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| Pulling into Catalina |
Once in Catalina, we had just enough time to grab a bite to eat at a Mexican Restaurant and settle into the Seaport Village Inn, which was located right in the town of Avalon. The Seaport Village Inn was kind of a dive, but suited our needs perfectly since the whole reason we were going to Catalina was to explore the great outdoors!
The next day, we woke up bright and early and scurried down to the Catalina Dive and Snorkel Shop to make our reservation on time. We were introduced Dan, our SCUBA guide/instructor, who briefly reviewed our gear, the rules, and regulations of SCUBA. This was an interesting experience for sure! Dan was about 80 years old and had been diving longer than both Bill or I have even been around. While we both admired his ability to be so active, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous at first. If you have any knowledge of SCUBA Diving then you know there are some serious health risks involved! All in all, he was a great guide and we feel fortunate that we were assigned to him as he made sure we had a great underwater experience!
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| With the Jacque Cousteu Plaque |
Dan took us to the Jacque Cousteau Plaque, which was about 35-40 ft down. Jacque Cousteau was a French Naval Officer who is famously known for developing the "Aqua Lung" or more commonly known as the first Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (the SCUBA tank).
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| Bill feeding the fish... |
Following our dive, Dan took us back to the shop and let us take our snorkels and snorkel around in Lover's Cove for awhile longer. We enjoyed this, but it was not nearly as exciting as the dive! We hope to schedule another dive when we go to Hawaii later this year!
I think the most surprising element of SCUBA diving is how much it physically exhausts you. After any dive I have ever done, I have always felt the need to take a nap (especially if you are in cold water). Therefore, after we wrapped up our morning adventure, Bill and I headed back to the Seaport Village Inn to rest for a bit and then checked out the city of Avalon.
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| In front of the Avalon Casino |
Avalon was a cute little town, but it wasn't nearly as impressive as I thought it might be. Don't get me wrong, I definitely enjoyed our time in Catalina, but I think Catalina's most unique feature is the terrain. It was very desertish, but yet very mountainous. Even more interesting is the fact that there are Buffalo that roam around on the Island, or so I am told.
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| In the Wrigley Monument |
The hike was hot, but well worth the views as we hiked along the high ridge line. It was definitely a different perspective from above!
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| Avalon from afar |
Following our long hike, we enjoyed a nice dinner over looking the harbour and then headed to Luau Larry's to celebrate Independence Day with some drinks!! They even gave me a cool hat, which only cost me a hangover the next day:)
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| Happy 4th of July! |
As with all good things, they must come to an end. Therefore, the next day we had to say goodbye to Catalina! On a positive note, we got to take with us some good memories and a case of posion ivy. Yes, somehow I contracted posion ivy during our hike and it only took 2 weeks to clear up!!
Bill and I both returned to work the next day. For Bill, it was nice for him to be back "in the office" since he had been in Coronado and 29 Palms for the whole month of June. For me, I also had to return to the office, but it was definitely a little different than I had expected. On July 1st, the budget had passed for the State of Arizona in regards to the funding that we receive to keep our company in business. Unfortunately, ACTS was affected significantly by this cut along with several other Mental Health/Behavioral Health Agencies in the area. As a result, lay offs were in order. Fortunately, I was spared my job, but it was difficult to see co-workers leave. Hopefully, this is the last we see for awhile, but rumor has it there could be more in the future. We will just have to wait and see....
Also during this month, Bill and I were able to have some professional photo's taken. We went through Kim Garcia Photography, who did an excellent job!! Kim was great to work with and gave us exactly what we wanted. Here were a couple of our favorites:)
Well, no sooner did Bill get comfortable being home, he had to leave again! This time he was scheduled to do some fleet support in North Carolina for a week and half (but got to come home early). I have to admit, I was a little jealous that he got to go back to NC and I didn't!! However, I do look forward to making it back for a visit eventually and catching up with everyone! Fortunately, during Bill's time out East he was able to find some time to visit with his brother, Mike, who has recently returned from deployment and his family. We look forward to their visit next month :)
During the time that Bill was in NC, I decided to step up my fitness level a bit. I had been kind of slacking since the San Diego Half Marathon, but now it is time to get serious! I have just signed up for the Blue Water Triathalon in Parker, Arizona in November. I have opted to do the long event, which I think is a 1k swim, 53K bike, and an 8k run. In my efforts to get in shape, I have recently joined the Master's swim team and briefly tried out the bike club. The bike club didn't work out so well considering they were all men and left me on the border of Mexico all by myself! Hopefully, I will rack up the miles on my own or find some girlfriends to ride with...
Other than that, we continue to do well and are enjoying the summer! I think the heat is the worst it'll get and we are getting used to it!! However, we are looking forward to traveling north next month and escaping it for a bit!
