Avalon, Santa Catalina Island — INDEPENDENCE CHRONICLES

I can’t speak for you, but there are moments when I feel like stepping back in time and I don’t mean a decade or two, I mean nearly a century. Avalon, at Catalina harbor has that pull that not only wants to take you beneath it’s crystal clear water but also a very persuasive tug toward its past. The Casino that dominates the harbor sets the art deco tone and was built in 1929. Commissioned by William Wrigley, Jr. (who purchased the island in 1919) it never served as a casino but rather a massive dance hall with Big Band entertainment and an equally grand movie theatre - the first in the world to show ‘talkies’. From the casino radiates a classic promenade of palm trees that leads north to Descanso Beach with its neat lines of beach tents right out of a ‘30’s movie or south toward town with its mix of small ‘50’s bungalow homes and art deco facade bars and restaurants. The crescent shaped harbor is terraced with homes of various vintages but the scene stealers are, of course, the turreted Holly Hill house and Wrigley’s grand home, Mt. Ada. (now a hotel). We appreciate the hillside views from the water below, securely tied bow and stern to one of the many buoys. Boats of all sizes zip around us day and night and the closer you get to the weekend the more action, in this first come, first serve harbor. We explore the bars and restaurants and even dabble in some culture by visiting the Catalina Museum and taking a tour of the Casino. Larry is in heaven as he bought a membership to the conservancy and can climb the mountains of Santa Catalina Island all afternoon and then have a cold one at the end of his ride. We will be sad to leave Avalon but there are other harbors on Santa Catalina Island that remain to be explored.