July in Avalon and Isthmus, Catalina

We arrived in Avalon without  a care in the world, expecting to be relaxing and at ease during the warm summer days.  Whoops... we totally forgot that it was July 4th weekend.  Not exactly what one would wish for as a restful stay at Catalina.  After waiting in line, we received a mooring in Avalon for two nights.  We had a reservation for Isthmus, but not for a few days.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect, cool fog in the early a.m. and then warming up to the low 70's during the day.  Water temperatures were still a bit chilly, so we stayed dry in the dinghy. 
   Leif and I have a running competition of miniature golf at the course in Avalon, it's one of the best I've ever played.  No moving parts, just angles and hills, surrounded by natural greenery which is labeled as to it's scientific name and origin.  Just a beautiful place in which to spend time chasing a little pink or blue ball.  I won't go into the scores, but we had a great time, and returned for a half price second game later that night. 
   We hiked the local hills and enjoyed just relaxing for a couple of days, then off to Isthmus.
In Isthmus, we had a mooring in close, right behind a stink pot that kept it's generator and engine running all day and most of the night, constantly sending fumes our way.  Not my idea of pleasant.  So, to escape, we hiked most of the ridge tops, bike paths and trails around the Isthmus.  Really had a great time, and got to get our legs back in shape a little. 
  I didn't know, but Isthmus celebrates July 4th on July 3rd with fireworks and live bands.  It worked out great actually as most people left on the 4th, giving us some relief from the fumes.  We stayed up and watched the show, even though it was sort of foggy.  Kind of cool as they lit up the area, expanded by the fog. 
  Finally, it was time to go, our slip in Long Beach was available and we headed back across the channel to our new slip.  We pulled into the measuring dock, checked in, signed all the paperwork, wrote a huge check, and finally put Honcho to rest for awhile.  We ended up moving over to BB11 after we were there for a week, as there are fewer palm frond flowers falling on our boat and staining the hull.  Sort of sad, as the new neighbors on our first dock were very nice. 


Isthmus from the ridge top, via croc sandals.  Best sandals ever!



Leif concentrating on his form, putt for dough.



Avalon, with empty moorings.



Our dinghy is the little grey one...

 The next step was to take up the floorboards and re varnish them.  No small task, with the little rubber strips needing to be removed and replaced afterwards.  There's always something on a boat to keep you busy.  But, that's half the fun.