We’ve been settling back into life in the United States. Slowly. We bought a car, have been visiting with friends and family and are getting our affairs back in order. Life in the US is a bit different than living in Mexico. Most notably: it is expensive!!

But we can’t neglect our boat so when Mike’s parents came to visit we headed out to Catalina Island for four nights. It’s just a quick overnight sail of about 70 miles from San Diego and we had to motor the entire way there since the wind was coming (of course) right on the nose. But that made for a nice downwind run on the way back.

I hadn’t been to Catalina since about 1990 and not much has changed. It was fairly crowded and a mooring costs around $35 per night. We anchored one night but had to do so pretty close to shore since it gets deep fast. The water was incredibly clear and we even braved the super-cold water to see Leopard sharks, garibaldi, bat rays and beautiful kelp forests. What a change from Mexico.

View Catalina Trip August 2013 in Google Maps

Avalon

Beautiful tile-work everywhere.

The dinghy dock in Avalon
Up the mast in Isthmus Cove

Isthmus Cove

Anchored in Catalina Harbor