Lovely Catalina! It's been a goal of mine to come here and I'm so glad that I did. I took the ferry…read morefrom Long Beach and it took about an hour or so to get to the city of Avalon. I arrived to the port of Long Beach pretty early maybe around 7 AM, but honestly, it's unnecessary, especially if you're coming solo. So that's what I did, I did a solo trip to Catalina Island. Overall, I had a good time, but the next time, I would come with someone else... And I'm saying that as someone who loves solo travel. It was a beautiful day, and I set my whole itinerary. The first step was food, so I went to scoops and ordered a breakfast crêpe. Honestly, it was alright. I ate it outside and walked around until it was time for my tour of Avalon. The tour was probably one of my favorite parts of the day. After the tour, I took a dip in the water and snorkeled at Lovers Cove. I love snorkeling, but oh my goodness it was amazing to see the fish so up close and omg, they were so curious. Also, the rocks leading into the water are painful to walk on, so make sure to bring water shoes like I did. After snorkeling, I was still hungry, so I took a bite at the Descanso Beach club. I got their classic buffalo milk drink, and some nachos. The service was pretty good and the food was okay including the drink. By the end, I wanted to get a massage that I had scheduled but the cell phone service was terrible. And I mean really terrible. I could not reach the rideshare service there so I had to walk all the way to my massage appointment. I was very irritated about that. The massage was good though and my second favorite part of the day. The 2nd worst part about Catalina besides the cell phone signal is the locker system, especially if you're solo. Lockers take up to 3 tokens at a time just to open the locker and every 3 tokens is about $10. Just be ready to spend money or hopefully you have a hotel or something easy to carry around. After the massage, I was very tired, so I went to the customer area to see if I could get an earlier ferry back home. Thankfully, they had room for me. Overall, I do recommend Catalina island for couples or for a small group of people for one night maximum or a short 5 hour day trip.

After 30 plus years decided to knock out a long overdue trip to Catalina Island…read more I was told by various AI models that this could be accomplished for the incredibly road rate of less than $10 bucks round trip. Suffice to say that ended up being more challenging than I thought. For starters, this was going to be in one day trip with me doing about 8 hours on the island. The boat would leave San Pedro at 8:45 am, and I would need to be on the last boat heading back to San Pedro by 6: 00pm. The round trip between the islands and the mainland was not factored in. That was $90 flat. My journey started on the bus from Culver City, and initially looked promising. I started off going east on the MTA 108, boarding on Green Valley Circle and Buckingham. (The bus stop is right in front of the old Jewish cemetery, Hillside). After about 15 to 20 minutes I started to get notifications that I was going to be in trouble and wouldn't make the ferry from San Pedro to Catalina is staying on public transportation was going to get me there about a half an hour late! Various AI models told me I could literally get from Culver City all the way to the boat in San Pedro for under five bucks, but there was a small price to be paid....LA traffic. For anyone who's familiar with Los Angeles itself, I made it as far as Figueroa. Yes, notorious Figueroa! From there, there was no way around the inevitable, which was to dial up a lift or an Uber. Boom! There goes $50 bucks! I lucked up and got an awesome driver who literally got me to the dock with about 10 to 15 minutes to spare. The ride over from San Pedro to Catalina was pleasant, with the occasional big wave-no whales or dolphins unfortunately. Smh The captain & her staff were very accommodating, and all went well-until I dropped my old Surface laptop in the restroom, shattering it. (She was about to die anyways-and was proof positive that you can actually buy an open box product, and get multiple years of usage out of it. We eventually pulled up into Catalina (the Avalon portion) and the rest was history. Beautiful views and an awesome atmosphere much the way you see depicted in postcards and you name it. Glad to be here, it's long overdue!

I visited RUTH MAYERS GALLERY on Catalina Island with some High School Friends . I am also an…read moreartist , so I wanted to go on the weekend when they have the annual Art Festival. Iam so glad I went because I was fortunate to meet Ruth Mayer who was painting another beautiful painting of the Casino & the amazingly beautiful water. She was so friendly & interesting to talk with. My friends & I also went again to visit her Art Gallery which is where we spent at least a hour viewing with awe The many beautiful paintings of Ruth's. Meeting with Ruth's son at the gallery made our visit even more enjoyable. He was very knowledgeable & shared some interesting stories about his mothers art. I highly recommend anyone visiting the Island to see all the gorgeous art in the Gallery located on Summer Pl.

At first impression, this looked like a cute little gallery with prolific and diverse pieces of…read moreart. But a chance conversation with the store manager made me do a complete double-take. I was extremely surprised to find that all these works were completed by the same person! Her paintings included portraits, cityscapes, serene beachscapes, animals, whimsical figures, and abstract collages. She also has an impressive mastery of capturing the movement of light within her paintings. In one framed print that contained sailboats docked along the shoreline amidst the dusk and illuminating moonlight, the store manager (who also happens to be the painter's son) showed us how the setting quickly transformed into an effervescent dawn scene by just adjusting the power on the halogen light bulb that shone onto the painting. It was amazing, and I was soon lusting after the piece. Unfortunately, it was out of my price range, and I had to walk away before I blew off next month's rent. My boyfriend did end up purchasing one smaller print, which depicted vivid blue and rose views of the sunset and the water along the bay. The store manager was very nice and friendly, often telling us stories about a few paintings. We could tell that he was very proud of his mom. We walked away very happy with the purchase, and we look forward to visiting this and the Laguna beach store if we're ever in the area.

A truly magical all-weekend event, with more than 300 swing dancers swinging out to the tunes of…read moremultiple bands in the majestic Avalon Casino Ballroom. Used to be an annual event, but due to lower attendance year 2014 was skipped. Organizers are looking forward to 2015, CSDF will happen again if enough dancers sign up until June 2015. Typically includes two days of workshops geared toward different levels of skills and three evening dances (DJ on Friday night, and bands on Saturday and Sunday). Definitely not cheap at a $250 full-ticket price (significantly cheaper one-night-dance-only alternatives used to be available). Add in the cost of a ferry to Catalina and back as well as meals and lodging, and the full attendance cost can easily top $500 (budget $750-$1000 depending on your tastes). In my opinion, it was worth every penny. The crowd is quite mixed, from advanced beginners to true experts.

It has been a pleasure to be a part of the team since the beginning, and it has been great to…read morealways see the filmmakers be proud of the competition of films. Volunteering for this festival has been a great experience! Can't wait to celebrate the 10th anniversary in 2020!

Here fishy fishy! This is the best stop for a memorable…read morepiece of art or souvenir to bring home from your vacation. Unique items and a unique curator of art Mz Karen. What a wealth of knowledge and a little firecracker

Afishinados Gallery is a small gallery in Avalon, CA that hosts many local artists. No photography…read moreinside, so I absolutely wanted to respect the gallery. But I can say, truly stunning one of a kind pieces, great value. The store clerk inside gave amazing service, selection, and insight to how many artists they carried, history, etc. There were a few local shops in town, but Afishinados Gallery was the best. Highly recommend coming in when you're on the island!

Watched Pirates of the Caribbean here and had an absolute blast! The coolest theater I've ever been…read moreto! Murals are stunning, architecture/ambiance is insane, and the staff is so friendly/nice

This beautiful, historic theater is located inside the Catalina Casino. They were showing older…read morefilms the week we were in town (we saw Clueless). The theater itself is GORGEOUS and was a fun backdrop for our experience. The website isn't clear but you can buy tickets at the door via cash or credit card. I'd definitely return!

Finally took the time and additional funds to see the inside of the Catalina Casino in Avalon…read moreCalifornia during a shore stop aboard the Quantum of the Sea from Los Angeles. It was a great stop, well worth the money and time. My wife and I have been to Avalon before and the outline of the Catalina Casino dominates the view from the harbor when looking North. I made the obvious mistake of thinking it was a place of gambling and didn't bother going, but later learned that during the 19th and early 20th century, the term 'casino' was used to mean 'a gathering place'. That was the goal of the original owner (William Wrigley, founder of the gum company that bears his name), when he built it in 1929, right during the times when 'talkies' started taking over the movie industry. A massive restoration occurred in 1994. It's walkable from where we got dropped off by the cruise port tender, so I bought two adult tickets online for $21.51 each, for the self-guided tour. There is also a guided tour available that takes a group back behind the stage. We got there right when it opened and the ticket taker already had our names to let us in. The first stop was the main theater on the ground floor, and as we entered it, I couldn't help by saying a long 'Wowwww'. There are 1164 original seats (reupholstered) and we sat in the very back row, admiring the theater and watching a bit of the silent movie that was playing. Cell reception did not work inside, and the free WiFi didn't work well in here either. A little while later, the guided tour came in, and we were able to listen to the guide explain the theater. Some fun facts: -- this was the first theater designed for 'talkies'. However, because it wasn't a sure thing that they would replace the old style silent movies, a Page Theatre Pipe Organ was also installed (which is now one of only three still in its original location...the others being in Indiana). It was broken for a while, but has recently been fixed. -- entire ceiling was covered in silver leaf. -- the acoustics are incredible. As the guided group talked in normal loudness near the orchestral pit in front, I could hear each conversation from the back, just as if the person was right next to me. -- the wall murals was designed by the same artist who did the mural at the Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. -- architects responsible for the building of Radio City Music Hall in NYC, came for a visit to examine the acoustics, as it was that good. The guided tour ended up going backstage. We then took a winding ramp (there is no public elevator) up to the 2nd floor. Here there was one room where a TV show was on, explaining the history of the island. Another ramp took us to the top floor where the 20,000 square foot grand ballroom is. (The ramps reminded me of a ballparks, and later I learned that it was intentional: Wrigley had requested it based on something similar that he liked from his namesake ballpark). The ballroom has been beautifully restored, with wooden floors and a rotating chandelier. One can roller skate on the floor with rented skates, though nobody was doing it when we were there, thus the floor was empty. There is also a concession stand selling snacks. The height of the casino is equal to a 12-story building, and provides some really great views of Avalon, specifically the bay, from the Romance Promenade that surrounds the ballroom. My wife and I slowly circled it, admiring the views. We did notice the small cove where many snorkelers were admiring the plentiful orange-colored garibaldi. The entire stay lasted about 75 minutes which we felt was about the right amount of time. Would highly recommend if not been there before.

The Casino building is an Avalon landmark for sure. It is usually in the background of any picture…read moreof Avalon harbor. This building was constructed in 1929 and served as an entertainment center for dancing, movies and concerts back in the day for Angelino's who came here to escape from the city. This property, like almost the entire island, was developed by William Wrigley and has some quite impressive stats. The single floor movie theater seats 1200 and has perfect acoustics. The circular ballroom upstairs is the largest of its kind in the world. They have had concerts there with over 6000 people in attendance. How do I know these things? I took the VIP tour for $38 that lasts 1 hour. This tour also goes behind the scenes taking you to rooms in the back used by many famous performers, the projection booth of the movie theater and the Wrigley's private box for viewing the movies. I found the tour to be well worth the price considering regular admission to the building costs $19 and is self guided. That means you don't get to see all of the behind the scenes action we did. If you come to Avalon, I consider this to be a must do activity to visit and learn about its most famous landmark.