We are not Catalina experts, but for those of you who are not familiar and might be more interested, it’s a really neat place to learn more about.

Catalina is a short ferry ride and even shorter helicopter ride from either San Pedro or Long Beach, which are only about an hour drive from LA proper. We opted do a one way of each to/fro Avalon. The island has original ties to Native Americans, some Spanish exploration and has since been turned into mostly a tourist, resort island. It is a nice getaway, especially as a day trip to cap off our wedding week. The Wrigley family (of gum and baseball) were the last owners until they donated over 85% of the island to a local conservancy. That said, during their 60 years of ownership the Wrigley’s made quite an impact. If you have any interest in baseball the Chicago Cubs had some iconic spring training years on the island. And there is a varied cactus garden you can visit as well.