on the island.  But in the 70s he donated 70% of the island to the Island Conservancy, which he set up, and guarantees that the island will remain in its natural state in perpetuity.  He also built the Casino, which isn’t a gambling establishment, but houses one of the largest circular ballrooms still existing in the US.  It also houses a beautiful movie theater.  Back in the day, all the big bands played here and it was a favorite playground of a lot of celebrities.  It’s also a favorite diving spot because of the crystal clear waters surrounding this beautiful place.  It’s very mountainous and rugged.  Wish we could have seen more.  Left on the 6:00 fast cat to go back to the mainland.  By then the marine layer was moving in again.  

Took this picture as we walked over to the ferry terminal to show how close we are to downtown--in fact, right in the middle of downtown.  The entrance to our park is on the left.  The park office is the grey building on the left.  We're surrounded by high rise office buildings.  Very different.  And there's a bike path right out of the park that goes along the Los Angeles River.

The fast cat as it's pulling into Catalina.

One of the little streets in Avalon.

The harbor at Avalon

The historic casino in Avalon

The yacht club

Took this picture as we were leaving on the fast cat.  Kind of fuzzy since I took it through the window, but it shows the ruggedness of the island and the "marine layer" moving in.